MARTYR | A Luke Castellan Love Story

28 - Taking The Blame

"How did they get into the underworld?" Percy Asked, but Nico avoided his gaze.

Suddenly, Percy shoved Nico back, fuming. 

"You took them, didn't you?!" He yelled, Luke quickly coming over to pull him back along with Annabeth.

"No! Get off me!" He sneered at Luke, tugging his arm away before facing Nico again.

"I had no choice, Percy." Nico muttered, remaining suprisingly calm.

"Yeah right, this is payback for Bianca isn't it??" Percy scoffed, still fuming. Annabeth stepped between them as Nico raised his head, anger in his dark eyes. 

"Guys! Please! Think clearly. " Annabeth attempted, trying to cool the situation down. However, Nico's eyes were sharp, hurt clearly evident within them.

"I would never stoop that low, Percy. I had no choice. Kronos forced me. He was going to kill Will!" he replied in a steely tone, trying to keep himself from lashing out.

Finally, the situation started to settle. The weight in the air was slowly lifting as the demigods stood silently. Finally, Luke broke the silence.

"Listen, I know I'm not anyone's favorite person at the moment, but I have information you guys can use. I'm not letting Kronos win, and I'm not letting Jay's sacrifice be in vain. Got it?" 

The other demigods hesitantly nodded solemnly, their gazes shifting the pavement beneath them.

Finally, Annabeth broke the silence.

"Luke, Thalia is alive."

Luke felt his heart skip a beat as his eyes met Annabeth's.

"What? How-"

"The fleece, we used the fleece." Percy spoke up, his tone still grim.

"Where is she? Is she alright??" Luke felt himself panic, his heart rate skyrocketing.

"She's fine, she...she became a hunter with Artemis," answered Annabeth, her tone having a hint of betrayal still fresh within it. "I just thought you'd like to know, your poision didn't kill her." 

Her words felt like a stab to Luke's heart.

"Annabeth I didn't-"

"Let's go. We can't talk here." 

-----

Kronos gazed down at his vessel's hands. Soft and small, yet held so much power, a stark contrast to the hands of the young man he had previously possessed. Finally, he closed his eyes and focused. He tried withdrawing the power deep within him, just as the girl did. 

But he felt nothing. 

The titan huffed and tried again with patience, but the results were the same. He felt nothing, no power running through his veins, no tug in his gut, not even a goosebump appearing on his skin. When he opened his eyes, they were like spheres of gold, shining with fury. 

He was the most powerful titan, yet he couldn't summon a drop of water. The girl had to have been behind this. 

And he fell for it.

The Titan yelled out in anger, his yell a mere terrifying distortion of Jay's own voice, another contrast to his last vessel. The monsters within the building began to cower, wondering what upset their master.

The Titan stormed out of his chambers and into Jay's, his anger rising when his golden eyes landed on an empty room.

"CASTELLAN!"