Chapter 97

[Third Person's PoV]

One week later…

"Why are you coming along?" Lucian asked as he looked at Thalia with a stoic expression.

"I'm bored out of my mind," Thalia said, flashing a cheeky grin.

"I know you're in love with me, but this is too much," Lucian let out a defeated sigh before taking a step to the side.

Where he stood, a lightning bolt struck from Thalia's hand, glaring at him. "I'm not in love with you! You bastard!"

Annabeth and Luke chuckled side by side as they watched their usual banter.

Lucian looked towards Luke and Annabeth. "Are you sure you guys don't want to come with? It could be another adventure for our fantastic four group."

Luke jokingly scoffed, shaking his head. "Nah, I can't be going out that much nowadays. I'm the Cabin Counselor, remember?"

Annabeth shook her head. "You know the reason why I can't."

"Party poopers," Lucian playfully pouted, then turned towards Thalia and smirked before looking at the others. "It looks like for my new adventure, it's going to be Team Emo against the world!"

Thalia looked at him with a straight face before turning around and walking off ahead.

Lucian turned back towards the others and gave them a grin with a peace sign as he disappeared into his shadow and reappeared next to Thalia with a backpack on, marching.

"Onwards, my Emo comrade, towards the motherland where snow and vodka await us," Lucian said, deepening his voice.

"We haven't even fully left the camp's property line and you're already making me regret coming with you," Thalia released a dejected breath. "And I'm not 'Emo'; my whole style is Punk Rock, and you know it."

Lucian, who couldn't care less, changed the topic. "I've been curious about something, between the two of us, who's faster?"

Thalia gave Lucian a questioning gaze. "If it's just racing, then it has to be me. You're pretty fast, no doubt, but I mean, come on, lightning has been known to be the fastest. And your little shadow travel trick doesn't count; you're teleporting, so it has nothing to do with speed."

"Shall we race, then?" Lucian asked with a competitive look.

"You know what, sure, let's go at it," Thalia said, and as they reached the tallest hill, they both got into a runner's position.

Lightning crackled from Thalia, her eyes gaining a brighter blue color, while her hair stood up due to the static.

Meanwhile, a black, shadowy smoke escaped from Lucian's figure. His eyes started turning dull and emotionless, but his usual teasing smirk remained.

"Ready?" They both asked at the same time.

"Set?" They both lifted their posture slightly.

"And go!" They said at once.

Thalia practically turned into a blue lightning bolt as she rushed ahead, creating a strong force of wind.

Meanwhile, the ground underneath Lucian cracked due to the strength he used to give himself a burst of speed.

The two raced all the way towards Russia with only one goal in mind: to win.

...

2 days later…

Thalia's legs and arms blurred as she continued running, her eyes flashing with determination.

While Lucian wasn't far behind, instead of running, he was flying. Thrusters exited from Lucian's fists and feet as black smoke escaped from him. His hair swung wildly in the wind, and his eyes narrowed against the wind.

A few feet ahead of them, they saw a sign in Russian, which they couldn't understand, but they knew that whoever passed that sign would be the winner.

Thalia leaned her body forwards, increasing her speed, while Lucian brought his arms and legs closer, making him more aerodynamic.

The flames on his feet and fists became narrower, increasing the thrusters, making him go faster and reach Thalia's side.

Snow fell as they were toe to toe with each other. Lucian then saw Thalia charge up a beam of lightning from her hand to propel herself towards victory.

Lucian, seeing this, leaned towards her slightly, and just as she propelled herself, Lucian and her ended up crashing into one another, causing them to roll rapidly past the sign and onto the snowy ground.

They both groaned as Lucian was on the ground, and Thalia was on top of him. When Thalia lifted herself, they both looked at each other before they started laughing.

"That was awesome!" Thalia exclaimed. "I've never felt so free—the sound and the feeling of the wind rushing across my face, the blurry view. It felt so liberating. Who knew going that fast could feel so amazing," she wistfully sighed.

Lucian stood on his elbows and kissed Thalia on the lips before leaning back down and smiling.

"What was that for?" She mumbled, turning bright red.

Lucian continued to smile as he shrugged his shoulders. "You look very cute when you're all excited; I couldn't help myself."

Thalia turned to the side, grabbed a ball of snow, and tossed it towards Lucian's face. "How can you say something so embarrassing with a straight face?"

Lucian just chuckled as he stood up and wiped the snow off his face.

"Let's find the closest town and a place to rest since it's getting dark," Lucian suggested.

Thalia looked up and saw that it was indeed getting dark and agreed with his idea. The two walked along the side of the road, which was just outside a forest area. After a few minutes of walking, they saw a shack with Russian words and neon signs of food.

Thalia's stomach made a little rumble. "I am kinda hungry," she blushed.

Lucian nodded as they decided to head inside. Once they entered, they saw that the place didn't have any customers and that it didn't have much seating except towards the side of the counter.

"Hello?" Thalia called out.

From what Lucian and Thalia presumed was the kitchen, an old lady peeked out and greeted them.

"Hello, dears, I'll be with you in just a second," she said in a sweet, old grandma's voice.

After a minute, the old woman appeared, asking what she could do for them.

"Is this place some kind of diner?" Thalia asked.

"Ah, you poor dearies must be hungry. You kids don't look like you're from around here. Come sit down, I'll get you something to fatten you up on your journey." She smiled sweetly at them. "Oh, and don't worry about paying; since you're not from around here, I doubt you would have the necessary money."

"Thank you," Thalia said with a small bow, gratitude in her tone.

Thalia and Lucian soon smelled something delicious, and after a while, the old lady presented them with Beef Stroganoff.

"Once again, thank you," Thalia said with gratitude.

The old lady just nodded with a happy smile.

Thalia and Lucian both picked up a spoonful of food, and just as Thalia was about to put it in her mouth, Lucian lowered her hand, disappeared with a poof of black smoke, and reappeared behind the old lady with a scythe over her neck.

"And here I thought we would get to experience the kind version of Baba Yaga," Lucian coldly said.

Thalia was shocked upon hearing this. "You mean she...?"

The old granny didn't seem fazed in the slightest; her smile from earlier just widened and widened, causing a chill to run down Thalia's back.

"Hehehehehehe!" The old lady let out a witch-like giggle. "How did you figure it out?" she asked.

"I was raised by a much more beautiful witch than you. I can smell when my food is laced with a potion," Lucian replied without much emotion. "Not to mention your lackluster illusion."

The witch continued to smile as she dropped her illusion. Thalia was a bit shocked by her appearance and felt a shiver run down her spine.

Baba Yaga looked like a stereotypical witch: green skin, a long pointed nose with a large mole on it, and a singular silver tooth hanging from her mouth. She wore a purple witch hat and purple robes, completing the image.