Chapter 175: Lotus Casino (3)

[Third Person's PoV] 

Nico practically had stars in his eyes as he gazed at Lucian with a look of pure hope. "Are you really our brother?" he asked, his voice trembling slightly.

Bianca, on the other hand, narrowed her eyes in confusion, scrutinizing Lucian's face. "Can you prove that you're our brother?" she demanded, her tone more skeptical than hopeful.

Lucian smirked, a knowing gleam in his eyes. Without a word, he raised his hands, and from his shadow, dark tendrils rose like serpents. The shadows coiled around Nico and Bianca, gently lifting them off their feet, causing them to dismount from Sébastien, as the creature vanished into the inky depths of his shadows.

"WHOA! How are you doing that?!" Nico exclaimed, his excitement palpable. Earlier, Sébastien had appeared behind them, silent as a shadow, scooping them up onto his back without them even noticing.

"Does that answer your question?" Lucian asked, raising an eyebrow, his voice laced with amusement.

Nico shook his head, laughing breathlessly. "Nope!"

Bianca crossed her arms, still floating in midair. "Yeah No, how does that even prove anything?"

Lucian lowered them gently back to the ground, the shadows retreating beneath his feet like obedient pets. "In all seriousness, how did you do that?" Bianca pressed, her eyebrows knitted in disbelief.

Annabeth, Thalia, Grover, and Lucian exchanged glances, their expressions mirroring one another's confusion.

"Do you think they're like Percy?" Grover asked, his voice hushed. "Unaware of what they really are?"

"That seems to be the case," Annabeth muttered, her voice thoughtful.

Lucian slapped his palm to his forehead, groaning internally. 'For fuck's sake! That's right—they had their memories wiped. The River Lethe…' He'd almost forgotten the detail of their tragic past, how their memories had been cleansed to spare them the pain of witnessing their mother's death. 'Damn it, I should have remembered that.'

Lucian's expression softened, his gaze settling on the two confused siblings. "Tell me… what do you actually know about your parents?" he asked, a small frown tugging at the corners of his mouth.

Nico and Bianca shared a glance, their faces troubled. Bianca sighed, her shoulders drooping slightly. "Not much… just that they're both dead," she said quietly. "For some reason, we can't remember them clearly. A lawyer told us they were gone and that they left us a trust fund, which is why we've been able to stay in such a nice place."

Lucian's smirk returned, though it was tempered by something more serious. "Nico, you said you collect Mythomagic cards, right? Who did I say was your father?"

Nico blinked, his mind working to keep up with the rapid shift in conversation. "Umm… you said we were the son and daughter of Hades… but what does—" His eyes widened as realization slammed into him like a freight train. "Oh my god! Is he really our father?! That explains the shadow powers! Do I have those too?!" Nico nearly shouted, his hands grabbing at his head in pure shock.

Bianca looked at her brother, baffled by his sudden outburst. "What are you—"

Before she could finish her question, Nico grabbed her by the white sweater, shaking her back and forth. "Don't you get it, Bianca?! Dad's name is Hades! Hades! He's the freaking Greek god of the Underworld! That means our father is a god! Do I get my own shadow horse?!" His voice pitched higher in excitement as he turned back to Lucian, eyes sparkling. "Please tell me being Hades' son means I get a shadow horse!"

"Our father… is a god?" Bianca echoed in disbelief, her skeptical gaze shifting back to Lucian.

Lucian, still smirking, pointed downward. Bianca and Nico followed his finger to the ground. Lucian's shadow expanded, dark and ominous, before hundreds of glowing eyes began to appear within it—monstrous, predatory eyes from all the creatures he had hunted in his entire livelihood.

Bianca shivered, a cold chill running down her spine. Meanwhile, Nico's eyes lit up with fascination. "So cool," he whispered, his voice awed.

"But if our father is a god," Bianca said, her voice gaining strength as her confusion deepened, "why would he abandon us? It's been months since we've seen him. He sends this lawyer to check on us, but that's it! Why lie and say he's dead?"

"To protect you," Annabeth interjected, her tone firm. She stepped forward, taking the lead. "That's probably also why you don't have your memories. He wanted to keep you safe, hidden from the dangers of the supernatural world. He likely had your memories wiped with the River Lethe because the less you know, the safer you are."

Nico and Bianca's faces fell, shock washing over them as they processed the revelation that their father had taken their memories for their own protection.

"But I don't understand," Thalia said, her brow furrowing. "Why would Hades hide them away and not Lucian?"

Lucian turned to Annabeth and answered her question with another question "Where are we?"

"The Lotus—" Annabeth froze mid-sentence, her eyes widening in realization. She rushed over to Bianca, grabbing her arm with a serious expression. "Answer me honestly. What year do you think it is?"

Bianca tilted her head, confused. "1942… why?"

Annabeth's face paled. "Lucian, you idiot! Didn't it occur to you to mention this earlier?" she snapped, glaring at him.

Lucian merely shrugged, unbothered by her outburst. "You took too long to figure it out. Come on, Annabeth, you're smarter than that."

Grover's eyes widened, connecting the dots. "Then this means…"

"Yes," Annabeth muttered grimly, her voice tense with urgency. "We need to find Percy. Now. If we don't, he might miss the deadline… and we'll lose our chance to stop the war."

---

Clarisse crossed her arms, scoffing at Percy's apology. She was about to turn and leave when she noticed Percy struggling to say what was on his mind.

"I… I didn't mean what I said to Grover earlier," Percy began, his voice quieter now. "I said it to create distance between us. The farther apart we were, the less chance I had of being hurt. But in trying to protect myself, I ended up hurting you instead. And for that… I'm truly sorry."

Clarisse's face softened slightly, caught off-guard by Percy's sincerity. Before she could say anything, Percy muttered to himself, "I also didn't mean it when I said I'd rather kiss the bathroom floor than you…"

Clarisse's eyes narrowed at that, but before she could snap back, Percy seemed to come to a decision. Letting out a sigh, his shoulders slumped in defeat. "Oh, whatever," he grumbled. Then, in a swift motion, Percy grabbed her arm and pulled her close.

"Wha—" Clarisse gasped, but Percy silenced her with a kiss, holding it for a few seconds before pulling back slightly.

Clarisse stood frozen, her face turning beet red as she processed what had just happened. Percy licked his lips with a smirk. "See? I didn't hate it… Quite the opposite, actually."

Clarisse's blush deepened, her mind racing to form a response when slow clapping interrupted them.

They both turned, wide-eyed, to see Lucian and the others standing there in disbelief. Lucian was the one clapping, a devilish grin on his face. "Now this is cinema! Talk about a spicy telenovela."

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