Chapter 92

[Third Person's PoV]

As it grew dark, a wooden bonfire was being built in the center of all the camps. In the gathering darkness, it became the sole source of light, illuminating everything around.

Children of Apollo played and danced with their whole bodies moving around the bonfire. Soon, others began grabbing partners and joining in.

Lucian took Thalia's hand as they danced merrily among everyone, laughing along with the others.

The camp resonated with joy and laughter; even the usually grumpy Dionysus watched with a hidden smile from a quiet distance.

Soon, partners started to switch. Annabeth and Thalia paired up, enjoying themselves, while Lucian approached Hestia, who was sitting by a wooden log, smiling as she watched everyone having a good time.

"Well, Auntie, what are you waiting for? Let's go," Lucian said, pulling Hestia to dance with him.

"What, no, I can't dance!" Hestia said, feeling a bit bashful.

"So what?" Lucian replied, still smiling. "The point of this is to enjoy ourselves and have a good time. Don't concern yourself with trivial matters."

As Lucian pulled her onto the dance floor, Hestia continued to blush. "Me embarrassing myself is not some trivial matter," she protested.

"My cute little auntie, no worries about that, just relax," Lucian teased.

"Don't call me cute," she pouted.

"Oh, I know," Lucian said, snapping his fingers. "Just imagine the bonfire as the Hearth and that you're performing a sacred dance ritual to it."

Hestia let out a sigh and put her hands on her hips. "Fine, you win. Just know I'm only doing this because you asked."

Lucian smiled in response to that.

Lucian watched as Hestia started to dance like she was performing a sacred dance, moving in her bare feet around the fire. Some of the campers even watched in wonder.

The fire swayed as if following her movements.

"Go Auntie, go go, go Auntie," Lucian sang out, causing Hestia to grow redder and more embarrassed.

After completing a turn around the bonfire, Hestia approached Lucian and grabbed both of his cheeks before gently stretching and moving them with a big pout.

"What did I say about embarrassing me, huh? You called me your auntie, so at least show some respect," she scolded.

Lucian chuckled, his hand slightly over his mouth. "Sorry, sorry. You just looked amazing; I had to support my auntie."

Hestia put a hand over her forehead and sighed. "Why did I have to be the one stuck with a cheeky nephew?"

Lucian smiled as he hugged her and rubbed his cheeks against hers, "I love you too, Auntie," he teased.

Hestia rolled her eyes in an exasperated manner before patting his head. "Yeah, yeah, yeah," which resulted in them giggling and chuckling together.

...

As the night grew later, the moon shone brightly above them, accompanied by shimmering stars and the sound of the roaring fire.

Lucian spotted Thalia staring into the night sky from atop the newly built Observatory, with a pensive expression as the atmosphere around the camp started to cool down.

Lucian silently sank into his shadow and reappeared behind Thalia, who was leaning on the edge with her arms crossed slightly.

"Boo!" Lucian exclaimed, tapping her waist.

Reacting to Lucian's sudden appearance, Thalia threw a sharp elbow behind her in surprise, then turned to see Lucian crouched down with both arms over his head.

"My God, Lucian, don't scare me like that," Thalia warned with a tired sigh before resuming her position leaning on the edge.

Lucian gave her an awkward smile as he apologized, rubbing the back of his head. "Sorry about that. You just looked lost in your own little world."

Thalia only shook her head. Lucian moved towards the edge and sat down, turning his back towards the moon and stars.

"So tell me, what's been on your mind? You've seemed a bit distracted lately."

"Nothing, don't worry about it," she said dismissively.

Lucian rolled his eyes. "Of course I'm going to worry about it. Whatever is happening looks like it's affecting you a lot."

"Just mind your business. It doesn't concern you," Thalia said impassively.

Lucian made a sharp inhaling noise. "Yikes, unfortunately for you, I'm very nosy. And unfortunately for you, I just happen to slightly care about you, so it kind of does."

Thalia studied Lucian's face and saw him staring at her with a smile, but she also noticed genuine concern in his eyes.

"Why do you even care so much?" she asked in a defeated tone.

Lucian looked at her as if she were being an idiot and didn't answer her question. "I'm just going to pretend you never asked me such a stupid question."

Thalia's cheeks gained a bit of color. "It's not a stupid question; it was a genuine one."

Lucian rolled his eyes. "Well, sparky—"

"Don't call me that," she interrupted.

"As I was saying… You're someone I can call a good friend, someone I'm really close with. So, although this is embarrassing to admit… I care about you. Seeing you like this naturally makes me concerned," Lucian said, his cheeks flushing slightly, noticeable against his pale skin, before looking away.

Thalia turned her face to hide her own embarrassment.

After a moment, she calmed herself down and turned back to look at Lucian, who returned her gaze. They stared into each other's eyes.

"I just recently turned 15 years old…" She began, opening up about all her worries and insecurities to Lucian.

"Which means in a few months, I'm going to be 16… which means that the prophecy could come into play. Ever since I heard of the prophecy, I've dreaded my birthday each year, but I've never been more scared than I am now."

As she spoke, Thalia glanced towards Lucian, expecting to see a teasing expression or one that usually made her feel like an idiot. Instead, he simply looked at her and listened.

He waited for her to continue, nodding in understanding, and for the first time in a while, she felt heard, causing her to continue.

"I honestly hate that stupid prophecy. I sometimes wish I never heard it and could just remain ignorant… I know the prophecy didn't say it was me, and I'm just assuming things, but there's a chance that it's me and I really don't want it."

Thalia's eyes filled with guilt, and she looked down, embarrassed. "I know this might make me sound like a bad friend after everything you just said, but… I truly wish the prophecy is about you and not me. And I hate myself for thinking that. I'm the older one; I'm supposed to be the mature one, taking on responsibility. I'm even the daughter of the Godking, for fucks sake," she couldn't help but curse.

"You're braver, much more cunning, heck, even stronger than I am. I know if there is a war coming, you would have a much better chance than I do at surviving. I've even been thinking of ways to avoid turning sixteen altogether. And the best idea I've had is to join the hunt. The more I think about it, the more it sounds like the right idea."

Thalia then stopped talking and started to catch her breath before looking at Lucian with tears in her eyes, waiting to see disgust in his eyes or face towards her for practically wishing death on him.

Lucian just gave her a sympathetic smile. "You, my friend, are being too hard on yourself. First of all, if there is a war coming, I think we both know damn well I would be on the front lines. So even if you are the child of the Prophecy, you wouldn't be fighting alone; you would have me and everyone else supporting you."

Lucian then looked a bit embarrassed to admit what he was going to say but continued, "And this is just my selfishness talking, but I honestly don't want you to go with the Hunt, I don't want you to join them. If you want a solution, you already have one—eat the golden apple, which would make you immortal and stop your aging."

Thalia was supposed to hear that. 'That's right! The Golden apple! It's been a few months I forgot about them.'

Thalia felt a wave of relief wash over her. She took a few seconds to think about everything before looking at Lucian in confusion. "Wait, why don't you want me to join the Hunt?"

Lucian decided to be confident as he answered, "Isn't it obvious? I'll miss you too much," he smiled softly, putting both his hands on the ledge.

Thalia was shocked to hear that and looked at Lucian's expression to see if he was teasing her, but all she saw was that he was being genuine, which surprised her even more.

As she was leaning on the ledge, she was able to look into Lucian's eyes, that shone like gems in moonlight, and he looked into hers.

She doesn't know what came over her, but she did what she felt was right… slowly as she looked into his gem like eyes, she started moving closer, and as Lucian looked into hers, he did the same.

They continued looking into each other's eyes as their faces grew closer and closer, until they felt each other's breath.

Thalia slowly closed her eyes while Lucian did the same, and before they knew it, their lips touched, sinking deeper into each other.

They stayed that way for a few seconds before backing away slightly, still staring into each other's eyes for a few more seconds, and before they knew it, they instinctively went in for another, much more passionate kiss.