𝐰𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐨𝐧 || 𝐥𝐮𝐤𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐧

4: a child of the night

the next morning dawned with the promise of new beginnings, and luke, fueled by determination, strolled into the dining pavilion. his heart beat with an unfamiliar rythm as he resolved to make his feelings for evelynn more obvious. the night prior, he had stayed up wrestling with his thoughts in the hermes cabin, contemplating the advice given by jaya. it was crystal clear to him now; he needed to out-flirt jax.

however, his anticipation faltered when he noticed evelynn's absence from her usual perch on  the rock. only jax occupied the space, engaging in casual banter with the other hermes kids. luke's gaze darted to the nyx table, hoping to find her among her siblings. he scanned each camper sitting at the long table, and none of them were evelynn. 

panic surged through him like wildfire. something must have happened to evelynn, and he needed to find her. he turned with strong resolve, only to be halted by chiron's steady hand on his shoulder.

"you are to come with me, child," chiron's calm voice sought to soothe luke's frayed nerves. "the girl is alright, but there are matters that require discussion."

luke's heart plummeted. if chiron deemed it necessary to speak to him, it couldn't be good news. the demigods of camp half-blood could never find peace. he followed chiron to the big house, each step heavy with apprehension. the peeling blue paint did not provide the comfort it usually did.

"i understand you have noticed evelynn's absence," chiron began solemnly, his use of her full name instead of the usual 'eve' signaling the gravity of the situation. luke nodded, urging the centaur to continue. 

"she is currently in the attic, receiving a prophecy of apollo from the oracle of delphi," chiron explained. luke's muscles tensed. he had heard the tales of the oracle's visions driving people to madness, or worse.

"she will likely be embarking on a quest," chiron continued, his demeanor still calm, but worry evident on his face. "ordinarily, we would not inform other campers of this news, but it is widely understood that she will be choosing you as a companion, so we have chosen to inform you in advance."

luke's pulse quickened. he could barely stand to watch her play capture the flag, and now she was supposed to go on a quest, fraught with even more danger? having been on many quests himself, he knew that they were practically suicide missions. the thought shook him to his core. "why her?" he managed to choke out, his voice shaky.

"there has been an uptick in monster activity in evelynn's hometown. we have been informed that it is most likely her sibling that has remained in the area, so she would be most suited to collect them," chiron clarified.

sibling? luke's mind reeled. evelynn never told him about any siblings; she never even mentioned her family life at all. he understood there may have been a good reason for that, having significant family problems himself, but he still felt somewhat lied to.

the creaking of wood drew their attention as evelynn descended from the attic, tears streaking her face. luke's heart twisted at the sight. he had only ever seen her cry once, and that was when clarisse 'accidentally' broke the nyx girl's arm during a game of capture the flag. each tear felt like a dagger to his soul. 

he rushed to her side, offering comfort, but she seemed distant, lost in her own turmoil. it was several minutes before she spoke, her voice fragile.

"i want to go outside, please," she muttered, her vulnerability palpable.

luke was quick to wrap an arm around her shoulder, leading her to the door after sending a small nod to chiron. he carefully sat her down on the bench on the front porch, settling beside her. "you okay?" he asked softly.

"yeah, i'm fine," she replied. the tears had ceased, but a look of uncertainty lingered in her eyes.

"...what did the prophecy say?" luke hesitated, not sure if it was too soon to ask, but he wanted to know. "if you don't want to tell me right now, that's fine too," he quickly added.