I sat down next to Jase at the table, watching him watch Aidan and Arina peel potatoes. They were laughing about something and Jase just stared fondly at the son of Hephaestus.
"Jase?" I asked. He tilted his head towards me a little bit.
"Yeah?"
"Do you and Aidan have a thing going on?"
He just smiled.
---
"Thank you so much," I said, helping Arina wash the dishes in the sink. She smiled sadly.
"Are you sure you're going to die on this quest?" she asked and I sighed.
"I'm pretty sure. The last line of my prophecy is 'One of which you will lose to a liar.' And I'm the only one dying right now," I mumbled and she sighed.
"I don't think that Ares kid is going to take that well," she commented and I blushed, halting my movements. "You like him too, don't you?"
"I..." I trailed of. Yeah, yeah I do. A lot actually. "Before I went on this quest, I had a best friend named Aaron. I was so in love with him, but he was killed by a Fury," I explained. "I can't...I like Luka, I do, but I can't seem to get over Aaron."
"That's okay," Arina said softly, smiling at me. "I had a boyfriend back at camp - a child of Tyche. I loved him, and he was killed on a quest. I still haven't found that one person that makes me forget about the pain."
Luka numbs the pain.
"Luka makes you forget about the pain, doesn't he?" she asked and I continued to scrub the dishes, ignoring her question. "Thought so. You have a lot to think about, I guess."
---
"Elle?" I heard Aaron whisper, his voice music to my ears. I looked over at him, my eyes wide with shock. His dark blue eyes met my light blue once and he smiled, hugging me to his chest.
"I...I thought you were dead," I murmured.
"I am," he said and I pulled away from him, searching his eyes. "And soon, you will be too." I scrambled away from him. "What are you doing?"
"I'm dreaming...You're still dead."
"I am, honey, but you will be soon."
I felt my eyes burn at the familiar nickname.
"I'm dreaming. You're still dead," I whispered, tears burning my eyes. I curled up into a ball and covered my ears with my hands. "You're dead. You're dead. You're dead." I continued mumbling those two words until I was shaken awake.
I opened my eyes and sat up, breathing heavily. I looked over to see Luka looking at me worriedly.
"Are you okay?" he asked, concern in his amber eyes. "You were mumbling and thrashing around a lot."
I didn't respond, I only wrapped my arms around his neck and hugged him tightly, feeling my heart beat a million miles a second - or that's what it felt like, at least. He hesitantly wrapped his arms around me and hugged me back.
"I'm sorry for waking you up," I mumbled into his chest. He sat down next to me on the bed and rubbed my back lightly.
"I wasn't asleep," he assured.
"How did you know I was having a nightmare?"
"I came in to check on you."
"Why?"
"I..." he hesitated. "I just wanted to make sure that you were okay." He paused. "I heard you talking to Arina after dinner. You think you're going to die?"
"Luka," I trailed off. Should I tell him about the last line of the prophecy? I really trusted him. "I lied to you guys about the prophecy. Do you remember it?" He nodded. "Well, the last line was actually 'One of which you will lose to a liar.' And I'm dying as we speak. It just makes sense. The liar could be anyone. I just pray that it isn't one of us six."
"You're not going to die," Luka whispered.
"I am, what part of that do you not understand?!" I yelled, pulling away from him. "Levi can't keep his magic for very long, Jase can't even heal me, and we can't do anything about it!"
"If you think that I'm going to let you die, then," Luka stopped abruptly, looking away from me. "If you think that we're going to let you die, then you don't know us."
I just stared at him, contemplating what to say. Would a 'thank you' be too awkward? Should I mention how absolutely gorgeous he looked in the moonlight filtering through the curtains? No, probably not. Actually, that's a really bad idea.
He looked back over to me, his amber eyes practically glowing. Does he know how freakin' gorgeous his eyes are They looked like fire. The outer ring of his iris was a burnt charcoal, which blended into a deep reddish color, which faded into a beautiful orange. Then, around his pupil, was a small line of blue, like the color you'd see at the very bottom of a fire. Absolutely stunning.
His eyes searched mine, before he cautiously reached out and tucked a loose strand of blonde hair behind my ear. His eyes flickered down to my lips, before looking back up to my eyes. He leaned in slowly, his eyes never once leaving mine. We were centimeters away, at most, when the door opened.
"Are you guys okay? I heard yelling," Aidan said, Luka and I breaking apart.
"Dammit, Aidan," I whispered.
---
"Well, I hope you guys enjoyed your stay," Arina said, smiling brightly. She turned to me. "And good luck on your quest."
"Thanks, Arina. Have a good day," Layla waved, a smile adorning her face. We walked away from the cabin.
"So...does anyone actually know what we're looking for?" Jase asked.
"The curser, I guess?" I mumbled, shrugging my shoulders.
"I guess we'll know at the right time," Levi said, looking around. "I've never actually been in a rainforest before."
"I was born in Brazil," Layla admitted, smiling slightly.
"Really?" I asked. She nodded.
'A girl from a distant land.'
Everything was falling into place.
And I don't even know if I'm going to make it out of this rainforest.
(A/N: I'm just warning you now: nothing from here to maybe the last chapter is happy. It gets real dark, real fast. So...on a different note
Eluka is totally my OTP ok wow.
I can't help it, okay? My ship senses tingle when I write.
*a single man tear slips down cheek*
My OTP)
YOU ARE READING
Together We Stand
Adventure[currently rewriting] Elidi Rosen's demigod life is not as grand as most would think. Being the daughter of a god was dangerous. Once taken to a safe haven for demigods, she finds out she isn't safe at all. The place is susceptible to betrayal. Y...
