✓ | 𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗿𝘂𝘀 𝗳𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘀, luke castellan

ꜱɪxᴛʏ-ꜰᴏᴜʀ

Wings of Ambition.

🧶

    Rory lingered at the back of the group, her feet scuffing against the rough stone floor as they descended once more into the labyrinth’s dark, twisting corridors. She kept her head low, her arms crossed tightly over her chest, as if that could shield her from the memories clawing at the edges of her mind. This was the last place she wanted to be, especially after last time. The labyrinth had a way of exposing vulnerabilities, of turning fear and guilt into something tangible. And Rory had plenty of both.

    Unfortunately, orders were orders. As much as she wanted to turn around and never look back, she didn’t have a choice. She’d been roped into this mission like everyone else.

    Luke was at the front, his voice sharp and commanding as he barked terse instructions. His tone left no room for hesitation, no room for questioning. The others followed without protest, their trust—or perhaps their fear—evident in their obedience. Rory kept her distance, staying as far away from him as she could without breaking formation. She’d been avoiding him again, although she supposed she’d never really stopped.

    But now, it was harder. No matter how much distance she put between them, no matter how desperately she tried to focus on anything else, she couldn’t stop herself from thinking about it. That heartbeat. Thrumming under her fingers like a fragile, treacherous secret. The memory played on a loop in her mind, haunting her. It was the sound of life, achingly human and vulnerable, beating in defiance of the invincible armor the Styx had given him. And it was a sound she could never unhear.

    Why had he shown her his Achilles’ heel?

    She hadn’t wanted to know. She still didn’t want to know. The knowledge was a weight she hadn’t asked to carry, a burden she hadn’t agreed to bear.

    Her fingers twitched at her sides as the questions gnawed at her. Why had Luke entrusted her with something so dangerous, so profoundly personal? He had claimed he trusted her. But trusted her to do what? To protect him? To guard the secret with her life? Or had it been something darker, something she couldn’t bring herself to say aloud? Did he expect her to be the one to end it, to finish what they had started if the time ever came?

    If Luke really loved her, would he have done this? Would he have put her in this impossible position, forcing her to carry a truth she never wanted? Forcing her to see the boy she cared for as both invincible and so unbearably breakable?

    Frankly, Rory couldn’t care less if they were all ripped to shreds in the labyrinth, just like her last group. Gods, she might even prefer that. At least then it would all be over. Hopefully, this time she would die with them.

    Their goal this time, however, was more focused. No more aimless wandering through the maze, hoping to stumble upon Camp Half-Blood’s entrance by some miracle. No more pretending they had a chance of outsmarting the labyrinth’s twists and traps without a plan. This time, they had a clear objective.

    Daedalus or Minos.

    It didn’t matter which one they found first, just as long as they found one of them. Daedalus, the architect of this cursed maze, the man who had cheated death for centuries. What could they possibly offer him, a man so obsessed with power and control that he had hidden himself away in his own creation? It was a question they didn’t have a solid answer to, but they were counting on his desperation. No one lived that long without collecting regrets, without carrying some secret hunger they would bargain to satisfy. Surely, they could promise him something shallow yet enticing enough to make him give up Ariadne’s String.