Born To Die

I bathe in the river styx

Luke and I sat on the hotel bed, a map of ancient Greece spread between us. His expression was tight with determination, his eyes darting back and forth between the pages of a tattered old book he'd picked up during one of our earlier escapades. My head throbbed from the weight of what we'd just learned: bathing in the River Styx required a blessing from a parent—specifically, one of divine blood.

It was already a hard sell to go back to May for Luke's blessing. She wasn't exactly stable, and the idea of convincing her to play a pivotal role in a literal godly ritual felt more like a gamble than a plan. But for me? For me, it seemed impossible.

"I'll do it," Luke said, breaking the silence. His voice was steady, confident, like he was stating a fact.

"Do what?" I asked, though I could already see the wheels turning in his head.

"I'll get my mom to give me her blessing. Somehow." His fingers traced the lines of the Styx on the map. "I need to do this, Isla. If we're going to survive what's coming, we both need to. I want you to bathe in the Styx, too."

I stared at him, my heart sinking. "Luke, you know that's not possible. I don't have anyone who can give me a blessing. My dad's dead. Aphrodite—" I shook my head. "She's not exactly the kind of goddess who hands out favors, especially not for this."

Luke's jaw tightened, but he didn't argue. I could see the frustration bubbling just beneath the surface.

"There has to be a way," he said after a moment, his voice quieter now. "If I can do this, I want you to do it too. I'm not going to be the only one with this kind of power while you're still vulnerable. We're in this together."

I reached for his hand, squeezing it gently. "I appreciate that, but we need to be realistic. If I can't get a blessing, we'll figure out another way to keep me safe."

"No." His grip on my hand tightened. "We're going to figure this out."

Going Back to May

Convincing May to give her blessing wasn't as difficult as I expected. Once we explained what the Styx would do—make Luke nearly invincible—her scattered mind seemed to latch onto the idea with surprising clarity.

"You'll be a hero," she said, her eyes wide and gleaming. "Just like your father always said you'd be."

Luke didn't respond to her mention of Hermes, but I could see the way his shoulders tensed. He knelt before her, taking her hands in his.

"Mom," he said softly, "I need your blessing. Just this once. Can you do that for me?"

May smiled, a fleeting moment of lucidity breaking through her usual haze. "Of course, sweetheart. You've always had my blessing."

With that, a faint glow spread from her hands to Luke's chest, warm and fleeting, like the last rays of sunlight before nightfall.

Finding My Father

Afterward, we sat in silence, the enormity of the next step weighing on us. Luke had what he needed, but I still didn't have a solution. I felt like dead weight, holding him back.

"There has to be someone in the Underworld who can help us," Luke said, pacing the room. "Minos, maybe. He's a king  of the dead, right? He'd know how to find your father's spirit."

The idea was so absurd that I almost laughed. Almost. "You think Minos is just going to help us? He's not exactly a friendly figure in history, Luke."

"Then we make him an ally," he said, his tone resolute. "If he's a king, he'll want to hear us out. We offer him something in return."