Last Shadow || Deception Book III

Chapter 23

Clarianna

The stars were quiet tonight, their light hidden beneath thin wisps of cloud that hung in the night sky. I stared up at them, my mind drifting towards the faint memories that clung in the corners of my mind like the echoes of morning mist—the memories of previous times I'd seen the stars, when Luke had been at my side. I wondered if he was still there. If he was aware of his surroundings, if he had conscious thought, if he knew that I'd betrayed him. A dull ache speared through my chest. Did he think that the whole thing was a lie? That I didn't care about him at all?

I hope he knew, that he could see, how it'd been genuine. That we'd been real.

I squeezed my eyes shut, letting the whisper of the leaves around me in the trees slowly coax my thoughts away from Luke. I could swear that the rustling sound of the trees could have passed for the ship's murmuring halls, the footsteps of my family and friends. Alabaster, Nicole, and Alex. They had each other, but I still worried. Alabaster and Nicole should now be the leader of the demigods, which meant that they were in direct communication with Kronos.

"What are you thinking about?" Nico asked, emerging from the sparse undergrowth. "You seem very concerned."

I sighed, pushing myself up from where I was sitting against a tree. "It's nothing. Let's go," I added before Nico could press any further.

"Okay, if you insist," Nico replied. "Where to first?"

"The Underworld would be as good of a place to start as any," I suggested. "Maybe Hades has some pointers?"

Nico's brows twitched together at the sound of Hades' name, but he nodded. "Luke and Kronos, right? That's what you're investigating?"

I nodded, feeling the dull throb in my chest at his name again. "Yeah. I keep thinking about that meeting we had at the Big House, and I just..I feel like it's not all there. My memories. Of him, but also...myself."

"What?"

"Remember when I said that the reason I was down in the labyrinth was because of the prophecy?"

Nico nodded. "I remember. Was that not the whole story?"

I shook my head. "Athena also told me that my mother and Hades pruned my memories as Zeus commanded. I want them back."

"Wait, what? Athena told you this? And...you mean....they just...what?" He stared at me in disbelief. "Isn't that like, literal brainwashing?"

I stifled a snort. "Yeah, she pulled me aside last solstice and info-dumped all of it on me. And yeah, I suppose that's brainwashing."

"So..."

"None of the memories I have are implanted," I supplied, guessing where his train of thought was going. "I'm not living in a matrix or whatever. No induced dreams, that kind of science fiction. But...missing memories. They're kinda important, I think."

"You don't think the one about Luke was stolen too, do you?" Nico questioned, his eyes wide as he grappled with the information I'd just given him.

"By the gods? Nah," I replied, staring at the trees thoughtfully. "That wouldn't make any sense. But the Lethe isn't the only thing that can remove or seal a person's memories. Either way, I have questions, and Hades should have the answers."

Nico nodded, his eyes distant. He looked like he was lost in thought, which, honestly, given what I'd just dropped on him, made perfect sense. A brief moment passed, but then he shook his head and glanced at me. "You wanna do the honours or should I?"

I pushed my own questions to the back of my mind and smiled slightly, whistling a sharp tone. "She's got it."

A wall of white fur bundled into the clearing from the surrounding darkness, and Nico yelped slightly as Avalanche bowled him over in a very enthusiastic greeting. "Hey, hey," I laughed, gently pushing her off Nico. "Where's my greeting?"