Aletheia━𝐢.( PJO/HP )

𝐱𝐱𝐯𝐢. ABANDONMENT

▬▬▬ CHAPTER TWENTY SIX ▬▬▬

A LOUD WAIL WAS HEARD from the Big House followed by the all the windows magically shattering. The Stoll brothers and Ethan all jumped away from the falling glass while Chiron merely flinched. Tantalus blinked in surprise and Dionysus rolled his eyes and left the room.
       
"They're gone, they're gone! I woke up and they were gone!" Esmerelda sobbed loudly into her hands. "They wouldn't join him, would they?! Chiron, what do I do?! I checked everywhere! They're all gone!"
       
"I'm sorry, child," Chiron said regretfully. "But if they did decide to side with Luke in this war then... there is nothing else that can be done."
       
She shook her head furiously. "No, no, no, I-I... I-I have to get them back!" She decided.
       
That was met with many disagreements.
       
"Too dangerous." Ethan shook his head.
       
"That's not a good idea," Travis said hastily.
       
"Are you crazy?!" Connor gaped at her.
       
"Ethan and Travis are right, Esmerelda," Chiron told her, ignoring Connor's 'hey, what about me?'. "We don't know where they could be and as you've said before, you were unable to track them down even with your locator spell. Someone powerful must be hiding them, meaning they've already reached Luke's army."
      
Esmerelda shook her head feebly. "T-they might not have joined him..." She argued weakly.
      
The Stolls and Chiron gave her a pitying stare while Ethan could no longer bear to look at her broken expression.
       
"I'm sorry, Esmerelda," Chiron told her gently. "But Hecate has been unresponsive on Olympus for quite some time now. They're already suspecting her of siding with the Titans, she is one of them after all. And if that is true, then she or the Titan Lord must have reached out to the rest of your siblings and persuaded them to join her."
       
"How would they even—" Travis began to ask, but stopped, his eyes widening in realization. "Dreams."
       
Chiron nodded grimly. "Lord Ares admitted—albeit accidentally—to Percy that he had been receiving dreams from Kronos.  I'm sure that's how he managed to get Luke and the other demigods to join his cause."
       
Connor paled. "Wait, so all the missing campers—Chris, Essie's siblings, and the unclaimed kids—they've all been getting dreams from him? That's why they've been looking like the walking dead lately?! I-I thought it was just from border patrol duty, n-not that!"
       
"And they've all gone to him?" Travis questioned. "It's really true?!"
      
"It's the most likely explanation," he answered. He then turned to Esmerelda, whose sobs have quieted down to hiccups. "Esmerelda, please tell me the truth: have you been receiving any dreams from Kronos lately?"
       
She opened her mouth to say 'no', but something terrible dawned on her. She had been dreaming of him, for three years now, she just hadn't realized it until now. That evil voice she kept hearing, the 'army' he talked about. It was Kronos. He wanted her to come to him, and now her siblings were apart of his army.
       
She was so stupid. This whole time... and it was him.
      
The color drained from her face. "Y-yes..." She shakily admitted. "Ev-ever since I ca-came to camp he's been talking to me...! But—but I didn't realize it until now—!"
       
"—AHAH!" Tantalus suddenly cried out, pointing accusingly at her. "So she admits it! We have a traitor in our midst, Chiron, I suggest we throw her into Tartarus!"
       
"W-what...?!" Esmerelda stepped back fearfully.
       
"Excuse me?!" Ethan roared.
       
"Shut up!" Travis glared at him.
       
"Here's a better idea: why don't you go back to Tartarus instead?" Connor suggested snidely.
       
Esmerelda turned to Chiron, looking close to bursting into another round of tears again. "I-I'm not—I swear I'm not—I'm not—! Please don't throw me there!"
       
Chiron placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Take deep breaths, Esmerelda, nobody is throwing you into Tartarus." He assured her before shooting a pointed look at Tantalus. The dead man grumbled profanity under his breath before stomping out of the Big House like a child who didn't get what he wanted.
       
"You must listen to me, Esmerelda," Chiron murmured, giving her a look of utmost seriousness. "You must never believe what the Titan Lord promises you. He is a very persuasive man, but all his promises are empty."
      
Ethan balled his fists at hearing that.
      
"He doesn't promise me anything," she whispered, tears welling up in her eyes. "He just tells me to join him, says that we'll be to-together soon." She choked out. She shook her head furiously, "I don't want to join him, Chiron, I swear I don't!"
       
"I believe you, child, I do." Chiron said gently.
       
"Yeah, so do we!" Travis chimed in, giving her a comforting grin.
       
Connor nodded in agreement. "Yeah, joining the Titan Lord would be suicide! Everyone knows that!"
       
Her face started to crumble and the boys winced, knowing Connor had said something wrong.
       
"Oh, my siblings," she moaned in despair. "He's hurting them, isn't he?! Chiron, please, please, you have to let me get them back! They—they're not safe!"