Bewitched || P. Jackson

ℝeady or not

Nicki slept quite soundly, considering Ethan's heavy snoring less than an inch away. The boy's arm was tossed haphazardly around Nicki as she rested her head on his chest.

Thoughts nibbled away at her sleeping mind like cartoon mice at a block of cheese. Her dreams of pegasus rides and laughter floated around her.

Luke —Kronos— whipped through her mind. His now golden eyes stared back at her, blood trickling out of the corner of his mouth, just like it had when Luke lay on the floor. His eyes twitched the same way they had as he lay there.

Nicki's eyes shot open. She was too scared to move. Her room was coated in inky blackness. For a moment, she panicked. Golden eyes burned into her vision.

Ethan shifted in his sleep under her. He muttered something about a penguin.

Nicki immediately relaxed.

She curled closer to the black-haired boy. Ethan subconsciously tightened his grip around the girl.

Nicki didn't know what time it was or how long she had slept for. She did know her entire body ached but she no longer felt like she had a fever.

Both teenagers were still dressed in the clothes they had been wearing when Kronos took Luke's body. Nicki took in what she had been changed into for the first time.

She was wearing black athletic leggings with fluffy socks, and her aviator jacket. The hoodie she was wearing wasn't one of hers. It was a hoodie she'd seen Luke wear on a handful of occasions.

Her heart ached. Luke's soft smile appeared in her mind's eye. Part of her knew that Luke was using her to fill the void Annabeth left when she refused to run away with him at the start of the summer.

Part of her didn't care. Part of her just wanted to pretend she had a normal life when she was with her uncle. A summer spent with family. She just wanted to be normal.

A heavy knocking on the door disrupted Nicki.

"Ethan?" Nicki shook the boy. Ethan mumbled something in his sleep and swatted Nicki away. "Ethan!"

"If you're still breathing, bother me later."

There was a bang on the door. Nicki flinched. Ethan tightened his grip around the girl and sat up.

Ethan cleared his throat, running a hand through his messy bed hair. "Who is it?"

"I do not like to be kept waiting." The voice was like gravel scraping on a sidewalk.

"Nic, get the door."

Nicki shook her head. Her entire body was frozen in terror. Her mind reeled through the events of the main hall.

Ethan cursed under his breath and scrambled to his feet. He pulled Nicki to her feet behind him and yanked the door open.

The titan stood before them. Nicki's gaze dropped to the floor as she felt bile rise in her throat.

"The son of Hades," Kronos sneered, peering at the two demigods. "Did you know?"

Nicki shook her head stiffly. She hummed out a no sound, her throat closing up by the second.

"I will ask you again. Did you know about the son of Hades?" Nicki shook her head again. "DO NOT LIE TO ME!" Kronos bellowed.

Nicki recoiled at the titan's volume. Ethan gripped Nicki's hand protectively.

"Luke trusted her. She's his second-in-command."

Luke's body smiled crookedly. "Was."