First Lie || Deception Book I ||

Mission

Luke's POV

When I opened my eyes, I was met with a familiar black cavern. The whispering of the restless dead crept through my mind and the faint firelight flickering from the pit in the cavern illuminating the walls in a sluggish blood tint. 

I shrugged off any sense of uneasiness that I was met with every time he summoned me and walked out the mouth of the tunnel towards the pit. 

"My lord," I greeted, kneeling. "Why have you summoned me today?" 

A cold breath of air escaped from the cavern, chilling the cave and my soul with it. 

"I believe that you have news to report," he said, his cold voice echoing through the cave. 

I kept my head bowed as I said, "Yes, I do. Percy Jackson has arrived at camp. He was claimed tonight, and he is indeed the son of the  Sea God." 

A faint hiss issued from the cavern and grew louder until it became a raspy laugh. I blinked in confusion, standing up and taking a step back. 

Kronos snorted. "No, I know that already. I'm referring to the other news." 

I blinked again. Did he mean Rianna? What did she have anything to do with this? 

"Luke?" Kronos prompted, his voice growing dangerously icy. "I'm not a very patient immortal."

"My lord, if you are referring to the two girls that Percy arrived with, then yes. One of them was claimed by Hecate tonight. The other is unclaimed, but she has impressive control over plants and vines, and I believe that she is a daughter of Dionysus." 

"I see," Kronos murmured. "Yes. I know of both girls who arrived with Percy. One of them indeed has the aura of a spawn of the wine god. The other, however, I cannot see." 

"What?" I blurted. "My lord," I added, "if you don't mind me asking, what do you mean you cannot see her aura?" 

"I meant just what I said," Kronos said. "Her aura is hidden from me. But you have just told me that she is a child of Hecate. Interesting," he murmured softly. 

What? How could Ri's aura be hidden from Kronos? Was it because she was a daughter of Hecate and had the Mist to shield her? But Kronos was Kronos, the Titan of Time and the father of the gods. 

"It could just be the mist," Kronos mused, startling me out of my thoughts. "But I've never encountered a child of Hecate who could shield their presence from me. Except..." 

"Except what, my lord?" I asked. 

"No, nothing," Kronos replied abruptly. "It's nothing. However, because I cannot see her, it falls upon you to keep a close eye on her." 

"Do you suspect that she is more than she seems?" I asked warily. Could Rianna be more than she seemed? After all, she'd arrived at camp with Percy and already knew Chiron. That wasn't just a coincidence, was it?

However, I couldn't detect any lies from her or anything off. She seemed like a regular demigod who'd been lost and alone. 

Seventeen, I reminded myself. She's seventeen. Seventeen was a long time for a demigod to survive out in the world, especially those with a strong aura. Children of Hecate were children of a minor god, but Hecate was still one of the more prominent ones and, from what I'd seen so far, Ri was stronger than your average child of Hecate. Her aura must be quite strong, though likely not as strong as Percy's, but seventeen years was still a long time. 

She's also the strongest demigod at camp right now though, I thought. So it's not impossible. Especially if she has that wolf and pegasus with her. 

"It's still too early for me to see yet," Kronos said. "But I do not believe so. Judging from your reaction, I do not think she is something more than just a child of Hecate. But I'm still giving you the task of getting closer to her. Keep an eye on her movements and report back to me and while you're at it, get an understanding of where she stands in the war and recruit her to our side. Understood?"

I nodded, bowing. "Yes, my lord. I will not fail this time." 

"Good," Kronos replied coldly. "You may leave." 

I closed my eyes, feeling the grip Kronos had on me dissipate, and I woke up to the early darkness in my cabin. It must be around five, I thought, sitting up in my bunk and yawning. Unbidden, my gaze strayed towards Ri, who was still sleeping. 

I sighed. It shouldn't be hard at all for me to get closer to her, but that wasn't what was bothering me. It was the guilt that, even now, had not gone away. Guilt for summoning the hellhounds that had attacked her, Ally, and Percy. Ri had not been my intended target and had only happened to be in the way, but I felt an unusual amount of guilt. Why did I feel guilt? Was it because I could sympathize with her past? I also recalled the terror I'd felt, even if it was just a split second when I'd seen that hellhound leaping for her. Why? Could it be that I actually cared for her? 

No way, I thought, pushing that thought aside. You just want to make sure that a possible ally doesn't get harmed. That's all. 

Just focus on getting closer to her, I reminded myself. That's all you have to do. 

I sighed, running my hands through my hair. There was no way I'd be able to get any more sleep. My eyes strayed back to Ri's sleeping figure. I was and I did want to find out more about her past and who she was, and if I wanted to do that, I'd have to play this game right. Something told me that Ri would be more difficult than the rest, but I knew I would be able to do this. 

The sun slowly rose, the lightening sky casting a soft glow on her sleeping figure. As the light fell upon her blond hair, turning it to strands of gold, illuminating her, Ri looked almost like a goddess. I stared at her for a moment before tearing myself away. What are you doing? I scolded myself. She's going to wake up any minute now. Hastily throwing my covers back, I changed and quickly left the cabin. 

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