Silena flopped down on her bed in cabin 10 with worry weighing on her heart. They had just gotten news of the whereabouts of the Princess Andromeda. Tomorrow Charlie and Percy would attempt to destroy it, with any luck, they'd damage Luke's plans for the war significantly. What the others didn't – couldn't – know was that she would be telling Luke everything as soon as the others went off to breakfast in the morning, thereby harming their mission.
"But Charlie will be safe," she whispered to herself. As long as Charlie didn't get hurt, she would be all right. She was doing this for them, and that could sort-of justify her actions. It hadn't always been for Charlie, but now she was in over her head and had added him to her excuses. She knew she was doing wrong, but she couldn't get out of it. She felt like a drug addict.
Needing to escape her melancholy thoughts, she decided to focus instead on their day together. He had taken her out into the woods to this little grove he'd stumbled across a few weeks back. It was simple, but it was sweet. They'd had a picnic like in those corny romance movies she loved, then they'd wandered back to the creek and just talked for a while. About the upcoming war, about their barely-there training, about their childhood memories, and most devastatingly, about his missions. He'd kissed her and told her that all the others had gone just fine, this one was the same level of dangerous, just different. If everything went according to plan they'd catch Luke by surprise and be just fine. She shouldn't worry. He even explained to her exactly what his plan was for the next day, in detail. She'd have to tell Luke all of it, of course. The son of Hermes would be able to spot it if she lied, and she didn't want to upset him or he could call off their arrangement, making all her sacrifice be for nothing.
Oh but mistaking her conflicting emotions for pure, innocent worry, Charlie had kissed her again, promising that as long as she waited for him, he'd come back. She shook off her doubt, then smiled and leaned into his side. Gradually, they returned to cheerier topics such as college, but in the back of her mind, Silena was screaming to herself that it was all so wrong.
After a few hours, the sunlight filtering through the trees faded, and the sky went from blue to pink. She and Charlie walked back towards their cabins hand-in-hand, him telling her some lame joke that she couldn't really focus on properly.
Finally, they'd reached her cabin, and Charlie turned to face her. "Don't worry, Sil, I'll see you tomorrow night, okay?" he said, tilting her chin gently so he could kiss her goodnight. She nodded, praying to all the gods that he hadn't just jinxed himself.
"I'll see you tomorrow," Silena responded, fiddling with her scythe charm absentmindedly. Then, she had turned and walked into her cabin, and there she lay. The worry she felt was normal, she told herself. It would go away when he came back alive, and he would. With that last false reassurance, she fell into an uneasy sleep, cursing herself for feeling so powerless.
