Thalia slipped silently away from the rest of the hunters of Artemis to a nearby lake. It was dark outside, and the moon was bright. She pulled a drachma from her pocket. She looked around quickly before splashing the water to make a rainbow. She threw the drachma in.
"Oh Goddess, accept my offering." Thalia whispered into the night. "Luke Castellan, in the underworld."
The rainbow warped into the image of Luke, napping under a tree.
"Luke!" Thalia hissed. "Wake up!"
Luke jolted upright, looking at Thalia groggily.
"Thalia?" He asked uncertainly.
"It's me." She whispered, smiling, glad he recognized her.
"Why are you calling me?" He asked, somewhat grumpily.
Thalia's eagerness faded. "I thought you'd be glad to see me. I missed you." She said, crestfallen.
"You still think that we have what we used to?" Luke asked disbelievingly. "Isn't that why you joined the hunters?" There was venom in that last question.
"I just hoped…" Thalia trailed off.
"Well, Thals, I almost had everything. I could have been ruler of the universe. There isn't a day down here when I don't think of what I gave up. You could have been my queen if you wanted, but it's over now. Done." His words were harsh, and when he said her nickname he said it with distaste, like she was some kind of disease.
Thalia just sat there for a minute. Hurt, not knowing what to say.
Finally she said quietly, "This was a mistake." Her voice was cold and hollow. "I'm sorry I tried to believe you had changed." With that she slashed her hand through the image, disconnecting the call, leaving Luke sitting there, regretting everything he'd just said, and knowing that she'd never call again.
