At the End of the Road
2. Luke & Silena : then this is goodbye
He hears footsteps behind him—almost matching his own, but not quite. Luke turns around.
"Hi," Silena Beauregard says simply. Her eyes are bright and sparkling with life, and her face is flawless and perfect like it always used to be. She looks nothing like the Aphrodite girl who died pretending to be Clarisse, who died leading the entire Ares cabin into battle against a drakon.
She's beautiful, Luke thinks.
"I wanted to talk to you. Charlie told me he saw you earlier."
Luke doesn't know what to say. He knows what he should say, of course. After all he has done this life—to her and everyone else—an apology is definitely needed. But even though he does regret some of the sins he's committed, he still isn't quite ready to apologize to those he hurt face-to-face.
"I wanted to tell you that… in the end, we weren't so different," Silena whispers suddenly, breaking out of his thoughts. "Traitors, turned heroes." She gives a small, sad smile.
"But—" Luke starts to say.
The daughter of Aphrodite shakes her head mutely, silencing him. "This is the end for us, Luke. You're going to the River Lethe; you're going to be reborn. I'm staying here."
She glances over her shoulder anxiously, as if worried someone is watching.
"If we had more time, perhaps..." Silena trails off. "So this is it, then. Goodbye, Luke. I hope you live your second life the way you want to."
With that, she walks away, head bowed.
Luke stares at her for a few moments before he breaks into a run. "Silena, wait!" he calls desperately. There is so much he has to say; he can't allow her to go so soon.
But the traitor-turned-hero daughter of Aphrodite is gone and Luke knows he can spend days searching for her and still not find her.
He slows and glances one more time into the heart of Elysium. This time, he does not have to say anything.
A/N: This one's a companion to the first drabble. Feedback and concrit is appreciated!