Everyday Luke, Annabeth and Thalia got closer to something. They didn't know what there was to get closer to, but something, intuition or gut feeling, told them that things were going to get better sometime soon. Monsters, which typically followed the trio very closely, seemed to be less attracted to them. Maybe it was to do with the cities they were in or maybe Thalia and Luke had killed enough to make an impression. The three demigods hadn't ever had defense or fighting training, but their skill with the celestial bronze weapons improved every day. Luke's sword skills were outstanding and Thalia became a better defender every time she and Luke trained together. Her father had given her a magic shield, one bearing the bronze head of medusa, to ward off monsters – the gorgon's eyes turned men to stone. Thalia's shield was her main weapon and her use of hunting knives over swords amused Luke. He preferred to attack and find his opponents weakness but Thalia's method of wearing her opponent out worked too.
Annabeth watched her friends when they trained and looked for tips, or useful tactics. She knew she was too young, and no match for either of them, but she hoped one day she would be. Annabeth aspired to be like Thalia; to be as smart as her, as strong as her, as fierce as her. She also needed reassurance that somebody loved her. She saw the way Luke and Thalia looked at each other, and even during combat they got very close to each other. She knew neither was admitting their feelings for the other because she was there. She often wondered what would happen if she wasn't.
Four nights ago, Luke had left their campsite and Thalia had gone mental. She was destressed, panicking and in pain. She would've gone after him if Annabeth hadn't been there. She was getting ready to find him and everything. She was leaving when she saw Annabeth sitting by the fire. She would've left if she hadn't noticed Annabeth.
Luke came back, unscathed the next day. Thalia had flown into a rage, cursing Luke in all the names of the gods. He had been petrified - the strong, teenage boy was scared out of his wits. Thalia had the affect on a few people, even more when she was angry or in the heat of battle.
That night Thalia wasn't talking to Luke. He looked at her occasionally from across the fire. Thalia's eyes showed nothing but the spark of her father and the stone hard anger she felt towards her much loved friend. When it came down to Thalia, the electricity and her anger came hand in hand. One fueled the other and one lasted until the other wore off.
When Annabeth was drifiting off to sleep she noticed Luke talking. Thalia raised her eyebrows at something he said but otherwise made no comment. The last thing Annabeth heard before being claimed by the sleepy grasp of Hypnos was Thalia's voice, "You scared me, Luke! I didn't know what happened to you! You could've died and I wouldn't have known! Can you see why I was so angry, Luke?!" Luke had only nodded and looked down at his feet. He pretended to be looking side on at Thalia but subtly glanced over his shoulder to see if Annabeth was sleeping.
Once he was sure she was, he leaned back and touched Thalia's hand gently. She didn't shy away from his touch, but left her hand where it was, comfortable with Luke. "I'm sorry, for everything. I would never want any harm to come to you, Thals. I love you too much for that to happen."
Thalia simply said, "I love you too, Luke Castellan."