"Wake up, sleepy head," someone's talking straight into my ear. I mumble something incoherent and open my eyes to see none other than Luke Castellan staring me in the face.

My hope that yesterday was just a dream is shattered.

And he's also way too close to my face for comfort… then I notice he doesn't have a shirt on.

I roll my eyes, "Well isn't waking up to your face the best way to start off a day…"

He chuckles and walks away. The smell of food catches my attention as he says, "That reminds me; you'll be coming with me today. We have some things to attend to."

With a sigh I push myself up off the couch and walk into the kitchen. He looks up from the counter and blinks. "I take it you didn't get a good night's sleep…"

I narrow my eyes at him and sit down at a stool. Suddenly I remember… he saw me breakdown last night. I can't believe I let him see me like that.

"It's only going to get worse, Dara." He puts an assortment of food on two plates and walks over, setting one in front of me. One plate is already on the other side of the island, so he lingers next to me. I feel him brush away a stray hair and tuck it behind my ear. Turning my head, I look up at him. He stares at me. "They weren't going to let you see your mother, were they?"

I blink and stare at him; stunned. "H—How did you…"

He smirks. "I have my ways…" Walking around the island, he sits down across from me and says, "You might want to eat something."

We ate in silence for the most part, except for small conversations—or more like bickering—when he tried to convince me that pledging myself was a good idea.

"For the last time, Luke, no. I can't." I sigh as he gets ready for the day and I realize I have nothing to wear. "Well maybe if you gave me pants I'd think about it," I mumble.

He hears me.

"I have more than enough extra stuff in here for you to wear," he says with a smirk. I eye him suspiciously and follow him into his walk-in closet. There's a section in the back with plenty of clothes that will fit me. Though, most of the tops are extras of his old ones…

It's almost like…

"What were you? Planning for my arrival?"

"Yes," he says without skipping a beat.

I roll my eyes before picking out a pair of black Soffee shorts and one of his old blue plaid button-ups. When I turn around to head towards the bathroom to get dressed I realize he's already in there. So, I quickly change into the shorts. However, just as I'm taking the camisole off and pulling the plaid shirt on he walks through the door. I let out a slight gasp of surprise and turn away from him, struggling to do the buttons.

"Calm yourself, Adara. It's not like I haven't seen any girl naked before."

My eyes pop open a little bit at that statement. Doing the last button and starting to tie a knot to make it fit better, I turn around to face him.

"You're kidding me, right?" I ask. Sure, I mean, he's hot but… are the girls on this ship really that into him?

He chuckles. "No. Come on, Dara you know me. I'd never lie about something like that." His eyes scan over me. "By the way, you do look pretty hot in my shirt."

I scoff and roll my eyes, grabbing a pair of flip flops on my way out. Minutes later he's pulling me by my arm down the hallway.

"Exactly what business are we attending to today?" I ask him, catching up to his fast pace of walking.

"You'll see," he says simply.

And so, for the rest of the day I get tugged around like a puppy on a leash by him. He takes me to where Krios is searching for an entrance to the Labyrinth. Apparently, they've been acting up so there are no specific locations anymore. The war is upsetting my father's creation.

Then, we meet with Hyperion, who is taking care of the army. They're practicing when Luke and I walk into the gym and exercise area of the ship. An arrow goes flying past Luke's head and we quickly leave.

Then, he drags me to another suite where Jesse, Eric and Ethan have set up shop. They've become Luke's eyes and ears.

When they see him pulling me through the doorway they do what I thought they would do.

"Damn, got a pretty good hold on her, don't you, Luke?" Jesse chuckles, looking up from his paperwork. A can of beer sits on his desk, un-opened. I know that won't last long.

Eric chimes in with, "So what's it like having that pretty little thing waiting in your bed for you?"

I scoff. "First of all, I am not a thing," I hiss. "Second of all—."

"Second of all, she chose the couch," Luke says with a light laugh. "So… what do you guys have for me today?"

After some long discussions it's almost lunchtime. We eat with them (against my will). And before I can even let my mind catch up with my body it's almost six in the evening. We had dinner and now he's dragging me back to the admiralty suite for some odd reason… probably to freak me out with the coffin again…

I hear crying as we round the corner. I see the door come into view and hear Hyperion and Krios talking. I know their voices; their very distinctive booming voices. Then Luke opens the door… and my heart drops into my stomach.

My mom is tied down to a chair, battered and bruised beyond belief.

I almost drop to my knees in surrender right then and there.

"Mom."

I go to rush towards her but Luke's strong arm catches my waist and pulls me back against his chest. I gasp and beg him, "Please, please, Luke don't hurt her."

"That's really not up to me anymore." His deep voice in my ear combined with his breath on my neck makes me shudder.

I look to Hyperion. "Please just don't hurt her," I plead, tears rimming my eyes. I know I shouldn't show my weakness but…

I already know your weaknesses, Adara… Kronos' voice echoes in my head. I shiver and stifle a cry, resisting Luke—or at least trying to. But he proves to be far too strong for me.

"If you want to see your mother live, Adara," Hyperion says coldly, "I suggest you pledge yourself." He motions towards the kneeling space before the golden coffin. I stare at it with wide eyes. My heart beats faster with each passing moment.

"Dara, don't do it!" My mother says suddenly. "I'm not important! This is about the fate of camp! The fate of the w—." Krios cuts her off by tying a rag around her mouth. She stares at me as I panic, shaking her head. She keeps shaking her head 'no'.

I try desperately to get away from Luke's grasp as Hyperion holds his sword to her throat. "I will not hesitate."

The tears leave my eyes, silently rolling down my cheeks. I feel Luke's grip on my tiny waist tighten.

"Adara, don't do this. You won't be able to forgive yourself," Luke says. I know he's right. That's why I cry even more. Such a sign of weakness. I want to slap myself senseless.

I see blood starting to trickle down my mother's neck. Hyperion is staring straight at me, pushing down harder and harder on the blade until…

"Please, stop!" I beg, near the edge of breaking down. "Please! I'll do it! Just stop!"

My mother shakes her head some more, staring at me with pleading eyes.

I just say, "I can't watch him kill you."

Hyperion grins a wicked grin as Luke guides me over to the casket. He kneels down with me and says, "Repeat what I say." I nod with tears still rolling down my face and he continues. "I pledge myself and my knowledge to the Titan Lord, Kronos. My lord, please accept my offering."

I repeat what he says and hear… I knew you would come to your senses, my dear. I will certainly accept your offering…

My eyes are closed, but I feel a tugging in my chest. When I open my eyes I see a mist of gold wafting through the air. It's drifting away from my body. And it keeps pulling and pulling until I think my lungs might pop out of my chest. Just as I grab at my chest the mist disappears into the casket. I realize I haven't been breathing and take a huge gasp of a breath. I inadvertently end up leaning into Luke. I feel weak; like some of my life had just gotten sucked out of me.

But I find enough strength to turn around and kneel next to my mother's chair. She stares down at me with tears cascading down her cheeks and over the rag.

"You can take the rag off, I did what you asked." Hyperion stares at me sympathetically for a moment before ripping the rag off and leaving the room with a smirk on his face. Krios follows him out after telling Jesse, Ethan and Eric, "Make sure she gets home safely."

"Mom," I say, my voice cracking.

"You shouldn't have done that," she says between sobs. "You shouldn't have done that."

I wrap my arms around her one last time and whisper, "I love you… and I'll make it through this. Don't worry. It's not your fault."

Luke pulls me away and I stumble out the door. I feel pathetic and weak. He goes to pick me up and I protest. "I can walk just fine," I say, a bit more tearful than I'd intended. I rub my cheeks furiously, trying to get the tears to stop. I see the door to his suite and walk out ahead of him, only to find it's locked.

He unlocks it and goes for my hand, but I pull away before he can grab it. All I want is some time to curl up into a ball and cry. But he won't have any of that.

As soon as I collapse onto the couch in a fit of sobs he's there, sitting next to me. I hide my face in my hands. I feel his hand go up my back and wrap around my waist. He tries to pull me back against his chest but I resist.

"Adara, please… I hate seeing you cry."

"Well you've done this to me!" I choke out while burying my head in my hands.

He leans forward and wraps an arm around me. His other hand catches a tear on my cheek, wiping it away. As sobs wrack my body and cause my shoulders to shudder he says, "Adara, listen to me. You'll be saving lives."

"And just how do you figure that, Luke?" I cry out, "That's a lie! I'll be sending you and your army to hold a massacre!"

He shushes me gently—in a way I've never heard him do before. Then he says, "Most of them will be granted mercy. I can promise you certain peoples' safety, though… like your mother and your half brother… even your step-dad."

"Screw the step-dad," I almost laugh. "Just my mother and Jake."

"That I can do," he says simply. His voice softens.

I calm my breathing down but find myself in the middle of a fit of hiccups. While I'm annoyed and bothered Luke is laughing.

"What are you laughing at?" I growl in between a hiccup. I'm still wiping the wetness from my face with a scowl.

He chuckles, "You have the cutest hiccup."

I take my hands away from my face and give him a look that can only say, 'what did you just say?'

My eyebrows quirk up in surprise. He grins. Then next thing I know he's leaning in towards me face and my brain is setting off alarm signals. He's trying to KISS YOU, Adara! Snap out of it!

I snap back to life and rear back, landing a swift slap across his cheek. With that, I push off the couch and walk towards the balcony, leaving him stunned behind me. Though it didn't nearly get rid of the anger boiling inside of my right now it did help a little bit. I knew it would.

"Nice backhand," he comments, walking out onto the balcony. I feel his hand make contact with the small of my back and arch against the railing; away from his touch.

But the situation enters a whole new level of insanity when he grabs my hips and turns me around. In the light of the setting sun his already tanned face glows with a seemingly angelic quality—the total opposite of his real self. His blue eyes twinkle with every slight movement he makes, locked with mine. I'm backed up against the railing and frozen out of either shock or fear. Part of me thinks he's going to throw me off the side like a true enemy would. The other side of me says he's… going to try it again.

That other side of me causes me to try and fight my way out of his arms. It only results in me being crush against the railing once more.

"Are you scared of me, Dara?" He asks with a smirk.

"No," I answer without hesitation.

He just laughs to himself, "So then why do you keep running away from me?"

Damnit. I have been. Such a cowardly thing. I did it last night and I did it two times today. Huge mistake on my part.

I bite back a bitter comment, knowing that smart-mouthing won't get me out of this predicament. Only my charm can help me slip out of his arms and lead me safely away from his lips…

"Why don't you just stay put for once and face your fear?" He asks in all seriousness.

My eyebrows furrow in confusion. "What fear?" I say cautiously.

"Of me kissing you," he says, "you're scared you'll like it."

My jaw drops. I must look like a gaping goldfish because he laughs again. I reply with, "Excuse me?"

"You heard me," he says, dipping down. He's mere centimeters away from my face. "If you're so brave why can't you kiss me without hesitation and walk away like nothing happened?"

Gods be damned he has a point. I'm more screwed than I thought.

The stare between us is only broken when he finally presses his lips against mine. At first I tense, grab hold of the railing behind me and cringe. But his hands on my waist; his soft lips on mine; his body pressing against me. It's so much to take in that I close my eyes and let my hands fall from the railing. Instead, I lift them to brace his chest. I grab hold of some extra fabric, thinking it will help my weakening knees and the quickened beating of my heart.

When my knees become unsteady and butterflies in my stomach spring from their cocoons, I realize… he's doing this to me.

Luke Castellan is making my knees weak. Luke Castellan is making my stomach do flips. Luke Castellan is kissing me.

When he deepens it, caressing my face with one hand, I almost drop to the ground. It's a good thing he has a strong hold on my waist. My nerves are going into a sensory overload. The feeling of his hand hugging my waist tightly to his own is enough to make my heart flutter.

He finally breaks away, staying inches from my face. I look up slowly into clear blue eyes that glimmer with a touch of mischief. He says, "A little wobbly, Dara?"

I realize I'm leaning against him. A lot. I release my hands from his chest and flush a bright crimson color. He brushes a piece of hair from my cheek. That makes me blush even more.

"Now, about the sleeping arrangements…"

I give him an annoyed look, slip under his arm, and flounce right back into the living room to resume my place on the sofa.