"I'm ready," Thalia whispered to herself more than anyone else around her; not that anyone was paying attention to her. Nico stood at the edge of the roof and was watching the penthouse a few blocks away. They couldn't get close without alerting Luke's guards. They were on high alert and patrolling the streets near the penthouse. Thalia hadn't been able to get a solid count on how many there were, but she knew there would be much more on the inside.
Thalia shifted her eyes to the side. Her companion stared ahead, focused on the penthouse. Reyna held a determined gaze. In contrast, Thalia felt her body shaking like she was the epicenter of an earthquake. The arm around her waist pulled her closer, and Thalia tried to relax.
"Are you ready for this?" Thalia asked quietly as she tried to quell the butterflies in her stomach. Reyna nodded. Thalia swallowed painfully as she looked back at the penthouse. This was it. They were going to kill Luke. Once and for all.
Thalia tried to look down at the street, but she couldn't force herself to. Somewhere down below, Bianca and Piper were moving the Hunters of Artemis closer to the penthouse. They would fight the guards on the ground, with Piper leading that charge. Bianca would stay behind as she used her powers to raise the dead.
Because who needed an army when you could use the dead to raise all kinds of hell?
From what Thalia understood, an army of skeletons would be raised. They wouldn't last long against men with guns, but it would cause chaos, confusion, and fear. The Hunters of Artemis would use that moment to strike, and in that chaos, Nico would infiltrate the penthouse with Reyna and Thalia. Bianca would join them soon after
Reyna's only job was to help Thalia sneak her way through the hotel. Bianca and Nico planned to find Luke and confront him directly. While Luke was distracted with them, Thalia would find her way to her target and shoot him in his cold heart.
There were a few road bumps with the plan. She didn't know if Luke would be able to tell if they were in the hotel or not, and on top of that, she didn't know if they would be able to take out any men in their way. Luke could spend forever fighting Bianca and Nico or dispose of them within a minute. Or, he might just freeze time when Thalia fired the gun.
Thalia's eyes shot to the handcuffs that both Reyna and Nico possessed. Supposedly, the golden handcuffs would weaken Luke's powers if not cut them off completely. That sounded great and all, but Thalia was sure that it was bullshit. There was no way that handcuffs could just dampen godlike powers.
Thalia did not know if the plan would work or not, but she was going to kill Luke. He had fucked her entire life, and he had done the same to so many before her. Karma was coming, and it was in the shape of a bullet. Thalia let out a deep breath and glanced at Reyna. She kissed the woman's cheek.
Reyna moved her head to the side and returned the kiss. Thalia wasn't sure what was going to happen after this, but she didn't care as long as she was with Reyna. It didn't matter if Piper or Nico didn't approve of the relationship. Thalia deserved some form of happiness in her life.
Reyna pulled away and studied Thalia. She quickly looked away and focused back on the penthouse. Thalia did the same and wrapped her hand around the gun handle. A terrible sound caused her to tense and tilt her head to try and dampen the noise. It sounded like a wheel grinding against metal. Her companion mimicked her actions to drown out the awful racket.
"That's our cue," Reyna muttered. Thalia heard shouts of alarm, and the sky was raptured with the booms of gunfire. Thalia tensed and felt herself being pulled back towards the shadows. Another hand grabbed her shoulder.
This was really it. They were going to attack Luke and end his reign of terror. Thalia felt her knees shaking from anticipation and fear. Part of her wanted to tell the others to forget about it. They should all just go home. The other part of her was ready to stab Luke in the heart.
Before Thalia could really decide on a course of action, she felt herself being consumed by the shadows. The world started to spin, and shivers ran up and down her spine. As they landed on solid ground, Thalia stumbled. Reyna caught her.
Nico didn't even look back as he melted into the shadows. Thalia tried to control her twisting stomach. She let out a few labored breaths and then looked at Reyna. The woman nudged her towards the shadows. It seemed like they were in some kind of hallway, but Thalia didn't see anyone around.
"Where are we?" Thalia questioned.
"Not sure," Reyna admitted. She slowly led Thalia down the hall and towards a window. After peeking out, a frown came to her face. Thalia tried to peek out, but she couldn't force herself to look that far. She really didn't need to know how high up they were. It would just make her sick.
Thalia heard footsteps, and a man turned the corner at breakneck speed. He saw them and opened his mouth to alert the other guards. Reyna rushed him and slammed him into the wall and held a knife to his throat. She growled, "Where is Luke?"
The man didn't answer, and the knife started to cut into his neck. Thalia looked away as she knew what was coming next. She covered her ears and tried to ignore the gasps and gurgles that the man made. After a minute, a hand touched her arm.
"Come on," Reyna whispered. She led Thalia down the hall, and Thalia did not dare glance back. Reyna led her towards a staircase and glanced up it. Thalia followed behind her.
"Why aren't there more men?" Thalia questioned.
"I think Luke is panicking," Reyna answered. She let out a few wheezes as they made it to the top of the stairs. "He probably sent all of them outside. Come on."
They hurried away from the stairs. Thalia felt her heart racing as they made it down the hall. They made a right turn before ducking into a small corridor that led into another hallway. Thalia just fucking wished Luke lived in a house like a normal person.
After a few more twists and turns, they stopped outside of an elaborate door. Thalia's hair stood on end, and Reyna tensed. They hugged the wall tightly, and both of them inched closer to the room's entrance. Thalia almost let out a deep breath, and she stopped at the door.
Thalia gently cracked the door open to peer inside. Her jaw dropped when she saw the bastard himself standing in the center of the penthouse. Bianca and Nico were there as well, but they seemed to be frozen. Thalia reached out to grab Reyna to reassure herself that the woman was there.
Thalia scanned the room carefully. It didn't look like Luke had noticed them yet, which could only be a good thing. Nico and Bianca were standing a few feet away from him, both in different positions. Nico had one hand raised, and his other gripped his sword. Bianca gripped her sword with both hands and looked as if she was about to stab it into the ground. Nico was able to wiggle his fingers, and Bianca was able to twitch her neck. They weren't able to do much, but Luke's control over them wasn't as strong as it had been over Thalia and Reyna.
Thalia slowly took in the rest of the room. A large skylight hung over Luke and the others as a pale moonlight spilled into the room. A large bed in the far back of the room with a huge dresser and bedside table next to it. A clock rested above the bed, and Thalia watched as the seconds hand ticked by… at normal speed.
Her focus returned to the bastard himself. Luke's face was scrunched up in pain. There was a bandage over the eye that Thalia had stabbed, but his other eye was solid gold. Sweat seemed to pervade his face, and he was biting his lip hard enough to draw blood. One hand held onto a gun. The other was raised.
Closer to them, there was a window that was open. A gentle breeze seemed to be blowing through, as the curtains rolled in the wind, but they moved at a snail's pace. It seemed as if Luke's powers were not affecting the entire room. Was it intentional, or was he weaker with his injuries?
"Where is the whore?" Luke growled. Thalia felt her heart thunder in her chest, and if it wasn't for the screams, explosions, and gunfire outside, Thalia was sure that Luke would be able to hear her. Thankfully, they were in his blindspot.
They had one chance, and they could not fuck it up.
"I have a plan," Thalia whispered in Reyna's ear. "Do you trust me?"
Reyna turned to her. Thalia expected the woman to immediately shake her head, or just shove her into the middle of the room and use her as bait. Instead, Reyna nodded.
"I'm going to distract him. Can you appear right behind him and stab him?" Thalia whispered as softly as she could. Reyna nodded again. "Don't let him see you."
Reyna squeezed Thalia's hand and then stepped away, slinking into the shadows outside of the room. Thalia steeled herself. She should have been scared, knees shaking and her gut twisting. While her heart raced, she wasn't as scared as she should have been. She just wanted revenge.
Thalia stepped out of the darkness and into the room. She made it about five feet into the room before it felt like she was hitting a wall. Trying to move her legs made her feel like she was stuck in quicksand. Luke snapped his attention to her.
"There's my whore!" Luke sneered.
"I'm going to kill you for what you did to Jason!" Thalia promised. "You are not going to kill anyone else!"
Luke laughed. It was an evil chuckle, but it didn't match his pained and unhinged guise. He was clearly strained, as if the effort of keeping them frozen was overwhelming. Thalia hoped that was it. Maybe, his stupid little heart would give out.
"You are not going to do anything, Thalia. My men will be here soon. They will handle these two pretenders," Luke snarled.
"The only pretender here is you," Nico stated coldly.
"You may be borrowing Kronos' power, but it has an expiration date. A limit that you are going to hit," Bianca promised. Her lips trembled as she was trying to smirk. "We inherited our father's powers, we didn't get a loan for them like you did."
"Shut up!" Luke howled agitated. Thalia tried to move, but she couldn't. It felt like the air was constricting her. "Thalia Grace, I will treat you just like your brother. What I did to him is just the start of-"
A sword exploded out of Luke's chest. He gasped, and Thalia was able to move again. Bianca slammed her sword into the ground, and Nico finished raising his hand. Just like that, they were free from Luke's prison.
Thalia tried to struggle, but she found herself unable to. The sword in Luke's chest started to twist, and the vice grip on Thalia loosened slightly. She was able to trudge forward, like she was walking in the deep end of the pool.
"I destroyed you…!" Luke snarled. His jaw shook as he raised his hand again. The sword in his chest stopped twisting. Thalia moved her gaze to Reyna. The woman had appeared behind Luke, and there was a strained focus on her face while she tried to keep twisting the sword to restrain Luke.
"I'm a monster, Luke. I'll always be there in your nightmares," Reyna hissed. Thalia slowly lifted the gun. It seemed like Luke was focusing most of his powers on Bianca and Nico. That would be his mistake.
Thalia closed her eyes and thought of Jason. She remembered the pictures and video of his murder. And all the things that Luke did to her; the mocking and the assault. White hot anger flared in her chest like an inferno as she focused her concentration. Thalia heard a terrible screeching sound, and her eyes snapped open as lightning destroyed the skylight.
Reyna covered the side of her face as she instinctively backed away from Luke. Thalia felt white hot lightning hit her hand, and it burned. She threw the lightning at Luke.
Luke cried out desperately, raising his hands and dropping his gun to protect himself. Thalia felt her heart drop as the lightning stopped right in front of Luke's face. Sweat seemed to be streaming down his face as he tried to regain control of time in the room. Bianca and Nico were moving a little faster now, and it seemed like Luke's hold was finally breaking.
Reyna closed in and grabbed the sword, twisting it again to wound Luke further. He gasped, his hand lowered slightly, and the lightning inched forward. Luke suddenly raised his hand again, and Thalia found herself fully able to move. Bianca and Nico both moved quicker, but the lightning didn't move. There was an intense strain in Reyna's eyes.
Luke suddenly turned and threw Reyna into the lightning. Thalia stared slack as it hit Reyna dead on the chest, and time around Luke resumed. He collapsed to his knees in exhaustion as Reyna slammed against the hard floor, sliding across it and coming to a stop against the dresser. A groan left the woman.
The ground near Luke started to split, and a skeletal hand shot out of it. Luke's head shot up, and he raised a hand weakly. Bianca had been in the middle of retracting her sword from the splintered ground, but her movements were slowed. Nico seemed to be frozen in place again. More sweat poured from Luke's face as he seemed to be struggling to keep the two frozen.
The bastard had forgotten about Thalia, and she did not hesitate to raise the gun. A wave of calm passed through her, and she pulled the trigger. The bullet moved faster than Thalia could follow, but she knew it hit its target as Luke's head snapped backward. He crashed to the floor a moment later.
Thalia fell to her knees exhausted. Bianca pushed to a standing position and hurried to Luke's side. She knelt by him and felt his pulse. Her head hung.
"Is it done?" Nico asked.
"It is," Bianca confirmed.
"We did it," Thalia whispered. She gripped the gun tightly, and a bitter smile came to her face. They had fucking done it. Luke Castellan was dead. He would no longer terrorize the people of this city, and Thalia just hoped that he rotted in hell. "We fucking did it."
"Reyna!" Thalia exclaimed. She tried to make it to her feet, but her exhausted body shook at the effort. She kept one hand on the ground to keep herself steady, and her other hand had a vice grip on the gun. Her gaze moved to her companion. Reyna was slowly sitting up.
Nico crawled to his feet and walked towards Luke. He looked down at him before moving his attention to Thalia. His gaze did not move from her. Bianca looked at Thalia, and a sad expression marred her features. Thalia promptly ignored them and kept her focus on Reyna.
"We did it," Thalia repeated as she struggled to her feet. She walked towards Reyna and knelt in front of the woman. Thalia kissed her gently. Reyna kissed her back for a moment before moving away. Her gaze moved to the side. "We can move on with our lives. With each other."
"Nico. Don't," Reyna pleaded. Before Thalia could ask what she meant, she felt a weight pulling her hand along. Thalia looked down to investigate and stared in shock and awe as the gun in her hand slowly started to move in her vice grip against her will. To face her.
Thalia gawked at the gun and tried to let go of it. Her hand was still wrapped around the gun, holding it like a vice. Her finger wasn't on the trigger, but she couldn't move any of her fingers.
"Nico, stop! Don't do this!" Reyna begged.
"All six bullets have to fire," Nico stated. Reyna tried to move, but both hands shot to her chest. Thalia slowly moved her other hand to grab the gun. She gripped it with all the strength in her hand and tried to move it away, but the damn thing did not move. "You warned Thalia that the sixth bullet would fire, and she is the one who expended all five. This is how it has to be."
"It doesn't!" Reyna snapped.
Thalia felt the still warm muzzle of the gun press against her temple. Her arms felt heavy, a stranger to herself. Thalia felt tears well in her eyes. At least she would see Jason again.
That thought was the only thing that comforted her as the gun fired.