Luke/Kronos POV

I paced back and forth in my tent.

"Is he here yet?"

"No my lord." The young demigod wouldn't meet my eyes.

Good. Fear keeps an army working properly.

The tiny part of me still listening to the world winced at Kronos' thought process.

It's strange having your body not in your control but having it move and work anyway, with an outside force working against your wishes. A stronger force.

I'm a prisoner now.

Kronos and I have the same objective though, so I rarely fight his control.

"Sir? He's here." The young demigod didn't even enter the tent this time, just announced and held the flap open for a very nervous Ethan Nakamura.

"Lord Kronos." The son of Nemesis bowed.

"I have interesting information I'd like to talk to you about, Ethan."

"Sir?"

"I had a little discussion with Miss Leanne Walsh."

Ethan's head shot up, his eye blazing with fury. "That...freak! What could she have said that you possibly believed? The woman is a traitor and a disgrace. I plan to kill her myself when I get the chance."

While Kronos was focused on Ethan, I closed my mental eyes and wished for Leanne to be safe. Ethan was a brutal killer when he wanted to be and I still thought of Leanne as my friend, even if Kronos had pushed us apart.

"Well, she informed me that the young boy you brought back to camp was not killed, and that instead she beat you in a fight. From the way she phrased it, I believe that you had your butt thoroughly handed to you on a platter."

Ethan went red with fury. "That's not what happened!"

"Oh really. Then what did happen, Nakamura?" Kronos asked coldly. I listened quietly from my little room in my mind.

"Well, I...uh... you see, my Lord..."

I pushed my way to the front for a moment. "Ethan, the trick to lying is to think up your story while they're processing the information you gave them."

He looked down. "My apologies, sir."

/You aren't helping./ Kronos snapped, shoving me back into my little corner/designated area.

/Whatever./

"What do you have to say for yourself, Nakamura?"

Ethan sighed. "I didn't kill the boy. That...woman...helped him get away, nearly taking my life from me in the process. I barely escaped with my life, sir."

"Do you think I care that you were in danger? I wanted that boy dead. It's bad enough that Leanne knows the general area of our camp, now a child who will not be able to keep his mouth shut knows as well. You have failed me."

The dark haired boy nodded. "I will not disappoint you again, sir. I promise."

I felt my lips twist into a most likely sadistic smile. "No. No you won't. This is your last failure, Ethan. Forever." Kronos grabbed my sword and started forward, locking Ethan in a time bubble so he didn't move.

I broke out of my little room and wrestled with the Titan King. /Stop!/

/Castellan, he has failed you. Do you not care?/

/Give him one more chance./ I swallowed mentally. /If there's anyone who can kill that Walsh nuisance, it's Ethan. And then you won't have to worry about either of them because they'll probably kill each other off./

Kronos considered this and I eyed Ethan, who stood in his time bubble looking terrified. Just saying those words about two demigods I loosely considered friends at one point made me slightly sick. But if it meant they left, I'd say them a thousand times.

/Fine, Castellan./ I breathed a mental sigh of relief.

/Thank you, Lord Kronos./

He did not answer, just forcefully put the sword back into it's scabbord. "You have one last chance, Nakamura. Use it well. Your new mission is to kill Leanne Walsh at all costs. I want it to happen slowly, but I want her dead. Do it how you wish. Now get out of my tent."

I tried to push my way into control to tell him I trusted him to do that, but found my way restricted, with much better security than it had before.

/Hey! Let me out!/

/Oh no, Luke. You're done with your little sprees. I'm in charge now. Permanently./

I threw my consciousness against the barriers, trying to break them down and free myself.

It didn't work.

I was a prisoner in my own mind.

For real this time.

[A/N I feel like Luke would feel bad for his choices sooner or later, so here it is. Tada!]