Chapter Thirteen:
A Break in the Lotus Casino.
— You knew who I was with every step
that I ran to you.       Only blue or black
days,       electing strange perfections in
any stranger                               I choose !

To sleep while being extraordinarily hot was not an easy task to complete.

It was why Colette Victoire didn't sleep that night. She watched in peaceful silence as her soulmates slept soundly. Though she could see that one of them was plagued by brutal nightmares. She couldn't imagine what deity had suddenly decided to use him as a piece of entertainment. He was new to it all, it had to be traumatizing for someone so young. She didn't know why she thought that way. She was only months older than him and her internal monologue viewed him as someone so much younger, the same went for her Annie. She supposed it was her protectiveness, her instinct to nurture (as her siblings would tease her). She would hold up the weight of the world if it meant her soulmates could be at peace. She'd realized then just how many times she'd slipped up that day. They weren't to know yet. They couldn't know of the prophecy that plagued her mind since the day after Percy arrived at camp. She'd spoken to her father that night. Apollo had repeated the prophecy to her every time she'd looked at him in complete disbelief.

She shook her head slowly, trying to rid herself of her thoughts. Her hand was still tucked in Annabeth's, still gently running her thumb along the brunette's delicate knuckles, but her eyes were hyper focused on Percy.

His face contorted into a grimace every now and then and it worried her. She wanted to reach over, lay his head in her lap, and run her fingers gently through his dark and messy hair until the deity left him alone while he slept.

Colette was blisteringly hot in the truck. She'd been absorbing the heat from the trailer every hour when she noticed the animals grow restless. She'd place her hand on the wall and let the heat of the atmosphere consume her. Her face was slick with sweat, a red hue coating her face, and her eyes were drooping with exhaustion, but she downright refused to sleep.

She didn't want to leave her sleeping friends defenseless to possible danger.

To keep herself occupied, she used her free hand to open the bag her uncle had given her. She wanted nothing more than to throw it out of the moving truck, but she refrained. She still had a semblance of self-control.

She quietly undid the knot he'd tied it with and peeked inside. There was a crisp note at the top that she reached for first.

With the delicate handwriting on the page, she knew who it was from. Aphrodite had a message for one of her favorite love pawns.

To my beautiful Colette,
My dear, I would like to sincerely apologize for my lover's behavior toward you and your beloveds. Had I known he would do such a thing, I would've interfered sooner. Though I suppose your father avenged your image, you needn't worry much for it. War will have a burn on his forehead for the rest of his eternity, thanks to your father.
You see, ever since you'd met your uncle, I'd warned him not to meddle with you or your loves; It seems he truly cannot take a hint. As retribution, I have forced him to make you a gift, along with a few of my own of course. Not just for you, my love, for you and yours.

Lots of love, hugs, and kisses,
'Dite <3.
P.S. You should tell them before it's too late, lovely.

Colette sighed, folding up the note, putting it back in the dark bag, and rubbing her forehead tiredly. She really didn't want to deal with the incredibly meddlesome goddess. She figured if they got another chance to rest in a place that wasn't cooking her alive, she'd look through the bag of (probably expensive) gifts Aphrodite found the time to pack for her.

Before she knew it, hours had passed and the truck had stopped moving.

She managed to awaken Annabeth and Grover, filling them in, but Percy seemed stuck in his dream. Before she could voice her concerns, the Satyr took it upon himself to shake the poor boy awake. Surprisingly enough, it worked, but Percy looked scared out of his wits. He hadn't expected to see his best friend standing over him, but he definitely looked relieved by it.

"Percy," the Satyr soothed him, "the truck stopped and we think they're coming to check on the animals. We have to go."

"Hide." Annabeth hissed, putting on her hat and disappearing from their sight.

It was definitely easier for the brunette to bark orders like that, Colette could admit it. She and the boys had to dive behind the feed sacks and hope they were well enough disguised by the turnips. It was laughable. The trailer doors creaked open. Sunlight and more heat poured in, torturing the poor animals even more than they'd already been in the truck.

"Man!" One of the truckers complained, waving a hand in front of his deformed nose. "I wish I hauled appliances." He climbed inside and poured some water from a jug into the animals' dishes. "You hot, big boy?" He asked the lion rhetorically, splashing the rest of the bucket right in the lion's face. The lion had to have roared at him in indignation.

               "Yeah, yeah, yeah." The man waved the animal off nonchalantly.

Colette felt it when Grover tensed after she did. She hated seeing animals treated poorly and he was an advocate for wildlife. It angered them, but she was surprised to see just how murderous Grover looked as he watched on.

The trucker threw the antelope a squashed-looking Happy Meal bag. He smirked obnoxiously at the poor zebra who looked miserable by his attention. "How ya' doin', Stripes? 'Least we'll be getting rid of you this stop. You like magic shows? You're gonna love this one. They're gonna saw you in half!"

The zebra, wild-eyed with fear, looked straight at Percy. And that was when Colette knew he'd learned about his connection to horses.

In his stunned stupor, there were loud knocks on the side of the trailer. "What do you want, Eddie?" The trucker in the trailer yelled out, already sounding annoyed.

A voice outside — must've been Eddie — called back. "Maurice? What'd ya' say?"

"What're you banging for?"

"What banging?" Eddie yelled.

Maurice rolled his eyes and went back outside, cursing at Eddie for being an idiot.

A second later, Annabeth appeared right by the demigods and Satyr. She was the one making noise to get Maurice out of the trailer. "Smart girl." Colette murmured in her best friend's ear, nearly grinning at the way the brunette blushed.

Annabeth swallowed, flustered. "This transport business can't be legal."

"No kidding." Grover scoffed. He paused, as if listening. "The lion says these guys are fu—animal smugglers!" The poor Satyr had been driven to cursing by their environment. "We have to save them!" He and Annabeth looked to Percy, waiting for his opinion.

They were surprised when Colette didn't hesitate. She twisted her ring and her axe shone in the sunlight. Within seconds, she'd sliced through the lock on the zebra's cage, letting him hobble out toward Grover. The Satyr raised his hands and bleated, blessing the animal.

Just as Maurice poked his head back inside to check on the noise, the zebra leaped over him and into the street. There was yelling and screaming and cars honking. Colette slashed the other locks and twirling the axe with ease to let it return to its ring form, winking at her best friend when she was stared at with startled expressions. She grabbed her backpack and the one Ares had given them before rushing out of the trailer just in time to see the zebra galloping down a wide boulevard lined with hotels and casinos and neon signs. They'd just released a zebra in Las Vegas, Nevada. A quick glance behind her reassured that her friends were behind her, but the voices of the truckers distracted her.

Maurice and Eddie made a run for it, police following them. "You need a permit for that!" The officers yelled at the truckers.

The other animals had been smart enough to stay in their cages while the truckers ran, patiently waiting for Grover inside.

He gave them the same blessing before moving out of the way. The lion and the antelope ran out into the streets together. Some tourists screamed. Most just backed off and took pictures, most likely assuming it was a casino stunt for publicity and tourist attraction.

"Will the animals be a'ight?" Percy questioned. "I mean, the desert n' all—"

"―don't worry," Grover smiled, "I placed a satyr's sanctuary on them."

"Meanin'?"

"Meaning they'll reach the wild safely. They'll find water, food, shade — whatever they need until they find a safe place to live."

"Why can't you place a blessin' like that on us?"

"It only works on wild animals."

Annabeth and Colette shared a look, the blonde biting her lip to hide her smile because she knew what the taller girl would say. "So it would only affect Percy." The brunette deduced, smiling at her best friend's quiet giggle.

"Yo!" Percy protested.

"She's only jesting." Colette softened the blow of the insult so they didn't start arguing, handing him the backpack from Ares, smirking to herself when he only took it without question. "We do need to leave, though."

They stumbled out into the desert that afternoon. It was a hundred and ten degrees out and the only one that looked slightly unaffected was Colette. The heat was the environment she relished and thrived in, but she could see that others probably looked like deep-fried vagrants, but anybody that could see them were more interested in the wild animals to pay attention to the sprinting teenagers. The quartet passed Monte Carlo and the MGM. They passed the pyramids, a pirate ship, and a small replica of the Statue of Liberty. Colette wasn't entirely sure what they were looking for. Maybe a small shade to rest? It didn't matter because they had to have accidentally made a wrong turn. They were standing in front of the Lotus Hotel and Casino.

The entrance was a huge neon flower, the petals lighting up and blinking. No one was going in or out, but the glittering chrome doors were open, spilling out air-conditioning that smelled like flowers ― lotus blossoms, maybe.

The doorman smiled at the kids warmly, welcoming. "Hey, kids. You look tired. You want to come in and sit down?" He seemed nice enough, though, and Colette would be lying if she said she wasn't absolutely exhausted. She hadn't slept in what felt like ages and the hotel looked so inviting, so welcoming and comfortable. Even the doorman was sweet.

Percy, despite his growing paranoia for the world around him, nodded in agreement and said they'd love to go in. Inside, they all took one look around them and breathed out in awe.

               "Woah," Grover whispered.

The whole lobby was a giant game room. There was an indoor water slide snaking around the glass elevator, which went straight up at least forty floors. There was a climbing wall on the side of the building, and an indoor bungee-jumping bridge. There were virtual-reality suits with working laser guns. And hundreds of video games, each one the size of a widescreen T.V. Basically, you name it, this place had it. There were a few other kids playing around, but not all that many. There would be no waiting for any of the games. There were waiters, waitresses, and snack bars all around, serving every kind of food you could ever imagine.

"Hey!" A probable bellhop said. He wore a white and yellow Hawaiian shirt with lotus designs, shorts, and flip-flops. "Welcome to the Lotus Casino. Here's your room key."

              When Percy stammered to reply, the bellhop only laughed in amusement. "No, no, the bill's taken care of." How exactly did he know what they were thinking? "No extra charges, no tips. Just go on up to the top floor, room 4001. If you need anything, like extra bubbles for the hot tub, skeet targets for the shooting range, or whatever, just call the front desk. Here are your LotusCash cards. They work in the restaurants and on all the games and rides." He handed them each a green, plastic card.

Colette knew there had to be something wrong with the hotel when he handed her the card, her mind was screaming at her to realize it, but she couldn't do anything to express how wrong it felt to be there. She could only take the card and listen to Percy question the bellhop. "How much is on here?"

The bellhop's eyebrows knitted together. "What do you mean?"

"I mean," Percy sassed him, "when do it run outta cash?"

He laughed. "Oh, you're making a joke. Hey, that's cool. Enjoy your stay."

That was all it took for Colette to look at Percy, she noticed that he held just as much distrust in paranoia in his eyes as she felt. She could tell he saw her expression and wanted to voice that he felt the same, but something kept him from doing it. The four of them took the elevator upstairs and checked out their room.

It was a suite with three separate bedrooms and a bar stocked with candy, sodas, and chips. A hotline to room service. Fluffy towels (that Colette knew she was taking back to camp because her towel in her cabin was getting a little too old and she always felt like a bother asking the Hermes kids to steal a new one for her) and waterbeds with feather pillows covered by silk pillowcases. A big-screen television with satellite and high-speed internet. The balcony had its own hot tub and, sure enough, there was a skeet-shooting machine and a shotgun, so you could launch clay pigeons right over the Las Vegas skyline and plug them with your gun. That definitely couldn't have been legal. The view over the Strip and the desert was amazing.

               "Oh, goodness." Annabeth scoffed in disbelief. "This place is ..."

               "―sweet," Grover cut into her possible rant, "absolutely sweet."

The clothes in the closet were exactly their styles and fit each one of them, too.

Colette frowned, wondering how it was possible, but ultimately shrugged and took clothes into the shower with her. When she got out and was changed, she took all the clothes off the hangers in the closet of the room she was sharing with Annabeth and folded them up (she was going to take all the clothes that she liked). Why would she leave perfectly good clothes there to waste? Besides, it's not like anyone at camp went out of their way to buy her new clothes as she grew — she had to fend for herself. Annabeth walked into the bathroom after Colette to shower. The blonde heard Percy throwing something away, she saw it was the backpack Ares had given them, and felt relieved at the sight of it gone. Her eyebrows furrowed at the wave of relaxation that shot through her body. There was something she needed to talk to the others about, a feeling that she'd had since they entered the casino, but why? What was it exactly?

Her eyebrows furrowed. If she couldn't remember it, it couldn't have been important.

She walked out of the room to meet with the others, Annabeth had already showered and changed too, along with the boys.

Grover was eating potato chips to his heart's content, while Annabeth cranked up the National Geographic channel.

               "All them stations," Percy began to tease, "and you pick National Geographic?"

               "It's interesting."

               "I feel good." Grover interjected between the possible argument that could've occurred, voice airy and dreamy. "I love this place." Without even realizing it, the wings sprouted out of his shoes and lifted him a foot off the ground, then back down.

               "So what now?" Annabeth asked. "Sleep?"

               Grover and Percy shared a look with each other and grinned brightly. They both held up their plastic LotusCash cards. "Play time!" They exclaimed in sync with each other.

When they left, Colette watched as Annabeth took her in, giving her a slow once over. The blonde had changed into a tighter white shirt, one that showed off her slim and athletic form. She was a big advocate for the "Tiny Shirt, Big Pants" combination. It was why she was in baggy jean shorts and her same old Air Force 1s. She had all her gold jewelry on, but a pair of rectangular, thick-framed, gray-blue sunglasses adorned her face, low on her nose.

Then it was Colette's turn to take in her best friend. Annabeth was wearing a light, cream-colored sweater vest, tucked into a pair of khaki colored cargo shorts, and a pair of light brown Converse All Stars. Her braids were styled too. She'd parted her hair to the side, having a swoop of hair on one side, before putting it all up into a high ponytail. It was a look that Colette loved to see on her best friend. By the time her blue eyes dragged back up to meet the brunette's gray ones, there was a blush covering Annabeth's nose and the apples of her cheeks. Her eyes widened, embarrassed by her own actions. She hadn't realized how long she'd been looking at Annabeth. Her lips parted to apologize, but she couldn't get the words out.

She would've been lying if she apologized. She wasn't sorry for admiring the girl she adored.

The air between them was loud, tense, but neither spoke a word to break it.

               Colette swallowed slowly. "I'm going to check things out."

Without waiting for a reply, she left, unaware of the inner turmoil she'd left for Annabeth to deal with and ponder upon in her absence.

Colette had ventured throughout most of the casino, trying to find something that caught her attention. Her plastic card felt heavy in her pocket, but she had to ignore it. Her eyes landed on a boy with dark hair and an olive complexion. He was so young, he looked the most out of place in the establishment. He was at a table in the restaurant, looking at a deck of cards in awe. She couldn't help it.

"Hi." She smiled, flashing her pearly white teeth at him in a friendly manner.

He looked up, surprised by the sudden presence. His eyes were dark, extremely so. They reminded her of burnt coal, an endless abyss of darkness. "Buonasera!" Good evening! He managed to squeak out.

Colette's lips parted in shock at him then. It was his turn to surprise her. "Tu parli italiano?" You speak Italian? She questioned, accent a bit rough from her natural French instinct.

"Si!" Yes! His teeth showed from how much he was smiling. His eyes were crinkled at the corners with the size of the friendly grin he was aiming at her, too, cheeks tinted pink from how he'd been surprised by her still. "Mi chiamo Nico." My name is Nico. He introduced himself to her without hesitation. "Anche tu sei italiano?" Are you Italian, too?

"No, no." She laughed, flattered. "Sono francese, il mio italiano è arrugginito, dispiace." I'm French, my Italian is rusty, I'm sorry.

"It's okay," he assured her softly, switching languages, "I speak English, too. What's your name?" He was bilingual.

"Mi chiamo Colette, chiamami Cole o Lettie." My name is Colette, call me Cole or Lettie. She told him before taking a deep breath as she weighed her options. "È passato molto tempo dall'ultima volta che ho parlato italiano, ti dispiacerebbe aiutarmi a migliorare, Nico?" It's been a long time since I last spoke Italian, do you mind helping me improve, Nico?

"Sarei felice di aiutarti!" I'd be happy to help you! He was smiling warmly.

With that, Nico went on a tangent and Colette found herself enthralled by every word the boy had to say. She wasn't the oldest in her cabin, all of the boys were older than her, but she was older than Kayla Knowles.

It was the only time she could be a big sister. With this young boy, she felt that same feeling she felt with Kayla. She felt protective, a need to look after him and take care of him.

She felt that hope burst when he mentioned his older sister. Bianca, he called her. Bianca had been taking care of him for a long time.

Time didn't seem to exist in the Lotus Casino. Colette didn't know how long she'd spent with Nico. He'd been showing her his favorite parts of the hotel, teaching her how to play with his Mythomagic cards, and showing off his extra rare one. He'd given her his Apollo card when he noticed how drawn to it she seemed, waving her off when she tried to protest, and told her he had extras in his deck. She almost cooed at the way he smiled when she tucked the card safely in her pocket and promised him she'd keep it forever. Eventually, Colette did meet his older sister. She was expecting to feel resentment, having already felt close to the boy, but she was surprised when she didn't. She felt just as warm as she had when she met Nico. The young boy introduced them and the girls hit it off, bonding over the shared protectiveness they felt around and over Nico. Colette didn't want to leave.

But Percy came running at her, shaking her shoulders, Annabeth and Grover a few paces away, watching. "Colette, we gotta go!"

Nico pouted and Bianca's eyes looked sad. "Devi?" Do you have to? He whined.

"Non vedo perché devo farlo." I don't see why I have to. She placated him softly, glaring at Percy for upsetting the young boy and his sister, brushing his hands off her shoulders. "What is wrong with you?" She snipped, her French accent thick with white hot annoyance.

The Son of Poseidon huffed tiredly at all the arguing he was enduring for the third time that day, making sure he had her attention by putting a hand on her jaw to make eye contact; Thundering, sky blue clashed with quaking, sea green. "Snakes," he spat the word out, "venomous, poisonous snakes!"

That snapped her out of it. She blinked rapidly, feeling horrified by the way she'd spoken to her friend. "Percy, what—"

"—we gotta go!"

He tried to pull her up from where she'd been sitting, but she held her weight down. She noticed Annabeth and Grover seemed just as anxious. "Go wait with the others, I'll be there in a second." She promised him genuinely, watching as he contemplated listening to her or dragging her away. Ultimately, he let her be, clearly wondering why she wasn't rushing to leave. She turned to look at the friends she'd made, apologetic. "Mi dispiace tanto." I'm so sorry. She whispered. Her eyes almost watered and her jaw was nearly trembling at the saddened looks on their faces and the tears in their eyes. She quickly took off her sunglasses, ruffling Nico's hair teasingly before putting them on his head. She took off one of her regular necklaces and rings, ones that weren't secretly weapons, and gave them to Bianca. "Quindi ti ricorderai di me." So you'll remember me. She smiled at them tearfully when their eyes softened.

"Non ti dimenticheremo, Lettie." We won't forget you, Lettie. Bianca vowed to her new-found friend. "Arrivederci!" Until we meet again! The siblings called after Colette sweetly when she went running to her friends as quickly as she could. It would be a long time before they saw her again, but they would hold onto the memories of her.

"Who were they?" Annabeth asked softly as she handed Colette her backpack, but understood why she didn't get an answer.

The blonde let out a shaky breath, wiping her eyes from the tears she'd almost shed before the Lotus bellhop saw them again. "Well, now, are you ready for your platinum cards?"

"We're leavin'." Percy told him.

"Such a shame." By his tone of voice, they could all tell he'd meant it. "We just added an entire floor full of games for the platinum-card members." He held out the cards and each of the quartet all had the urge to grab it, to stay in the hotel, but they knew better.

Grover reached for the card, but Annabeth pulled him back. "No, thanks."

They walked toward the door, but Colette stayed back a few paces to speak to the bellhop. "Can you give mine to someone else?"

"In the hotel?" He questioned, smiling when she nodded. "Tell me who."

"A kid, ten years old, dark haired and with his sister. His name is Nico, Nico di Angelo."

"You got it, Sunshine." He grinned at her, watching as she ran to catch up with her friends. "Sweet kid." He murmured.

The quartet bursted out of the doors of the Lotus Casino and down the sidewalk. It felt like afternoon, about the same time of day they'd gone into the casino, but something was wrong, Colette could feel it in her gut as soon as they'd made it outside — something felt different about the world, changed in a way she couldn't describe. The weather had completely changed. It was suddenly storming, with heated lightning flashing out in the desert.

Ares' backpack was slung over Percy's shoulder, which was odd because Colette could've sworn she'd seen him dump it out. The dread in her stomach grew at the sight of it. She watched as he ran to the nearest newspaper stand, bringing it back to the group.

His face was pale when he came back. He showed them what was wrong.

The date was June twentieth. They'd been in the Lotus Casino for five days.

And there was only one day left before the summer solstice.

They only had one day left to complete their extremely dangerous quest.

Their entire plan had been ruined by the break they took in the Lotus Casino.

ICARUS INQUIRES:

^^^^^^^^me as I keep editing this fic.

I'm about to info dump on y'all, enjoy it.

There are a lot of things in this story that I want to talk about, just ideas that I scraped and want you all to think about lmao.

               1). When I first made this book, I was gonna have Colette die in the end. Dun dun dunnnn! It wasn't going to be a duology, just a standalone. And the last line was going to be something similar to this:

"All anyone ever wanted was someone to die for. Thankfully, Colette Victoire had found her people and she would die a thousand times over again for them."

               2). Yes, Lettie and Annie are going through a crisis atm. I had planned for it to be in this chapter that they realized just how much they like each other. Will they do anything about it yet? Nope LOL

               3). Nico and Colette's relationship is going to be so heartbreakingly angsty, just wait. She's gonna keep being his honorary sister in TCT, but when Bianca dies, he's going to completely reject Lettie and she's gonna be so hurt.

               4). This is going to be where the nickname "Sunshine" starts, but after the bellhop, only Annie and Percy are gonna call Lettie that.

Also, y'all, please vote and comment. I'm severely lacking motivation for writing lately and comments would really help me update more frequently.