Chapter Quote:
"If every time I thought of you, a star fell, the sky would be empty."
~Unknown
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Chapter 18: I Have A Reputation

Bryn

The water lapped gently underneath her dangling feet as Bryn sat outside on the deck, staring up at the night sky. She couldn't remember the last time she'd noticed all the stars. Without the light pollution of London or New York, she could see millions upon millions of them.

Bryn had woken up after a nightmare of watching her friends die over and over again. It hadn't been like the ones she'd had from Tartarus. In fact, she hadn't had any after-effects of Tartarus since Amara took residence within her. Maybe it was a coincidence, but Bryn had a feeling it wasn't.

Sitting outside with the steady ocean breeze and saltwater smell, all of Bryn's thoughts wandered to Luke's fate, and whether or not he was alive. Silena's concerns earlier haunted Bryn's dreams and caused an anxiety within her she hadn't felt since the war before she told her friends about her curse. There had to be a way to find out whether or not he was alive.

And then it hit her.

Amara? Bryn asked hesitantly, unwilling to start a conversation with her. She still didn't trust the Eidolon, although she behaved better than most other immortal monsters.

Yes, little one? Amara's calm voice responded.

Is Luke alive? Please be honest with me.

He is.

How do you know?

I am connected to all Eidolons. Derek was right earlier. Balthazar is getting stronger, so Luke is becoming weaker. You must reach him soon if you are to rescue him.

Do you know where they are? Bryn questioned hopefully.

No. Phlegon and Damianos informed Balthazar you are on your way and most likely, that I am with you. He will not reveal anything to me, no matter how hard I try. I am sorry I cannot help more with this. Amara apologized.

It was worth a shot. Thank you for at least confirming Luke is still alive. That brings me some peace.

You must sleep. I can keep your energy up for only so long.

You've been doing that?

You're wearing yourself thin. You would've passed out already had I not intervened and given you some of my strength.

Oh, well, thank you.

You're welcome.

Amara went quiet, and Bryn returned to her thoughts. She ached to get moving, to end this quest, and be done with the Eidolons. She wanted to go back to Paris with Luke and spend more time in the city, just the two of them. Or maybe they could go to Rome or Athens. Or perhaps Puerto Vallarta- Luke had mentioned how amazing it was down there with both the mountains and the sea.

With a sigh, Bryn checked the time.

Two a.m.

She would need to be up in a few hours to help research, but sleep was difficult when you weren't tired in the first place. Deciding she needed to move around, Bryn stood up and padded quietly to the beach. The sand between her toes made her feel strangely calm and reassured, maybe because it reminded her of so many memories with Luke. It was no surprise he adored the beach, and Bryn couldn't help but reminisce about all the fun times they'd had. One of her favorites was when Tucker had been with them. She wished he was still alive so he could be there for Luke when she couldn't, or when Luke needed to talk to someone other than her or their group about things.

Who is Tucker? Amara asked.

Are you reading my thoughts? Bryn demanded, irked by the idea.

Your emotions spiked. I wanted to make sure it wasn't a nightmare or thought about Tartarus. I've been trying to keep those at bay for you.

That's been you? Had Amara heard her thoughts earlier, wondering if she'd had anything to do with blocking the nightmares from Tartarus? Because come to think of it, the last one she'd had was before Amara took residence within her.

It's the least I can do.

Well, thank you. And Tucker was Luke's best friend. He's in Elysium now. A drunk driver killed him.

How awful. Amara's pitch didn't change, but Bryn could sense the sincerity.

He was a good friend to all of us.

You have a guest.

What?

"What are you doing out here?" Alec's voice inquired from behind. Bryn whirled around.

"I could ask you the same thing."

"Woke up and couldn't fall back asleep, so I stepped outside and saw you walking on the beach. Thought I'd join you and make sure you're okay."

"Oh. Well, I couldn't sleep either. Not after napping for nine hours."

"Understandable."

Bryn sat on the sand, wrapping her arms around her legs. "It feels weird to be so close to rescuing Luke and Hallie but yet still so far."

Alec took a seat next to her. "I hate that feeling. I've never been able to find a way to lessen it, or make it more bearable."

"It's like part of me wants to go run after them, but the other part of me knows I need to stay and figure out where they are first. Those two parts won't stop warring inside my head. It's causing quite the headache."

There was a comfortable silence as the two of them stared up at the stars. Alec broke it by saying, "May I ask you something?"

"Of course."

"What was wrong with Silena earlier? I may barely know her, but I recognized the signs that something was wrong. What's going on?"

"She's worried," Bryn said with a sign. She hesitated telling Alec the truth because she didn't want him to worry either, but he and Isabelle had stuck by her side despite the trials and hardships they'd faced. He deserved to know. "Silena can't get a hold of Luke anymore. She used to, but she can't even sense him anymore."

"And she's concerned something's happened to him," Alec finished.

"Yes." Bryn clenched her jaw. "I got desperate. I try not to talk to Amara if possible, but I had to see if she knew anything about him. On the bright side, Luke is still alive. But he's weak. Balthazar is zapping his strength, and the longer we wait, the worse it'll become."

"We'll get to him in time," Alec stated firmly.

"How do you know?" Bryn turned her head to look at him.

"Because it's you, and you won't stop until your family is back together. I hope the Eidolons know the hell you will rain down on them if they hurt your family."

A smirk formed on her face. "I have a reputation, don't I?"

"A good one amongst your allies, a fearsome one with your enemies."

"In a way, I'm glad my enemies know what I'm capable of. At the same time, I fear this reputation of mine breeds challenge. I worry monsters come after me because they want to see who can beat me."

"I think the only ones who could are your friends."

Bryn flashed back to the dream she had with Melinoë and shuddered. "I think you're right."

"You okay?" Alec nudged her.

"Yeah, you just reminded me of something. Listen, what do you say we get back to our rooms and try and sleep? Something tells me we'll be moving forward tomorrow."

"We'll need to come back to Fiji when we're trying to save lives. This place is nice."

"That it is." The demigods ambled back, enjoying the sand between their toes. Wishing each other good night, they entered their rooms, but Bryn didn't go to sleep. Instead, she pulled out her laptop and began researching locations Luke could be.