Lucas froze when he opened the door to leave the Hecate cabin. Annabeth was waiting for him, dagger already drawn, equipped in combat gear, and looking tense, ready for conflict. She looked like she had been standing there for hours, as if she knew Lucas would be leaving today and had prepared beforehand. Looking at the eyes filled with determination, guilt, and then a swirl of conflicted emotions, Lucas understood something.
"You knew," Lucas said quietly.
Annabeth flinched but did not answer. Her grip on her dagger tightened, her knuckles whitening as she attempted to steady her shaking hand.
"You knew," Lucas repeated, stepping closer. "You've known since you returned from collecting Argus' tears, that's why you were so late, you discussed more than that quest to Rome with your mother."
Annabeth didn't speak, but her silence was confirmation enough for Lucas.
"Why didn't you tell me?" Lucas questioned; she had known what was about to happen long before he received his prophetic dream. She knew what was to come, or at least had an understanding of what was to come, but she didn't warn him at all, giving him time to prepare or maybe attempt to control the prophecy. The small sense of pain that bloomed within his chest disappeared, replaced by pity as he looked at Annabeth's silent, teary face, guessing something.
"Your mother made you swear an oath on the river Styx, didn't she?" Though posed as a question, Lucas believed he was right, it would explain why she never spoke about the problem, how even now she didnt answer his questions, he knew annabeth was a caring person so to act so cold and be reluctant even to explain herself, something must be stopping her, and since he didnt find any magic on her previously, only the styx oath could do sucha thing.
Lucas sighed, pitying her. Then a thought came to the surface.
"How did you and your mother know about today?" Lucas scrutinized Annabeth. This was a question he was now confused about: how either of them could receive such precise information about the future.
Annabeth wiped her tears, dagger never lowering as she explained what she knew, at least all she could tell without breaking the oath. Lucas picked up at parts where she quitened, deducing the parts she swore not to say. She explained she didn't know about how her mother came to learn of everything, but Annabeth had made a promise to keep an eye on Lucas and stop him from returning home, to stop him from the expected death. She kept an eye on him, watching for any anomalies, and lately, he had acted too differently. She had been waiting and watching, ready to act, and her instincts told her tonight would be the night. So, she prepared and came here to stop him.
"You're my family, Lucas. You're my brother." Annabeth let out in a cracked voice, sniffing back her tears, "I'm sorry... I'm sorry, Lucas, but I can't let you go to your death, even if it makes you hate me. I will keep you here." Annabeth raised the dagger in her hand, wiping her tears with the other, and dropping into a stance, she was serious about keeping him here.
Lucas stepped closer until the dagger's tip pressed against his suit. Slowly, he reached up, running a finger along the blade. "That dagger," he murmured. "Do you remember where it came from?"
Annabeth blinked at him, thrown by the sudden shift. Her hand trembled, but her grip didn't loosen.
"You've carried it for years," Lucas continued softly. "I've seen you polish the blade, keep it close to you when you sleep. But I don't think you ever really knew what it meant to us, why we gave it to you that night."
Of course, Annabeth remembered that night. After running from home and escaping some monsters, she hid herself in a smelting station. She was then discovered by Lucas, Thalia, and Luke, who nearly got injured by her, but instead of being angry, they welcomed her into their family, cared for her, and helped support her during their time together.
Annabeth's lip quivered, but her hand stopped shaking; the memories of her time together only further strengthened her decision to protect Lucas, to keep him here.
Lucas noticed her growing determination, but he didn't worry; instead, he continued, his tone soft, like a whisper, almost as if he was talking to himself and not Annabeth.
"I remember you once asked about the origin of this dagger, but we never told you."
Lucas' words coaxed Annabeth's curiosity, her eyes turning to look at the dagger in her hand. Although she had received it long ago, no one ever told her what was so special about the dagger, merely giving a sad smile and rubbing her head, telling her they would tell her in the future.
Seeing as he had Annabeth's attention, Lucas told her. "This dagger was a gift from a demigod who we met on the same night we met you, Halcyon, that was his name, Halcyion Green, a child of Apollo."