Seeing as he had Annabeths attention and curosity about Halycon, Lucas continued telling her the origin of the dagger.
"His powers of prophecy were so great that it warranted caution from the gods. One day, he met a young girl playing with a dagger; his powers acted up, and he foresaw the death of the child. Even though he knew it would anger his father and Olympus, he told the girl of her possible death, saving her. Because of this, he was sentenced to imprisonment in his own house, stripped of his voice, and forced to witness a monster use his voice to draw in demigods and kill them in front of him."
Annabeth sucked in a breath of cold air upon hearing such a punishment; although it may not be as horrifying or painful as other punishments one could think of, it was too vile in her opinion.
"Even the three of us were tricked by this monster, trapped in the house, it was only through Halcyon's efforts that we were able to escape with our lives that night."
Lucas finished his story, explaining the origin of the dagger, but he hadn't finished talking.
"The reason I say this, Annabeth, is because Halcyon never once regretted acting to save that child. Even when the gods punished him, he did everything he could to fight against the trap and try to save the demigods who entered his home. Even in his final moments, he chose to save someone else."
He lowered her hand gently. "To me, to the three of us, Halcyon is a hero. That dagger is his memory, a symbol of his desire to save a life, even if it means standing against the impossible, even if it leads to one's death. Annabeth-"
"Then promise me," she whispered, interrupting him, tears sliding down her cheeks as her hand fell, the strength disappearing. She knew she couldn't stop Lucas from going, but she at least wanted him to come back, and even knowing the chances were low, that maybe she was just in denial of the most likely outcome, she wanted him to promise her that he would return alive, because Lucas was always one who kept his word.
"Promise me you'll come back," Annabeth spoke with newfound strength, staring into Lucas's eyes as she gripped his suit jacket in order to force him to look into her eyes.
Lucas gave a sad smile. "I'll try."
"No," Annabeth pressed, thrusting the dagger into his hand. Her shoulders shook, but the strength in her hands only grew. "Promise me."
The weight of her eyes, full of desperate hope, was too much. Lucas wrapped an arm around her, holding her trembling form, then whispered softly into her hair. "I promise."
A faint shimmer of magic left his hand, flowing into her body. Annabeth's eyes fluttered, her body going limp. Lucas eased her down to the ground, brushing a strand of hair from her face as he lay her down and backed away. She would sleep peacefully, only waking long after he left, an insurance of his, in case she returned to the mindset of keeping him here.
"You can come out now," Lucas said, his voice carrying to the shadows.
A figure emerged, lean and tense, hand on the hilt of a celestial bronze sword. Luke stepped into the moonlight, his face grim.
Another came from behind, spear in hand, her face twisted in conflicting emotions. Thalia kept her eyes on Annabeth, struggling with her thoughts.
"How did you two know of tonight?" Lucas asked, silently wondering how many more people he would encounter on his midnight adventure.
"You're not the only one who noticed Annabeth was acting differently, but seeing how you never said anything I decided to leave it be, but when when she suddenly started acting strangely lately, almost like she was spying on you, I decided to keep an eye on her, and since we sleepin the same cabin, it is easy to sense her equipping her gear and leaving, so of course we would follow," Lucas explained, his voice flat.
Lucas sighed. "And since you heard everything, I'm guessing you also don't want me to go?"
Luke's eyes narrowed. "I've known you long enough to know that's impossible,"
Lucas raised an eyebrow at the unexpected answer as Luke finished his sentence.
"So we're coming with."
"No," Lucas said firmly.
Thalia bristled, no longer able to hold back her feelings. She had lost her first family when she was young, and she wasn't willing to lose another now. She wouldn't allow Lucas to fight alone.
"No? That's it? After everything, after all we've been through, you're just going to reject us! We can help!"
Lucas smiled, sad, tired, but genuine. "Its becuase of everything weve been through that i cant allow you guys to follow me. This concerns me and my father; you guys don't need to follow to be dragged down alongside me."
Luke took a step forward, fury flashing in his eyes. "Don't give me that! Don't you dare try to shoulder this alone. You think I can just sit here while you go to your death?"
"You can," Lucas replied softly. "Because you're the eldest. You need to protect our little family of misfits, and if both of you follow me, who will be there to care for Annabeth?"
Realisation dawned on their faces as they looked at Annabeth, in deep sleep thanks to Lucas' magic. They realised that it wasn't just to settle Annabeth, but a preventive measure to force one of them to stay. Worse still, if one of them remained while the other left, the guilt would be crushing if something happened, especially since they were a couple. By forcing Annabeth to sleep, he had forcibly trapped both of them into staying.
Luke froze, his anger faltering under the realisation that he would have to stay.
Finally, Lucas stepped past him, deciding to go ahead and follow his plan.
"Lucas-" Luke's voice cracked.
Lucas didn't look back. "Take care of them for me."
Watching as Lucas walked into the night, Luke stayed frozen on the spot, torn between fury, grief, and responsibility. Thalia joined him, burying her head into his shoulder as she cried, knowing she may not be able to see Lucas again. Having lost her family once, losing someone she treated as a brother threatened to crush her under the weight of her grief, so Luke embraced her, comforting her and giving small promises of Lucas's return.