Inside Cabin One, the heater rattled softly in the corner, but the warmth barely reached them. The cold seemed to crawl in through the stone walls, clinging to their sleeves, biting their skin raw in places untouched by the weak orange glow.
Lucas sat cross-legged on the rough floorboards beside the bunk. Luke leaned against the edge of the mattress, hands drumming soundless patterns against his knee. Annabeth perched near the heater, knees drawn to her chest, eyes flicking between them.
No one had spoken since Thalia gave her reasoning.
Thalia's laugh came out flat. "Sixteen. That's the line, isn't it? 'A child of the Big Three shall reach sixteen against all odds…' blah blah blah. They're not gonna let me do it. Not if they can help it."
Luke shifted beside her, one hand brushing her shoulder but not quite landing there. "We'll fight, Thalia. If it comes to it-"
"Fight who, Luke?" She snapped it sharper than she meant to. Regret flickered in her eyes, but didn't kill the edge in her voice. "We're just a ragged handful of half-bloods, inconsequential, powerless. If they think it's easier to bury me, nothing will stop them."
Lucas watched her quietly. She looked like she hadn't slept in days, the sunken, erratic eyes twitching. She had given up trying to hide her fear and tiredness, though she wouldn't fear fighting an impossible battle that could lead to death; sitting around while she was judged to be killed for a slight future possibility, well, the stress had started to affect her.
Annabeth murmured something too soft to catch and slid closer, wrapping her arms around Thalia's shoulders. Luke's jaw flexed, his teeth grinding down unspoken curses; he felt weak. Even as the best swordsman in camp, there wasn't anything he could do to save his girlfriend.
"You don't have to wait," Lucas said.
Her head snapped toward him. "What?"
"When the time comes," he said, voice even, low. "When your birthday comes, you don't have to stand here and wait for Olympus to make its move. You come with me. I'll get you out through the Labyrinth. And I'll take you to Haven. I'm sure you will be safe there."
"Haven?" Annabeth repeated, "The place you are building? I don't think that will stop Olympus. When they find out Thalia has disappeared, only to reappear with you, it may escalate the situation."
Thalia spoke, "Escalate? They already want to kill me, what is there to escalate?"
Lucas nodded once. "They may try to collect you, but I'm sure you will be safe there. Hestia is protecting the place, and my mother is there setting up wards that would stop such incidents."
Thalia's eyes darted from Lucas to Luke to Annabeth. Hope was a fragile thing in her expression.
Lucas continued "Besides, the whole place will be complete around mid december, with an influx of minor gods, any attempt at force may lead to civil war, something even your father wouldn't allow so you would be safe there."
The words sat there between them, but while Lucas expected relief, the expressions of the other three turned to confusion.
"What is it?" Lucas questioned.
Annabeth's fingers dug into the hem of her shirt, eyes bright with something, "Lucas, what do you mean the place will be done by mid-December? Do you mean next year?"
"No, it should take a couple of months, but with the powers and support of some gods, a cyclops, and a tireless army of automatons, I'm sure the place will be done this year."
And then Luke's brow furrowed. He leaned forward, squinting at Lucas as if seeing him properly for the first time since he'd walked in. "Lucas, what date is it today?"
Lucas's eyes flicked to him, already getting a hint of their suspicions. "I fell into the Labyrinth in early September. What's the date today?"
Annabeth looked up sharply. "Lucas… It's December. Mid-December."
"Oh," he said. While there was no way to judge time down in the Labyrinth, it surely felt like they only travelled for no more than a day.
Thalia didn't laugh. She only pressed her hands to her temples, squeezing like she might wring the math from her skull. "Time dilation." A new variable.
Annabeth swallowed. "Which means if we do this… if we run… we can't trust how long we will be in there."
Lucas's voice stayed calm. "Doesn't change the plan."
Thalia met his eyes. "No. It doesn't."
Luke's eyes softened. He looked at Annabeth, then at Thalia. "We can't stay here. Not with Kratos breathing down our necks."
"Then we go," Thalia said. "We take what we need. We meet at Zeus Fist."
Lucas added, "Be quiet. No bags. Just what you can carry."
Annabeth's voice was small, but certain. "Okay."
They slipped out like shadows, crossing the moonlit camp. Lucas stayed last, watching them vanish into the trees. Then he turned, his boots crunching on the frost.
Zeus's Fist waited ahead, the secret mouth in the rock where Elizabeth would be waiting, probably annoyed at having to stay in hiding. However, he was thinking more about how to explain to her about the lost time.
Though he did wonder how his mother was taking his sudden disappearance, but, with no word reaching camp of any strange action of hers, she may not be panicking about his disappearance, meaning she probably knows he is alive and well and just waiting for his return.
Lucas froze as he saw them.
Mr. D reclined against the largest stone, robes rumpled, a goblet brought to his mouth as he tasted his cola. And beside him, stiff-backed, clutching a can of cola like her life depended on it, was Elizabeth.
Mr. D raised the goblet in a mock salute, mouth curling in a lazy grin.