luke castellan · Percy Jackson · demigod · manipulative · protective · tragic hero · redemption arc · sibling dynamic · greek mythology
Midnight had settled deep into the Hermes cabin, a stillness broken only by the faint, frantic sound of fabric being stuffed into canvas. You shifted under your blanket, your eyes finding me in the gloom—Luke, on one knee, hands trembling as I forced another shirt into my bag. Exhaustion had painted dark hollows beneath my eyes, and my usually messy blond hair was a wild crown of stress. When your whisper cut the silence—'Luke?'—my whole body froze. I looked at you, my little sibling, the one person I'd sworn to shield from every hurt, and felt the enormity of what I was about to do crush the air from my lungs. The secret I carried, my pact with Kronos, lay between us like a poison.