[lux aeterna]

Dale wasn't sure where exactly the mansion had moved to, but wherever it was, she'd wished they'd checked the weather ahead of time. Bulbous black clouds hung in the sky, and while no rain could touch the mansion, Dale could see the torrents of rain falling onto the landscape around them. In the distance, a cliffside was ravaged with large tidal waves the likes of which made Dale wonder if Tessa had summoned them. Lightning cleaved the sky in two, with bright flashes of electric blue and white and purple.

"Are you going to keep looking out the window or are we going to finish this?" Adhara's bemused voice chimed, and Dale turned to see Adhara, pencil in hand, watching Dale in exasperation.

"Sorry, right," Dale turned back to the table, surveying the map spread out on it. Well, it wasn't much of a map. It was a large sheet of paper with a quarter of a floor diagram scribbled onto it, which Adhara was supposed to be helping Dale with. If Dale was going to be destroying the Masks from the inside, she could at least figure out her way around.

And not only that, but there was something Dale was particularly interested in finding. A certain passageway in the library was now being monitored, with Masks on guard at every moment. Kane's work, no doubt, to prevent Dale from going down there. But that defensive maneuver of his had only confirmed Dale's suspicions: something important was down there, and she was going to find out what it was.

"Adhara," Dale started as thunder shook the mansion, snapping the dark-haired girl's attention from the map. "Does the mansion have secret passageways?"

Adhara frowned, drawing her eyebrows together in suspicion. "What have you been up to, Dale?"

Dale carefully explained to her all that she'd seen in the library: the tapestry, the passageway, the thing that had chased her out. Adhara watched in silent intrigue, her lined lips pursed in mild concern. She was silent even after Dale finished her story, no doubt putting the possible pieces together.

"And Kane found you coming out of the passageway?" Adhara quirked a brow.

Dale nodded. "Which is why he's put guards around the library. I suppose it's his idea of trying to keep me out."

Adhara huffed a small laugh. "Like that would keep you out. You're as impulsive as the rest of them." She lifted a hand from the table, but set it back down, tracing the map with a matte black nail. "I've been here for months, but this is the first I've heard of any secret passageways. And as for monsters, the only one I've seen is Aether."

Curiosity began to well up in Dale at the mention of her captor's name, laced in fire. "There's that too! He said I was free to go anywhere in the grounds, as if he knew about every secret this place held and was fine with me discovering them."

Adhara averted her violet gaze to the storm raging on outside, the lightning illuminating the jewels strewn across her neck. She was silent, and Dale noted the lavish dress, the jewels, and wondered just how much power Adhara possessed within these gilded walls. She was a queen in her right, but what had she sold for her crown?

"There's another thing," Dale hedged, gauging Adhara's reaction. "I found a photograph in passageway. It's the same kind of photo that the camps have been finding after Mask encounters. Most of them depict my friends and I, but this one was a picture of a man and a boy."

"Do you have this picture?" Adhara asked.

Dale shook her head. "By the time he took me back to my room, the picture was gone."

Adhara bit down on her lip, turning around. "The pictures are an assemblage of the people that Aether either wants to Enlighten, kill, or get vengeance upon."

"The boy in the photo was him," Dale said softly. "With his father. I recognized him. Jared Knight."

Adhara's eyes widened slightly. "How do you—"

"Kaden and I paid him a visit. A Huntress told us that he'd have information on the Masks. I actually saw Luke there, visiting his father. He appeared to me afterwards, and that's how I got the address." Dale explained. "But Luke speaks of his father with a sort of remorse. Why would he be on his list?"

Adhara shook her head slightly. "From what I know, Jared Knight wasn't much of a father. Made his son feel like he went insane. Eventually, Luke was taken and his father couldn't do anything about it."

"Taken by who?" Dale asked, but she wouldn't get an answer. At that moment, the doors to her bedroom swung open, and both girls rushed to cover up the map on the table. Kane sauntered into the room, flanked by two Masks.

Kane's lip curled at the sight of Dale. "Enjoying yourself?"

"That depends. Does my enjoyment bother you? Because if so, then yes, I am enjoying myself." Dale flashed him a winning smile.

Adhara stood up, a royal interrupted by something irrelevant. "What do you want, Kane?"

"Dinner's soon," Kane said, his voice monotonous. "Get her ready."

Adhara tensed. "Why does she have to—"

"Do it." Kane spat, then turned on his heel and stalked out of the room, Masks in tow. As soon as the doors shut behind them, Adhara released a shaky breath, dragging a hand through her dark hair.

"This isn't good," Adhara said after a stream of Nepalese curses.

"Why not? Dinners are good." Dale said, knitting her eyebrows together as the daughter of Nemesis hurried over to Dale's wardrobe, flinging the doors open.

"No, not these dinners," Adhara explained. "You've only been here a few days, I don't expect you to catch on but there are big...strategy sessions that precede any big meeting with the Masks. It means Aether arrives tonight, and if he wants you there...well, you might get some of the answers you're looking for."

Dale's golden eyes widened, and despite all her reservations against formal wear, rushed over to get ready. If Aether wanted her to be her well-dressed dinner guest, she'd make him regret it.

~~

The dining hall of Aether's mansion made Dale feel that she was at Hogwarts. A long golden table sat in the center of the room, with a blazing fireplace along the far wall. Busts and paintings of mythological figures lined the room, and the ceiling was enchanted to look like the night sky, similar to that of the Olympians' throne room. It seemed that if Aether was going to take over the gods, he might as well prepare for living on Olympus.

However, there was only one thing missing, Dale noted as she sat down and adjusted her green skirts: Aether himself. The leader of the Masks was nowhere in sight, and something within Dale deflated, at having Kane in the room and not the guy who kept his sidekick on a leash. Even if the guy was a murderer, but still.

Adhara sat beside Dale, acting as a sort of bodyguard, and Dale watched as Kane sat down across from them. The table was set, as well as the head of the table, but Dale watched and waited but no one arrived to claim it.

"He won't be joining us," Kane interrupted Dale's train of thought, biting into some steak.

Dale quirked a skeptical brow. "Why not?"

"He's preparing for the meeting," Adhara took a sip from her gilded goblet. "He never arrives to these dinners. They're just part of how the night goes."

Dale pursed her lips, eyeing her plate with suspicion. "If I'm a prisoner, why am I being treated so kindly?"

Kane snorted behind his goblet, flashing Dale a look with his maniacal eyes. "According to Aether, you're our guest."

"And according to you?" Dale batted her eyelashes sarcastically.

Kane gulped his wine, grinning at Dale. The wine on his teeth made him look like a vampire. "I'd rather you be locked up in the dungeons."

"That's kinky of you," Adhara said airily, and Dale choked on the water she'd decided to down. "Anyways, we're here to discuss strategy."

Kane sighed, pushing his plate to the side despite dinner barely starting. "What do your mystic powers tell us this time?"

Adhara pursed her lips, and Dale noticed her body language. The way she avoided Kane's gaze, searched the room, drummed her fingers along the table: she was making up whatever Kane wanted to hear.

"I think we should begin moving west," Adhara said, her voice barely above a whisper. "The balance will shift as we move, giving us the upper hand."

"What makes you say that?" Kane asked, but Dale caught a glimmer of intrigue in his dark eyes.

Adhara flashed Kane a venomous look. "My mystic powers." When Kane bristled, Adhara continued. "The half-bloods think that they have a lead on finding us. They believe that we are approaching abandoned mental institutions."

"But you were," Dale countered.

Adhara met Dale's gaze, violet eyes hard as stone. I'm trying to help you, she seemed to assert. "Yes," She said tightly. "But not for the reason you all thought."

"And what reason would that be?" Dale tried to sound casual.

"We needed things," Kane said simply. "We found them. End of story." He averted his gaze to Adhara, a new level of darkness clouding his face. "We haven't been planning on moving west for quite some time. What makes you say now?"

Dale watched as Adhara appeared to be thinking, weighing over whatever cosmic energy gave her the abilities she possessed. And she could tell that despite Adhara being on her side, she was still Aether's coordinator. She was still the one who orchestrated the kidnappings, the Enlightenments, all of it. And right now, she was about to plan another one.

"The Garden is close enough to Camp Jupiter to warrant their alarms," Adhara mused. "They'd be so caught up on trying to attack us, that the valley would be virtually undefended. We could take more recruits, add to the army on the spot, and then disappear. By the time Project Maelstom is activated—"

Dale choked on her drink. Kane slammed his goblet down.

"You know that Project Maelstrom is nowhere near ready for activation," Kane warned, his voice gruff. "And that you are not the one who dictates when to use it. You have no jurisdiction."

Adhara splayed her hands on the table, an innocent smile lacing her lips. "I'm just telling you what I think is our best course of action. If Aether wants a true victory over Camps Jupiter and Half-Blood, and then the destruction of Olympus, Project Maelstrom must come sooner than we thought."

Kane bared his teeth, and Dale wondered if he was a mandrill in another life. However, Adhara only held his gaze. "I suggest you deliberate this plan with Vinny and Matthew, seeing as they were working on Project Maelstrom as we speak."

Kane scoffed, taking another lengthy sip of wine. "They like to say they're working on it. They have no power over it as well."

Adhara kicked Dale beneath the table, and Dale tried her best not to return the gesture. Whatever Adhara was about to say next, Dale needed to pay attention. "No, but they do gather the information required to administer it. After all, the Project's beta test was administered by Vinny."

Kane shook his head, casting a wary look at the fire beyond him. He watched it as if he was imagining the world within its flames, burning to the ground. And then he smiled wryly.

"I'll see what I can do," Kane said, and the matter of Project Maelstrom was over as he slid his attention over to Dale. "So. Guest. Speak."

Dale blinked, trying to settle her mind from piecing together the breadcrumbs Adhara had given. "I'm not a dog."

"Pity, because you are quite the bi—"

"Okay!" Adhara slammed her goblet down. "Let me get one thing straight. You don't have as much power as you like to think you do, Kane, so before you go insulting Aether's new protégé, I advise you to remember your place."

Kane merely smiled the way devils did when chaos was wreaked. Like the world had fallen right into his trap. "Just having some fun is all, Hara."

And just like that, the atmosphere shifted such that Dale wondered if the ceiling above had changed from stars to the storm outside. Only one person had given Adhara that nickname, and that person was not Kane. And yet despite it all, the tension and the betrayal, Adhara exhibited this very truth with steel in her gaze.

Adhara was cut from stone in that moment. "Do not," Her voice was deathly low. "Call me that. If you value your tongue."

Kane smirked. "I bet you would value it as well."

Adhara shot the man a look, then inhaled slowly. "I think it's time you get down to the meeting, Kane. We ladies can finish up here on our own."

Apparently, Kane didn't have to be told twice. He drained his goblet and got up from his seat, sauntering from the room. As soon as he left, Adhara stood up as well. "Dale, did you get all that?"

Dale nodded, pulling out her phone. There was no connection for texts or calls, but buried in the million folds of her chiffony green gown, Dale's phone could still record the conversation.

"Good," Adhara breathed. "I'll stop by after the meeting to pick it up and relay it to Camp Half-Blood."

Dale got up from her seat, feeling somewhat energized. "How long until it starts?"

Adhara dragged a hand through her hair. "Maybe twenty minutes. Why?"

"And every Mask will be there?"

Adhara nodded, then realization dawned in her violet irises. "Dale, don't do it."

"I have to," Dale said, resolute from her voice to her spirit to her frame. "You head down to the meeting, and I'll do what needs to be done."

Adhara pursed her lips, but nodded. In a swish of silver, Adhara and her shimmering gown were gone, leaving Dale alone in the dining room. Dale gave it a minute, then left the dining room.

Her plan hit a snag before it had even started: she had no idea where she was in terms of the library. Every grand hallway looked the same, and she had no way of knowing how many floors or rooms there were in the mansion and what they all led to. There was her unfinished map, but that was in her room, and her chance would run out by the time she got it and made it back. No, she needed to improvise.

Dale muttered a curse under her breath and began to speed-walk down the halls, her green gown hissing against the marble floors. She turned a hall, and true to Adhara's word, there were no guards in sight. They all were awaiting orders from Kane and Aether, both of which wouldn't interrupt her for at least the next twenty minutes.

Dale bounded down the halls, looking into every room and peering down every hall until she found the main hall. However, it seemed that she was on the opposite side of the mansion, with the library on the other end. And yet, as Dale grumbled her way down one of the side halls, she found herself facing flickering lights coming from behind an ajar door.

Instantly, Dale tensed. Flickering lights coming from behind doors were never good signs, but considering the fact that she'd seen the same thing behind a tapestry, her heart began to speed up in anticipation. She bunched up her gown, using a hairtie to keep it secure above her knees, and approached the door. Carefully, she pushed it open, and peaked inside.

It wasn't another passageway. Instead, Dale found herself peering inside of a lavish bedroom, much larger than her own. Portraits and mirrors hung along the walls, with a large four-poster bed on a raised dias on the far side of the room. But what Dale noticed with a pang of alarm was Luke, leaning against the wall and hyperventilating. Sweat glistened on his skin, and underneath the cloak he wore, Dale could see his signature dressy clothing.

Luke's eyes shot open, bloodshot, staring at the ceiling. He seemed to be locked in some alternate reality, some place far away from here, and light began to shine from around him in Aether's signature halo.

Dale couldn't help it; she rushed into the room. Part of her was telling her to kill him, kill him now while he's down. The other part was stunned, unsure of what to do, how to help. Because save the flashing lights, Luke looked hurt and frightened and like he needed help.

Luke turned, and Dale froze as he laid his eyes on her. However, his eyes were glowing silver, like the arrows of the Hunters, instead of the simple blue that he normally donned.

"Dale," Luke's voice sounded like a mix between his own and Aether's. "What are you doing here?"

Dale gaped like a fish out of water, unsure of what to say. However, Luke beat her to it. He cried out in pain again, falling to the floor as more light emanated from his eyes, his body.

"You need to leave!" Luke roared. "It's not safe for you here!"

Dale felt frozen, her feet glued as she watched the scene before her. Luke continued to writhe, crying out and calling names and spewing lines of prophecies new and old.

"GET OUT OF HERE!" Luke bellowed, and as his eyes glowed with an unbearable light, Dale found her will again.

She ran from the room, sprinting down the halls as fast as her feet could carry her, with Aether's roar melding with the thunder outside echoing behind her, reminding her that no matter how fast she ran, where she hid, there was no escaping the light.