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DAYS IN THE SUN

chapter seven
❛ 𝚜𝚑𝚎 𝚍𝚘𝚎𝚜𝚗'𝚝 𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚕𝚞𝚔𝚎. ❜

︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵

      ARES WAS WAITING for them at the diner. "Well, well," he chuckled. "You didn't get yourself killed." Percy gritted his teeth as he stared the god of war down. "You knew it was a trap." He snapped.

A wicked grin was etched onto the war god's lips. "Bet that crippled blacksmith was surprised when he netted a couple of stupid kids." His gaze landed on Amara, her gaze was focused on the floor. She would rather forget the incident that had just taken place, especially since she allowed her fear to get the better of her. It took Annabeth awhile to calm her down once her brain realized fully what she had just gone through. "You looked good on TV, put on quiet the show."

Her eyes widened quicker then she could conceal her surprise, she dug her nails into her palm as she realized the embarrassment she had gone through. Everyone on Olympus had witnessed her fear getting the better of her, witnessed her breakdown.

The son of Poseidon's anger grew as Ares openly made fun of the brunette. It wasn't her fault, but yet, he was making sure she knew to the extent what everyone had seen and thought of it, a show, something to entertain others.

"You're a jerk," Percy shoved the bronze shield at the god, earning Amara's attention. The god ignored him, slinging the shield across his back with a shrug. "See that truck over there?" Ares pointed at an eighteen wheeler across the street. "That's your ride. Takes you straight to LA, with one stop in Vegas."

KINDNESS INTERNATIONAL: HUMAN ZOO TRANSPORT. WARNING: LIVE WILD ANIMALS.

"You're kidding," Percy scoffed after the demigods and satyr took the time to read the sign at the back of the truck with its label. She already had a feeling Grover was getting frustrated over what the truck held.

"Free ride west, punk. Stop complaining. And here's a little something for doing the job." He tossed a backpack at Percy who handed it off to Amara. She looked inside, there was clean clothes for all of them, twenty dollars, fifteen or twenty so drachmas, and a bag of double stuff Oreos.

"I don't want your lousy—"

"Thank you, Lord Ares." Amara interrupted the raven haired boy, sending him a look. He narrowed his sea green eyes back. "Thanks a lot."

"You owe me one more thing." Percy gritted his teeth. "You promised me information about my mother."

"You sure you can handle the news?" Ares shifted his ignition, his bike whirring to life with a monstrous roar that set the atmosphere for his next words. ". . . She's not dead."

Percy froze. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, she was taken away from the Minotaur before she could die. She was turned into a shower of gold, right? That's metamorphosis. Not death. She's being kept."

"Why?"

Amara shared a look with Annabeth, both equally confused from the new information. "You need to study war, punk. Hostages. You take someone to control somebody else." The god rolled his eyes.

"Nobody's controlling me."

The war god had another one of his wicked smirk's. "Oh yeah? See you around, kid."

Out of the corner of her eye, she was able to see Percy balling up his fists. "You're pretty smug, Lord Ares, for a guy who runs from Cupid statues."

The wind turned hot and the brunette could sense the danger in it as Ares's eyes narrowed down on the son of Poseidon. "We'll meet again, Percy Jackson. Next time you're in a fight, watch your back."

And with that the war god left the demigods outside the diner, disappearing down the road.

"Do you have a death wish?" Amara turned on Percy, a glare in her eyes. "You don't make an enemy of a god, Percy. Especially the god of war."

He wasn't able to make a comeback before Grover interrupted them. "Hey, guys," the satyr poked his head between them, the demigods heads turning his way. "I hate to interrupt, but . . ." He pointed to the inside of the diner where the two truck drivers were paying for their meals. "If they're taking the Zoo Express, we need to hurry."

Sparing one last look to the son of Poseidon, she sent a nod to their protector. Together, they ran across the street and climbed in the back of truck, closing the doors behind them. The first thing that hit Amara was the smell, like it was the world's biggest pan of kitty litter. The trailer was dark as she blindly walked around, keeping her hands out in front of her until she managed to find a wall. Percy uncapped Riptide, the blade casting a faint bronze light over a sad scene.

Sitting in a row of filthy metal cages were three out of the most pathetic zoo animals, a zebra, male albino lion, and a weird antelope. The brunette felt as if someone had taken a dagger through her chest once her eyes landed on the lion. A sack of turnips had been thrown at him, but it was obvious he didn't want it.

She didn't pay much attention to the other animals as she slowly crept her way towards the lion. At first, the animal seemed startled by her approaching, like no one had ever done it before, but she kept her hands held out to show she had nothing. Once she reached the cage, she waited patiently for the lion to go to her, in which after a moment, it did. She quickly swatted away the flies that buzzed around his pink eyes, her eyes landing on his ribs that showed through his white fur. She reached a hand through the cage bars, resting it on the animals head before gently scratching back and forth. The lion made an noise that sounded like comfort, before leaning up against the bars where Amara was crouched

"This is kindness?" Grover yelled, bringing the brunette's attention away from the lion. "Human zoo transport?" Annabeth shushed him just as the truck engine started.

She figured he probably would have marched outside to beat the truckers with his reed pipes, but the truck's engine roared to life, shaking the trailer. Annabeth, Percy, and Grover fell down while Amara grabbed onto the cage bars, keeping herself upright.

Afterwards, she found a water jug and refilled the animal's bowls while Percy used Riptide to drag the mismatched food out of the cages. He gave the meat to the lion, and the turnips to the zebra and antelope.

While Grover calmed the antelope down, Annabeth used her dagger to cut the balloon off his horn. She offered to cut the gum out of the zebra's mane, but the satyr insisted on waiting until the truck wasn't bumping around. After that, Grover promised the animals they would help them more in the morning, then they began settling in for the night.

Their protector was curled up on a turnip sack while Amara laid across the lion's cage, the animal itself leaning against her side of the cage as it watched her, occasionally licking her shoulder. She was using her leather jacket as a blanket while she slept peacefully.

Annabeth spoke, making sure her voice was low as not to wake the sleeping Amara. "Hey," she said. "I'm sorry for freaking out back at the water park, Percy. If I could had just held open the net, you and Amara might have gotten out easier."

"It's okay." He said. "Besides, I don't think any of us could have held the net open even if we're as strong as Hercules."

"It's just . . . spiders." The blonde shuddered at the thought of them as Percy laughed a little.

"Because of the Arachne story?" He guessed. "She got turned into a spider for challenging your mom to a weaving contest right?"

She nodded. "Arachne's children have been taking revenge on the children of Athena ever since. If there's a spider within a mile of me, it'll find me. I hate the creepy little things. Anyway, I owe you. You know, for saving Amara." Her stormy grey eyes landed on the brunette sleeping besides the animal, and Percy had to admit, she wasn't as bad as he first thought. Still someone to get used too, but not as bad.

"We're a team, remember? Besides," his eyes landed on the satyr. "Grover did the fancy flying thing."

Grover mumbled in his sleep. "I was pretty amazing, wasn't I?"

They laughed at him.

"In the Iris Message, did Luke really say nothing?" Annabeth asked, pulling apart an Oreo.

"Luke said you, him, and Amara go way back. And that Grover wouldn't fail this time. Nobody would turn into a pine tree."

Their protector let out a mournful groan. "I should've told you the truth from the beginning. I thought if you knew what a failure I was, you wouldn't want me along."

"You were the satyr who tried to rescue Thalia, the daughter of Zeus." He nodded. "And the three other half-bloods, Thalia befriended, the ones who got safely to camp . . ." He looked to Annabeth and Amara. "That was you, Luke, and Amara, wasn't it?"

"Technically," Grover spoke up, sparing a glance to the sleeping brunette. "Thalia never befriended Amara." Percy shot him a confused look. "What do you mean? Aren't they just half-siblings?"

"No, Percy. They are sisters, born from the same mother, Thalia and Amara Grace." The satyr explained.

"Like you said, Percy," Annabeth spoke. "A seven year old half-blood wouldn't have made it very far alone. Athena guided me towards Amara, who was walking ahead of Thalia and Luke at the time, and she led me to help. Thalia was twelve, Luke was fourteen, and Amara was six turning seven that winter. They'd all ran away from home, like me. We travelled from North Virginia without any real plans, fending off monsters for about two weeks before Grover found us."

"I was supposed to escort Thalia and Amara to camp." Grover sounded like he was going to cry. "Only those two. I had strict orders from Chiron, don't do anything that would slow down the rescue. We knew Hades was after them, see, but I couldn't just leave Luke and Annabeth by themselves. I thought . . . I thought I could lead all four of them to safety. It was my fault the Kindly Ones caught up with us. I froze. I got scared on the way back to camp and took some wrong turns. If I'd just been a little quicker . . . then maybe Amara would have her sister."

"Stop it." Annabeth scolded him. "No one blames you. Thalia didn't blame you either, and Amara doesn't blame you now."

"She sacrificed herself to save us." He said, in a miserable tone. "It was so hard, to watch Luke keep a hold of Amara as she screamed, cried, and thrashed in his arms for Thalia, just to get to her sister. Her death was my fault. The council of Cloven Elders said so."

"Because you wouldn't leave the other half-bloods behind? That's not fair." Percy scowled.

"Percy's right, Grover. I wouldn't be here today if it weren't for you. Neither would Luke, or Amara. We don't care what the council says."

"It's just my luck. I'm the lamest satyr ever, and I find the three most powerful half-bloods of the century, Thalia, Amara, and Percy."

"You're not lame." Annabeth fought. "You've got more courage than any satyr I've ever met. Name one other who would dare go to the Underworld. I bet Percy and Amara are really glad you're here right now."

"Yeah." Percy got kicked in the shin by Annabeth. "It's not luck that you found Thalia, Amara, and me, Grover. You've got the biggest heart of any satyr ever. You're a natural searcher. That's why you'll be the one to find Pan." It was silent for a moment as the duo waited for Grover's reply, but all it was, was an echo of snores. "How does he do that?" Percy asked, sparing the blonde a look.

"I don't know. But that was a really nice thing you told him." Annabeth smiled.

"I meant it." He watched her play with her clay necklace, the white bead with the pine tree on it. "That pine tree bead. Is that from your first year?"

"Yeah. Every August, the counselors pick the most important event of the summer, and they paint it on that years bead. I've got Thalia's tree, a Greek trireme on fire, a centaur in a prom dress, now that was a weird summer—"

Percy interrupted her. "And that college ring is your father's?"

"That's none of your—" She paused. "Yeah. Yeah, it is."

"You don't have to tell me."

"No . . . it's okay. My dad sent it to me filed up in a letter, two summers ago. The ring was, like, his main keepsake from Athena. He wouldn't have gotten through his doctoral program at Harvard without her . . . that's a long story. Anyway, he said he wanted me to have it. He apologized for being a jerk, said he loved me and missed me. He wanted me to come home and live with him."

"That doesn't sound so bad."

"Yeah, well . . . the problem was, I believed him. I tried to go home for that school year, but my stepmom was the same as ever. She didn't want her kids in danger by living with a freak. Monsters attacked. We argued. I didn't even make it through winter break."

"You think you'll ever try living with your dad, again?"

"Please. I'm not into self inflicted pain."

"You shouldn't give up. You should write him a letter, or something."

"Thanks for the advice." Her voice turned bitter. "But my father made his choice about who he wants to live with."

Percy glanced down at Amara before looking at Annabeth. "And Amara? What about her family?"

It was silent for a moment while the blonde thought about what to say. "Amara . . . she doesn't have any."

His eyes slightly widened. "But her mom—"

"Doesn't talk about her, she and Thalia always acted like she was dead. Told us they were all each other had, so when Thalia died, she had no one."

A frown appeared as he watched the brunette clutch onto the leather jacket, adjusting her legs. "You see her jacket?" The blonde asked, and he nodded. "It's a copy of Thalia's, of course. Thalia has the real thing, but when we were runaways Amara saw a jacket that looked like hers, so Luke got it for her and whenever she misses her sister without saying anything, she wears it."

"But how do you know then?"

A sad smile curled onto Annabeth's lips. "Because, I know her. And she hasn't worn it for awhile, but now that we're going out into the real world, she puts it on. She always does whenever we go on field trips, make's her feel like Thalia's there with her."

He let out a hum, before his mind drifted to the Belle incident that had happened earlier in the quest. "And the Belle name?"

The daughter of Athena let out a small laugh. "She was visited by Aphrodite in her dreams a year ago and was told she was a reincarnation of Belle, destined for the same story and would meet her Beast someday. She didn't take it well, she hates being told what to do or have someone else controlling her life. Took Beckendorf and Luke all day to cool her down," laughter escaped the blonde as memories ran through her mind. "They smelled like electricity for weeks."

An amused smiled appeared on Percy's lips. "So she's close to Beckendorf?"

Annabeth nodded. "Yeah, she's close to both him and Luke. Looks up to Luke like a brother, she's known him longer than I have so it's understandable, they have a good relationship. Honestly, I think it's impossible to separate them at times. And Beckendorf, he helped her cope with Thalia's death, Luke couldn't since he was mourning as well, so Beckendorf stepped in. He even offered to bring her home with him for the school year, he does every year, but she doesn't want to leave Luke."

The duo was quiet for a moment before Percy spoke up, changing the subject. "So if the gods fight, will things line up like they did with the Trojan War? Will it be Athena versus Poseidon?"

"I don't know what my mom will do. I just know I'll fight next to you."

"Why?"

"Because you're my friend, Jackson. And you saved Amara's life, that makes you okay in my book. And I think one day, she'll come around to see you as a friend as well."

A shocked look appeared on the son of Poseidon's face as he spoke. "You think so?"

"I think so."

.·:*¨༺ ༻¨*:·.

Amara ran her hand through the lion's mane, the animal hiding her with its body as she squatted inside its cage. Grover was shaking Percy awake. "The truck stopped," he said. "We think they're coming to check on the animals."

"Hide!" Annabeth hissed, slipping her Yankees Cap on, leaving the boys to dive behind a sack of turnips while the lion sat itself in front of the brunette, seemingly knowingly why it was so important she was not to be seen.

She rested her hands in it's white mane, gently running her hands up and down as the trailer doors swung open, bright sunlight flooding the areas. She squinted her eyes, attempting to get use to the sudden bright light.

"Man! I wished I hauled appliances." Amara heard one of the men say, followed by the sound of pouring water into one of the animals bowl she was guessing. Footsteps became closer as they neared the lions cage. Her grip on its mane tightened slightly as the footsteps stopped before the animal. "You hot, big boy?" He asked the lion before he splashed the rest of the bucket into the lions face.

The lion roared, causing her to let go as he shook his mane and bared his large, menacing teeth. But the man didn't seem fazed. "Yeah, yeah, yeah." He replied.

A growl escaped the lion as she placed her hands back in its mane, gently scratching the animal. A loud knock sounded from outside the van, and Amara knew it was Annabeth running past the truck and hitting it. The trucker yelled, "what do you want, Eddie?"

A voice — presumed to be Eddie — answered back with a shout, "Maurice? What'd ya say?"

"What are you banging for?"

Three more bangs were hit against the truck. A smirk twisted onto her lips as Annabeth's plan seemed to be working.

Outside, Eddie yelled. "What banging?"

Maurice cursed under his breath — something about Eddie being an idiot — and stormed back outside. A second later, Annabeth appeared back inside the truck, startling the boys.

Giving one last scratch to the lion, Amara made her way out from the inside of the cage. "This transport business can't be legal." Annabeth stated, quickly getting to the topic at hand once the brunette joined them.

"No kidding." Grover scowled. "The lion says these guys are animals smugglers! We've got to free them."

She was able to see Percy unsheathed his sword and slash Riptide across the padlock, the zebra bursted out. The animal turned to the raven haired boy and bowed, causing Amara to raise a brow at the son of Poseidon who gave her a helpless shrug.

The demigods and satyr were able to get to the doors of the trailer in time to see the zebra galloping down a wide boulevard lined with hotels and casinos and neon signs. Maurice and Eddie ran after it, a few policemen chasing them. "Hey! You need a permit for that!" They shouted.

"Now would be a good time to leave." Annabeth said nervously, while the brunette agreed. "But we need to free the other animals first." She spoke.

Percy cut the locks on the cages with his sword. Grover raised his hands and spoke the same blessing as he had before. Percy wished them 'good luck' and the antelope and the lion burst out of their cages, the antelope racing off and into the Las Vegas traffic. The lion rubbed it's side against Amara, while she gave it one last scratch before he took off and into the wilderness.

"Will the animals be okay?" Percy asked Grover. "I mean, the desert and all . . ."

"Don't worry." Grover said. "I placed a satyr's sanctuary on them."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning they'll reach the wild safely. They'll find water, food, shade, whatever they need until they find a safe place to live."

"Why can't you place a blessing like that on us?" He asked but Grover shot him down.

"It only works on animals."

Annabeth smirked. "So it would only affect Percy."

"Hey!" He complained while soft laughter escaped from Amara that she managed to hide behind her hand.

"Kidding. Come on. Let's get out of this filthy truck."

.·:*¨༺ ༻¨*:·.

They began wandering the streets of Las Vegas, looking for a place to rest and eat away from the heat. Soon, they came upon the Lotus Hotel and Casino. "Hey, kids." The doorman smiled down at them, but Amara couldn't acknowledge him, she was too tired. All she wanted was a good place to rest and decent food to eat. "You look tired, want to come in and sit down?"

It sounded like a trick, but she was too tired to care, in sync the four of them said yes and walked into the building. "Here," Annabeth stopped in front of the brunette, squatting. "I'll carry you for a bit, you look like you'll pass out at anytime."

She had no energy to argue or fight back as the blonde wrapped her arms around her neck before hoisting her onto her back and began walking. "Whoa," Grover said.

Amara finally lifted her head from Annabeth's shoulder as she looked up, the whole lobby was one giant room with a indoor water slide that snaked up the glass elevator, went up at one side of the building, and an indoor bungee jumping bridge on the other. There were virtual reality suits with working laser guns and hundreds of video games, each one the size of a widescreen television. By the snack bar was an archery range, with a Robin Hood golden arrow that gleamed atop the entrance. There were only a few other kids playing, but not many. There were no waiting lines.

"Hey!" A bellhop said. He wore a white-and-yellow Hawaiian shirt with lotus designs, shorts and flip flops. "Welcome to the Lotus Casino. Here's your room key."

Percy stammered, sharing a look with Amara, both equally confused as she slid down the daughter of Athena's back. "Um, but . . ."

"No, no. The bills taken care of. No extra charges, no tips. Just go on up to the top floor, room 4001. If you need anything, like extra bubbles for the hot tub, or skeet targets for the shooting range, or whatever, just call the front desk. Here are your LotusCash cards. They work in the restaurants and on all the games and rides." He handed them each a plastic green card.

"How much is on there?" Amara asked, looking to Annabeth for help.

"What do you mean?" The bellhop eyebrows knit together.

"She means, when does it run out of cash?" Percy continued for her.

He laughed. "Oh, your making a joke. Hey, that's cool. Enjoy your stay."

They took the elevator to the top floor and checked out their room. It was a suite with four separate bedrooms and a bar stocked with candy, sodas, and chips. A hotline to room service. Fluffy white towels and waterbeds with feather pillows. A big-screen television with satellite and fast internet. On the balcony was a large hot tub and a small shooting range with shotguns that you could launch clay pigeons out over Las Vegas' skyline and shot them dead.

"Oh, goodness." Annabeth said. "This place is . . ."

"Sweet. Absolutely sweet." Grover finished her sentence.

.·:*¨༺ ༻¨*:·.

Amara took the first shower, feeling amazing now that she was finally able to rub the grime and dirt off her skin. Percy was sat on the bed discussing why National Geographic was the most boring tv channel ever with Annabeth who was hogging the remote while Grover was enjoying the softness of the bed.

She had changed clothes from earlier, but kept her leather jacket and converse's. Instead, she switched her previous long sleeve to a grey tank top with a black flannel, and replaced her light blue skinny jeans for dark blue skinny jeans, with rips here and there.

Her hair was air drying as she stood besides the bed, her hands in her back pockets as she looked at her comrades. "What now?" A smirk twisted its way to her lips. "Play time?" Percy looked up, a smirk that mirrored her own etched on his lips. "Play time." He agreed with a mischief glint in his sea green eyes.

.·:*¨༺ ༻¨*:·.

Soft chuckles escaped Amara's lips as her eyes held an amused glint for the young boy in front of her. Nico di Angelo was the boy's name, he was younger, with olive skin and shaggy, messy raven hair and dark brown eyes. She was introduced to the boy because he had run up to her, claiming she looked cool, and wanted to show off his Mythomagic collectible cards and figurines, starting off with his Zeus figurine.

Then, Bianca di Angelo, the older sister to Nico appeared, claiming her brother had run off and began to apologize repeatedly for her brothers action. She was an older girl, maybe the same age as Amara, but her olive skin and silky raven hair was a dead giveaway she was related to the boy who stood in front of the brunette.

She had waved the girl her age off, before she was guided over to a booth by Nico, who excitedly began showing off his figurines and cards. Bianca slid on the booth next to her, preferring the inside, as they occasionally made small talk, both the girls focused on Nico. A sad looked was momentarily on Amara's face as she watched the boy, her mind wandering as she wondered what he would be like these days, would he be the same as Nico? Mature for his age? Or childish in all the right places?

"Zeus is the most powerful one I have!" Nico explained, giving a toothy smile as he held up the figure. "I'm close to halfway collecting them all."

Bianca leaned close to the Grace girl, whispering so Nico couldn't hear. "You should escape from this conversation while you can." She giggled. "He can go on all day."

A grin twisted onto her lips as she met glances with the oldest di Angelo, who held an joy filled smile. "Hey!" Their focus was drawn back to Nico. "Amara, are you listening to me?" The young boy whined, puffing out his cheeks while crossing his arms in a pout.

"Of cours—"

"Amara," the brunette's attention was directed to Percy and Annabeth standing next to the booth, a worrisome look on their faces. "Can I talk to you?" Percy asked, but the blonde didn't let her give him an answer as she grabbed the demigod's sleeve, pulling her up and away from the di Angelo's.

Nico turned to Bianca, confusion written on his face. "Who were they?" His sister shrugged, her eyes on the trio. "Maybe her boyfriend and friend."

Annabeth pulled her around the corner where the siblings couldn't see, Percy standing besides her. "The quest, remember?" He asked while the blonde shook her slightly. But Amara shrugged them off. "Sure, whatever. Just after Nico gets down showing off his cards and figurines."

She began to walk back towards the booth. "Amara, no—"

But Annabeth didn't let her get far before grabbing her by her arm, yanking her back towards them and near the blonde's face. "Water," she said. "Big vast, open water." When no jolt of realization came from the brunette, she continued. "No one around, drowning."

Amara blinked, her eyes snapping back to reality before they turned harsh. "That, was rather unnecessary," she spat. "And quit pulling me like a rag doll, Beth!"

Percy and Annabeth met gazes, grins appearing. "She's back," the raven haired boy said to the blonde.

"Now," the Chase girl said. "We find Grover."

Amara's eyes landed on the siblings, Bianca looked happy watching Nico, who kept explaining to her by the looks of it his figurines. "Let me go say goodbye real quick," she earned a look from the blonde. "It'll be fast, promise."

When she came into sight, Nico and Bianca smile's widened. Once she got close enough, she ruffled the boy's hair, giving him a grin. "You have a cool game, Nico. I'll see you sometime." His smile widened if possible as she turned to Bianca. "And you, you're pretty cool. Keep looking after him, you're doing great."

The di Angelo's eyes shined as she walked away, joining Percy and Annabeth's side as they began looking for Grover. They managed to find him quickly, playing Virtual Deer Hunter. "Die, Human! Die, silly polluting nasty person!"

"Grover!" Amara yelled at him.

He spun around, pointing the plastic gun at her while he clicked as if she were a imagine from the screen. Sharing a look with the raven haired boy they grabbed Grover by the arms, dragging him from the game. His flying shoes sprung to life and started tugging his legs in the other direction as he shouted at them.

"No! I just got to a new level! No!"

The bellhop skipped over to them. "Well, now, are you ready for your platinum cards?"

"We're leaving." Percy told him with a stern resolve that Amara respected as she analyzed the bellhop's posture "Such a shame." He hung his head. "We just added an entire new floor full of games for platinum card members."

He held out the cards. The satyr attempted to reach for one, but Annabeth hit his hand away from reaching the card. "No thanks." And with that, they bursted through the doors of the Lotus Casino and ran down the sidewalk. The first thing the brunette noticed was the weather had completely change, it was now stormy with thunder roaring throughout the desert.

The second, was Ares's backpack that was slung over Percy's shoulder, an item she had thought she had thrown away. "Come on," Annabeth guided them to the nearest newspaper stand, when Amara noticed the date. June twentieth.

They had been in the Lotus Casino for five days. They had only one day left until the summer solstice, one day to return her father's lightning bolt.

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3-09-23

     hello hello! i'm so sorry for the lack of updates, school keeps me busy. i'm happy to say however we are almost to part two! anyway, i hope you enjoyed this chapter and thank you all so much for the patience, and support! i'll see you in the next chapter !!