Bonds of Hercules (Villains of Lore, #2)(117)

From the nervous murmuring in the coliseum, no one in Sparta would think of him that way again.

Poco let out a mighty screech, the noise echoing as he banged his tiny black hands against his chest plate.

Augustus smiled at his antics.

They made quite the sight—a monster and his dressed-up raccoon.

Augustus stopped and turned to our section of the stands. He shielded his bloody eyes from the sun and put a hand on his heart.

“What … is he doing?” Alexis asked.

I swallowed thickly, fingers curling around hers.

“This was—” I struggled around the lump in my throat “—all for you.”

“What?”

“Augustus … revealed the full extent of his power—to keep you safe. He ended it quickly so the Minotaurs couldn’t hurt him, nor you … It was all so you wouldn’t feel his pain.”

Alexis looked around the stadium. “But now they’re afraid of him.” Her voice was small, unsure.

I brought her hand up to my beating, blistered heart.

“He doesn’t care about them,” I said. “You’re all that matters to us.”

Gratitude for him swelling, I nodded down at Augustus.

Alexis’s fingers trembled in my grip.

Soon … it would be her turn to fight.

Lifting her hand up to my mouth, I softly kissed each of her knuckles.

She was going to be okay.

She has to be.

If not, we were going to war.





43


THE 12 LABORS OF HERCULES




ALEXIS: SGC DAY 13

Fists banged on the door as Olympian guards shouted something.

My eyes shot open.

Phantom aches coursed along my limbs.

Torchlight burned low, shadows dancing across the blood-streaked empty bed. “Augustus … Kharon?” I called out, searching the darkness.

No one answered.

Fluffy Jr. whined as he stumbled to his feet. He was alone on the floor. Poco and the hellhounds were also missing.

They wouldn’t abandon me … not now. Not right before my labors. Not on the most important day of my life.

“Let’s go!” a guard yelled outside.

Something is very wrong.

Heart racing, I stumbled on strangely sore legs into the bathroom and threw icy water onto my face. Monochrome eyes stared back at me, full of panic.

“HURRY UP!”

I hastily braided my hair down my back. Curls escaped around my face, and I patted them down with desperation.

A guard screamed, “One minute—and we’re coming in!”

I shoved my feet into my boots, fingers slipping as I tied the laces.

The door creaked as it started to open.

I stood up, ready to go—

My eyes widened and I turned frantically. I grabbed my lucky calculator off the bed and tucked it into my toga pocket as I yelled, “Nyx!”

A sleepy hiss sounded from the pillows. Diving across the bed, I slapped until I felt warm scales.

“No—sleeeep,” Nyx complained, as I yanked her up and wound her around my neck, heart in my throat at the realization that I’d almost forgotten her.

BANG.

The door slammed open and light streamed in.

A dozen guards waited. Titus and Alessander stood toward the back of the group. They made eye contact and opened their mouths like they were going to say something—whatever they saw on my face made them stop.

“MOVE.” An older guard stepped in and pointed a sparking baton out into the hall.

I didn’t need to be told twice.

Fluffy Jr. barked as he ran out of the room.

“No, stay back. It’s not—” My jaw dropped. “Jesus Christ.”

The guards staggered out of his way.

Fluffy Jr. had seemingly undergone another growth spurt. His head was now at my chest, his body monstrously proportioned.

His back was still grossly distended, and he was in no shape to fight.

“Move!” A guard shoved me and Fluffy Jr. growled.

Boots pounded against stone, the guards stomping in synchrony in front and behind as they led us through the labyrinth.

Nyx slithered slowly around my shoulders.

We turned right down an unfamiliar cavern—it opened into a room with copper torches hanging from walls that were covered in silver.

“CHOOSE ONE.” A guard pointed.

Weapons covered every inch of the walls: swords, axes, knives, whips, throwing stars.

We’d just started training with manual armaments—I wasn’t particularly good at any of them.

You can do this, Alexis.

Shouts echoed all around; guards were surrounding me bellowing things; sparking batons pointed; my teeth ached from the proximity to voltage; Fluffy Jr. whined, his wet nose nuzzling at my face.

I hadn’t even realized that I’d fallen to my knees.

Stop it. Get control of yourself.

Hyperventilating, I got to my feet. I gathered my courage, even though it felt like fear.

“What’s the easiest weapon to use?” I asked Nyx under my breath.

“A spear,” she hissed.

I yanked a long titanium pole with an arrow-like end off the wall.

Before I could even process my choice, I was shoved out of the narrow room and down a different labyrinth of paths.