Bonds of Hercules (Villains of Lore, #2)(13)

In my peripheral vision, Drex sat on the other side with wide eyes. An ugly bird flew above his head in small circles.

Poco repositioned himself into a fuzzy lump on my chest.

“Did you see Hermos?” Agatha asked as she stood up from where she was sitting on the floor. She stalked across the room and got in my face.

Poco hissed and tried to bite her.

She jumped back out of his reach.

“Hermos is in a … coma,” I croaked, fighting through nausea. “Head all wrapped.”

“Screw you,” Agatha said as she whirled around and pointed a finger accusingly at Kharon. “You just had to fucking shoot him.”

“He’s lucky he’s still alive,” he said dismissively.

Agatha snarled.

Kharon pushed past her. “How is Alexis? Is she … okay?” he asked me softly.

I shook my head no.

“Of course she’s not okay,” Patro sneered from where he was still leaning against the far wall. “She’s married to you.”

Grunts echoed as Kharon threw himself at Patro and they wrestled.

Tiny black fingers covered my ears.

At the end of the couch, Drex muttered what sounded like a prayer to Jesus? He’s not going to help you here. This is Sparta.

Poco forgot what he was doing and started playing with my earlobe. He stuck a tiny finger deep into my ear.

Crack.

I peeked open my eyes.

Achilles materialized in the middle of the room in a cloud of smoke, with Poppae and Nero crouched at his feet.

Kharon and Patro had pulled apart, both looking guilty, like they were trying to hide the fact that they were fighting from Achilles.

Achilles signed something rapidly to Patro and handed him a scroll.

As Patro read it, Achilles threw himself down on the couch beside me, rubbing at his temples like he was exhausted.

An unlit cigarette hung between the grates of his muzzle.

Drex whimpered with fear on the other side of the couch, and we rolled our eyes, sharing a long-suffering look—this new Olympian boy isn’t going to last a week in the Assembly of Death.

I stiffened.

“Stay away from Alexis,” I whispered. As my half brother who also grew up in the House of Ares, I’d always considered him my closest family next to Helen.

Red eyes flashed as Achilles arched a brow mockingly.

I reached for my gun holster.

He mimicked the gesture.

He’s not family anymore.

Poco hissed at Achilles, then he pointed his tiny finger and mimed shooting at him. Kharon had spent the last months teaching him the gesture.

Nero prowled over to the couch with a low growl.

I glanced at the wolf.

It tucked its tail and slunk away.

“EVERYONE!” Patro shouted as he waved a yellow scroll through the neon-red air. “Medusa … escaped from the Underworld.” His voice shook like he’d seen a ghost. “She murdered two Olympians—two immortals.”

The sirens seemed to wail louder.

Patro flipped it around for all to see.

The entire page was a picture of Medusa. Pale and small-boned, her eyes looked much too large for her head. Covered in blood and dirt, she stared blankly from behind prison bars.

Patro read the headline, “Manhunt mobilized because monstrous Medusa is rampaging again, two Olympians dead: Is she now coming for the Chthonics who locked her up?”

I rolled my eyes.

Agatha laughed.

“Why aren’t you panicking? What the fuck is wrong with you people?” Patro pointed the scroll at me accusingly. “Now the disgusting Gorgon is going to come after all of us … She should have just fucking died. Snake scum.”

Agatha stepped forward. “Do you have a problem with Gorgons, Patro?” she asked. “Because that sounded like a slur.”

Patro sneered. “Yeah, maybe I do … They’re violent dark creatures who can’t figure out how to fucking act right. They’re more like animals than—”

“I wouldn’t finish that sentence if I were you.” Agatha cut him off, razor-sharp teeth glinting in her mouth as the skin on her face started to peel away, revealing a monstrous visage.

She opened her maw wider.

In a blur, Achilles moved across the room and stood in front of Patro protectively.

He leaned forward like he was also baring his teeth behind his muzzle; the smoking end of his cigarette matched his eyes.

Flashing crimson lights bathed all of them in shadows as the emergency warning continued blaring.

“They don’t fear her because she’s part Gorgon,” I said.

Everyone turned toward me.

I spoke slowly, “Recessive traits … can be expressed when Spartans breed with creatures … That’s why it doesn’t often happen.”

“What are you talking about?” Patro asked with narrowed eyes.

“There are strange ancestors in the Artemis line,” I said quietly, not looking at Kharon across the room. “Medusa wasn’t born with Chthonic powers—she’s a Gorgon, born with the power of Fate.”

Patro gasped, and the scroll clattered as it dropped from his fingers. “That’s why everyone fears Medusa?” he asked with disbelief.

Drex whimpered.

Patro’s face contorted with disgust. “She’s a fucking monster.” He shivered dramatically. “Snake scum with the power of Fate. She shouldn’t exist.”