Bonds of Hercules (Villains of Lore, #2)(16)

Tingles skittered across my fingers, and claustrophobia crushed my lungs.

Picking up a snoring Nyx, I wrapped her around my neck like a scarf and quietly slipped out of the luxurious bed.

As I stood up, everything throbbed, and my knee buckled painfully. It took a few moments of trial and error to figure out how to move.

With a gasp of relief, I finally stumbled into the cooler air of the corridor.

I paused, listening.

What was that sound?

Marble gleamed and columns lined the walls with bronze sculptures displayed between them—naked warriors in various battle poses.

Crystals clattered, refracting candlelight, as chandeliers swayed.

It was eerie.

Helen had said the entire villa was off the electric grid, something about tinted windows and limiting light exposure for privacy. The new fence with neon-green searchlights seemed to moot that point.

A shriek echoed.

The calm shattered.

“Did you hear that?” I whispered down to Nyx.

Scales tightened around my neck. “Shut up and go to sleep,” she mumbled tiredly.

This can’t be happening again. It’s probably all in your imagination and not rea— Marble vibrated beneath my bare toes as a woman screamed.

Thirst forgotten, I followed the sound.

Countless turns later, a heavy unmarked metal door sat in the shadows of a hall.

A dead end.

Footsteps echoed behind me—I whirled around, heart pounding.

No one was there.

Holding my breath, I crept forward and pressed my ear against the metal door.

Chains rattled. A woman screamed in pain.

Déjà vu hit me.

Grabbing the handle, I pulled with all my might—the hinges groaned—I huffed as I wedged the door open and slipped inside.

It slammed shut behind me.

Old copper and mildew filled my nose as I crept down dark, narrow stairs into a dungeon. A sliver of moonlight crawled through a narrow window and illuminated the dank space.

I stopped.

A tall woman lifted her head from the wall and stopped screaming—dark eyes filled with emotions as she glared at me.

My lips parted on a silent gasp.

Fresh blood dripped from her eyes, ears, and mouth—Augustus was torturing her.

Her dirt-encrusted hair was pink, the color unmistakable. I’d seen the same shade at the top of The Falcon Chronicles.

Ceres.

I was standing in front of the muse who’d betrayed me to Theros. The one who’d recently disappeared. The report said there was little concrete evidence, but the circumstantial proof was damning. She was a longtime spy for the House of Zeus.

My husbands had been the ones who’d kidnapped her.

Chains clattered in the far corner as another prisoner groaned in agony.

“Uh—kid,” Nyx hissed. “What are you doing?”

I took a shaky step back.

“Help me,” Ceres demanded with a growl. She grunted, chains clanking as she pulled at them frantically. “Help!”

Hades’s advice drifted through my mind.

Ceres tipped her head back and screamed with frustration, the sound of a broken woman.

“Did you … help Theros kill all those children?” I asked softly.

Ceres went still, eyes widening.

“Did you assist Theros?” I repeated. “Yes or no?”

I stood outside the entrance to the dungeon, in the villa’s ornate hall, blocking Ceres from Augustus and Kharon’s view.

We’d barely made it out of the dungeon.

Helen stood beside me in her nightgown with her hands on her hips.

The gilded hall was dark with shadowy candlelight. Decorative marble statues glared down at me.

I was covered in sweat, heart pounding painfully.

I’d decided to free Ceres from the dungeon without anyone knowing.

The releasing part went smoothly, the secrecy part not so much.

Helen had heard me slip out of bed and had followed me. She’d confronted me in the dungeon.

When I’d finally convinced Helen not to tell anyone—just when we’d crept out of the darkness into the hall—Kharon and Augustus had appeared.

Apparently, I’d set off one of the villa’s alarm systems.

Now Augustus scowled down at a pager device for the tenth time. “It says the security perimeter was breached and that two Spartans leapt into the villa.”

I opened my mouth—my voice cracked, throat closing over with fear. No words emerged.

“It’s wrong,” Helen stated calmly beside me. “I told you, no one left. I followed Alexis out of bed, and then she freed Ceres. That’s all that happened.”

Kharon made a choking sound, eyes narrowed with fury like he didn’t know what the truth was. His hellhounds stood at his feet.

Poco was perched on Augustus’s shoulder, his fluffy arms crossed indignantly.

Make them believe you.

I gathered every ounce of courage I possessed.

“There’s no concrete evidence against Ceres and she s-swears she wasn’t involved,” I said. “I’m v-vouching for her. She’s innocent.”

Augustus slashed his hand through the air. “I was finding evidence by interrogating her … That’s the entire Kronos damned point! It’s not safe for you and Helen to be around her.”