Bonds of Hercules (Villains of Lore, #2)(49)

I shook my head.

My husbands looked on with devastation as I walked away with their protectors at my side.





17


THE HUNTER




KHARON: EARLY JUNE

Thud.

Whoosh.

Thud.

Whoosh.

The heavy punching bag swung in the dark as I pounded my taped fists against it.

The clock on the training room wall read six in the morning, but time didn’t matter when you didn’t rest.

My nights were spent standing over Alexis, watching her sleep.

Every morning at five, I ripped myself away from her side and took out my aggression in the gym.

Missions had been paused after the Rome incident, aka the worst day of my fucking life.

There was nothing to do but run through Titan simulations, stalk Alexis, and prepare for the SGC.

August was fast approaching.

We’d started incorporating battle weapons into our daily exercises, mostly sword and dagger work, since guns weren’t allowed in the Dolomite Coliseum. The modern weapons dishonored the Kronos blessed sands—only knives, swords, and fists were allowed. Alexis did okay, but she was a novice, and it would take years to master a blade.

We didn’t have years. We had weeks.

On top of all that, Alexis hadn’t talked to us since we’d fought with Patro and Achilles a few weeks ago.

She hadn’t said a single word.

Not one.

The Crimson Duo had fucking left her to die. We’d saved her, and yet she was mad at both of us.

Little did she know, we’d shown them mercy.

They were still alive.

Bouncing on the balls of my feet, I kicked out. The bag careened violently to the side, spinning. I kicked it back in the other direction. The need to slaughter, kill, hurt, was a constant urge.

Thud-thud-thud.

I jabbed with all my might.

Bloody prints smeared the bag’s surface as my knuckles split.

I punched faster.

The sound was muffled strangely without the shell of my left ear, but I hadn’t lied when I said I was glad Alexis had it. If she’d been permanently marred by the fucking Titans, Achilles and Patro would be dead right now.

I kicked harder, my ruined knee on fire.

It was a Kronos damned miracle that Alexis couldn’t feel my or Augustus’s pain. Thank fuck the connection only went one way. Embarrassment churned inside my gut at the mere thought of Alexis knowing how I felt.

If she knew just how weak I was, how much my leg hurt daily, she’d be disgusted.

She’d think I wasn’t good enough to be her husband.

At this point, I’d do anything for a single word from her. I’d strip naked and crawl. I’d stab myself in the heart.

At night, I found myself delicately tracing her cheeks, her nose, her eyebrows, with the tips of my fingers, desperate to connect with her.

“Fuck!” I screamed as I kicked, and the chain snapped. The punching bag flew across the room, slamming into the wall in a cloud of chalk.

I fell to my knees.

“You need to come to our room and see this!” Augustus shouted down from the entrance hatch. “Now.”

Neck prickling at the uncharacteristic fear in his voice, I staggered to my feet.

A few minutes later I stood in front of a black computer screen, as Augustus rapidly clicked buttons on the keyboard.

“What am I supposed to be looking at?” I asked, as I dragged my bloody hands down my face and attempted to wipe away my exhaustion.

Augustus didn’t answer, stabbing at the keyboard like he had a personal vendetta against it.

The screen flickered on.

It was a grainy video with the watermark of a popular Spartan chaser. I rolled my eyes at the crowd of elderly humans on the screen. “What did the stupid bastards film now—”

The camera panned to the Roman Colosseum, where two Titans stood tall on the grass in front of it, their wings larger than I remembered. They looked revolting.

The camera turned, zooming in on the humans again.

Both Titans were headed straight toward them.

They were dead.

Shots echoed off screen and the cameraman gasped, the picture shook—Alexis lunged out of nowhere and threw herself in front of the humans with her arms spread wide.

I leaned closer.

She raised both her guns and fired.

Hair blowing behind her back, face determined, she held her ground like certain death wasn’t stalking toward her.

The bullets barely slowed the Titans.

I waited for her to leap away; I waited for her to save herself.

In a blur of white, Fluffy Jr. jumped on one of the Titans and tackled it to the ground. The usually docile creature, who seemed to constantly be suffering from digestive issues, was more vicious than I could have ever imagined.

But there was still one Titan standing.

“Why isn’t she leaping away?”

Augustus’s frown deepened. “Oh—just you fucking wait.”

I didn’t like his tone.

Hands fisted, I watched the winged fucking monstrosity approach my wife until it was close enough to kill.

I gritted my teeth. “Tell me she leaps away right now.”

Augustus scowled and shook his head, his eyes locked on the screen.

“WHY isn’t she saving herself?” I asked, unable to watch, but unable to look away.