Bonds of Hercules (Villains of Lore, #2)(67)

It didn’t.

Equally relieved and horrified, I engaged my mental abilities. I felt the same, but my gut was telling me something was off.

My power was irrevocably changed.

I slowly turned, broken glass crunching beneath my boots.

The man who walked out of the bathroom was not the same man who’d entered.





25


A MASSACRE OF POWER




ALEXIS

I sprinted out onto the dark lawn.

Barbed wire fence glinted menacingly in the moonlight.

I turned the corner—straight into a warm body.

Kharon grunted with surprise as I bounced off him and stumbled right into Augustus, who grabbed my arms to steady me.

“Sorry,” I said as I tried to catch my bearings. “I didn’t see you—”

Kharon crowded me and Augustus until we were both pressed against the side of the villa.

The Milky Way glittered behind his handsome face, a cloud of stars in the night sky.

“Alexis,” Kharon said softly as he leaned forward, his arms on either side of my head. “It’s really you.” He inhaled shakily.

Augustus was hot against my back, and I melted into him.

The night breeze was chilly, but both of them radiated fierce heat.

There was a rushing in my ears, a flush in my cheeks.

From the way they were breathing heavily, I wasn’t the only one affected by the proximity.

In slow motion, Kharon reached forward and traced his fingers over my jaw, his touch a trail of fire. I gasped as his thumb lingered on my mouth. He licked his lips, gaze ravaging.

“Kharon?” I breathed out softly.

He closed his eyes, his chest heaving. “Carissima,” he said, his voice gravelly. “I want to devour you—”

“Please do,” I whispered.

Kharon pulled his hand away from my face and wrenched himself away from me. He pressed his tattooed knuckle into his mouth and bit down as he stared at me through hooded eyes.

His expression was feral.

Augustus’s fingers tightened on my arm, his hips pressed against me, and something hard dug into the lower curve of my back.

“You know the sinful things we want to do to you,” Augustus whispered silkily into my ear. “Right?”

I gulped. “Uh, y-yes.”

“Are you ready … to take both of us?” Augustus’s stubble grazed against the side of my face.

He cocooned me with his larger body as Kharon stared down at me hungrily.

“Yes,” I breathed out, heat mounting inside my core.

Augustus inhaled deeply. “Good girl,” he growled into my ear.

I jolted as his grip tightened, turning painful. My gaze locked on the scar tissue where Kharon’s ear used to be.

A confusing jumble of emotions welled up. Before I could identify them, Kharon had stepped back more, and Augustus released me.

“You’re not ready for us,” Kharon said cruelly, his face morphing into a skeleton.

Augustus scowled, blood pouring from both his eyes. “You could never handle the both of us.”

Kharon pointed his hand at my face, his fingers in the shape of a gun.

He pulled the trigger.

Sharp pain exploded through my skull.

I jolted upright in bed, gripping my forehead as sleep dissipated.

The sharp agony in my skull was gone, and there wasn’t so much as a headache, just blissful peace.

It was just a dream.

A nightmare.

Morning light warmed my face, and I flopped back onto Helen’s frilly bedding.

Fluffy Jr. stood next to the bed—we made eye contact—he jumped up and jabbed oversized paws (hooves?) into my stomach.

I coughed, barely surviving my protector’s affection (violent assassination attempt).

Struggling for air, I turned my head—a fresh-cut rose stared back at me.

Gently, I traced my fingers over the thorns.

He’s visiting you at night. You know it’s not the grim reaper. It’s your— I shook my head, refusing to think about it.

At this point, my life couldn’t get any worse.

Knock. Knock.

“We have to go to the initiation massacre in a few minutes,” Drex yelled from the hall. “Everyone ate breakfast and is waiting for you in the atrium.”

Never mind, it’s worse.

“Shut the fuck up and end yourself,” Nyx hissed at Drex from somewhere in the covers. “I’m sleeping.”

She was not a morning person.

A horrible thought struck me. “Were Patro and Achilles at the table?” I asked with growing trepidation.

“Yes,” Drex called back.

“Were they … chained to their chairs?”

“Uh—no. Wait, why would they be? Alexis—what are you doing in your free time?”

“Nothing.”

He made a sound of disbelief.

Ignoring Drex’s judgmental energy, I busied myself putting the new rose in the vase where I’d started collecting them.

Fluffy Jr. wagged his tail and ran in circles as I hurried around getting ready. His excitement for life was endearing, and also highly annoying.

“Simmer.” I pointed at him. “We’re all going to die.”

Fluffy Jr. jumped and kicked his back legs up with enthusiasm.