Bonds of Hercules (Villains of Lore, #2)(70)

“False.” Nyx slithered over my lap to Augustus, and he grunted with surprise.

“I like the muzzled one best,” Nyx said. “And the raccoon mother second best. I prefer men who don’t speak. Men should be seen—slaughtering and protecting—not heard. I’ve always said this.”

If a massacre wasn’t happening before my eyes, I would have laughed at her ridiculous name for Augustus.

But it was.

Charlie and Helen were now cowering in front of me with their eyes squeezed shut and their hands covering their ears. Drex was pale, his face turning green.

I forced myself to watch as Hades’s fog retreated, and ten boys were left standing, eighty-three broken bodies splayed around them.

A familiar elderly woman with white hair and purple eyes walked out with a clipboard. She wore rainbow-covered rainboots and a ridiculous yellow hat.

Fate, they called her.

Ten Olympian men jumped down from the stadium and Zeus announced their assigned mentors.

Patro glanced over at me, his expression caught somewhere between pleading and a sneer.

I looked away.

With electricity dancing across his skin, Zeus droned on about unity in the face of darkness.

“Rest assured, Medusa will be captured.” Zeus’s voice crackled as it broadcasted boomingly through the stands. “But until then—for everyone’s safety—the federation has made a decision to break with tradition.”

Augustus and Kharon stiffened beside me.

The stadium held its breath.

“The SGC will now start tomorrow. All Chthonics will stay at the Dolomites stadium for the twelve-day showcase. They will also be extensively questioned by the federation to make sure they have no association with Medusa’s disappearance.”

My heart stopped.

It was June.

The SGC wasn’t supposed to start until August. We were supposed to have two more months to prepare.

There was a roaring in my ears as Chthonics jumped to their feet around me. People were shouting. Olympians were screaming about dishonor and war.

The chant, “Kill Medusa—kill Medusa—kill Medusa,” rose throughout the stadium.

I covered my mouth to stop myself from throwing up.

Zeus continued, “Any Chthonic who leaps away, or refuses to answer questions about Medusa, will be named an enemy of the state of Sparta—punishable by imprisonment in the Underworld … or death.”

The shouts increased.

People jostled as fists were raised.

Someone was crying.

I stood up, my knee almost giving out as I struggled to straighten. Charlie and Helen turned—they were grabbing me.

“What,” Helen whispered, “are you going to do about—”

“Don’t worry,” I said, cutting her off. “I’ll … I’ll … f-figure something out.”

Helen didn’t look reassured, her eyes filling with tears. Charlie swayed like he was going to pass out, and Achilles grabbed his shoulder, signing to him, “It’s going to be okay.”

My brother nodded.

Kharon sidled closer to me. “Stay beside us. We need to stick together while we figure out what the fuck is happening.”

I tried to nod to show him that I heard, but my neck wouldn’t move.

Our time had run out.





26


CHANGING BEASTS




ALEXIS

A dozen Olympian guards with sparking riot sticks led our section—minus the Chthonic leaders—down winding stairs. Gold laurel wreaths decorated a few of their heads, designating them as heirs, and different Olympian House insignias were engraved into their chest plates.

I needed to talk to Hades, but he’d disappeared with the other rulers. They’d all stalked off as soon as the announcement was made, and last I’d seen, Hades was arguing with Zeus.

Deep down under the coliseum we descended.

To another layer of Hell.

We headed through dark tunnels filled with stringy cobwebs and layers of dust, our protectors prowling beside us.

I shivered as the air chilled considerably, my boots scuffing the dirt floor.

It was a labyrinth of chambers.

Skeletons of all sizes—creatures, beasts, and Spartans—were piled inside rooms blocked with iron bars. As we walked deeper into the maze, the low-ceilinged tunnels were lit with a reddish hue from the rows of copper torches mounted on the stone walls, and we had to duck under the arches that separated the tunnels to avoid hitting our heads.

“Stop!” an Olympian guard barked.

We came to a halt in front of a row of iron doors covered in patina. Thick silver chains hung to the floor on one side of the door frames. Hooks lined the other.

“Because Medusa is still at large, this is where all ten of you will stay during the SGC,” a guard said. “As Zeus explained—any efforts to escape will be viewed as an act of defiance against Sparta … Treason.”

Dirt sifted from the ceiling, motes clouding the air.

“You two first.” The guard gestured at Charlie and Helen.

Charlie released my arm, his yellow eyes illuminated strangely in the torchlight. He shifted in front of Helen protectively as the two of them were herded inside a room by an Olympian guard.

“They shouldn’t be held d-down here. They’re not competing,” I said as the door slammed shut behind them.