Bonds of Hercules (Villains of Lore, #2)(71)

“We have our orders.” The guard glanced at me nervously as he inserted a large iron key into their lock, then he pulled chains across the outside of their door and threaded them through the hooks.

Wait, are we prisoners?

“How dare you,” Augustus said. “You’re dead for doing this to them.”

“Treason,” the guard repeated, but he paled as Augustus stepped forward, and held up his hands in a surrender gesture. “Just following orders.”

Augustus’s eyes filled with blood.

“Are Charlie and Helen going to be okay?” I asked, trying to distract him.

Augustus took a deep breath and nodded, blood receding from his eyes. “It’s just fucking politics. The Olympians are trying to make a statement and are using Medusa and the federation to do it—but they wouldn’t dare to actually hurt us … It would mean war.”

Around us, chaos unfolded.

To our left, Agatha and Hermos sauntered into a room, the former blowing a kiss to three of the guards while the latter rolled his eyes like he was used to her antics.

Drex shot me a worried glance as he was pushed into his own room, with Toucey squawking on his shoulder. Even a government drone doesn’t deserve this.

Achilles and Patro turned to me.

“Alexis,” Patro said, overenunciating to make it clear that he was saying my name properly. “You’re welcome to stay with us … during the competition.”

The guards grumbled, but Achilles shot them a glare and they fell silent.

Patro held out his hand for me to take. “Stay in our room—let’s talk things through. Everything’s been very—” he trailed off like he was searching for the right word “—hostile.”

His vivid green eyes were full of heavy emotions.

“Please,” he whispered.

The raw sincerity in his voice made my chest hurt, because he wasn’t one for heartfelt apologies.

He looked so lost, so pleading.

I didn’t know what to make of this version of Patro. A part of me wanted to help him, to take his hand and make everything better between us. He’d been the one who stepped up and helped me calm down so I didn’t kill Theros. For a small period of time, he’d been my friend.

Achilles shifted on his feet.

They left you to die.

I wanted to make things right with Patro, but not like this.

Patro saw something in my face—his hand dropped to his side, knuckles fisting.

“Thank y-you,” I said as I glanced between Kharon and Augustus, who were both glaring at Patro. “But I’m … okay staying with them.”

Patro’s face twisted. “Typical,” he sneered.

Augustus stepped forward. “Watch … how you speak to my wife.”

“Whatever … I didn’t actually care.” Patro tried to scoff dismissively, but his eyes were full of anguish. “I was just offering to be nice, since you’re our mentee.”

Achilles glanced over at Patro with concern, then he shot me a glare. How dare you hurt him was written all over his face, and even the muzzle couldn’t hide it.

I held his gaze.

“Let’s go,” Patro said to Achilles. “This hall reeks of betrayal.” He stalked inside the room, then slammed the door shut behind the two of them, before the guards could do it.

He knows how to make an exit.

Electric riot sticks sparked in the guards’ hands as they directed us, and I recognized one of the guards wearing a laurel wreath as Vorex from the House of Poseidon. He’d been Alessander’s mentor in the crucible. His gray eyes and the pink ferret on his shoulder were unmistakable.

Vorex dipped his head to me in acknowledgment. “Please wait inside your room,” he said calmly. “We’ll retrieve you soon for the opening ceremony.”

Kharon stood taller, his skeletal tattoos stark in the dim light. “Don’t tell my wife what to do.”

Vorex gulped. “Of course, sir … we’re just following orders.” The riot stick shook in his hand.

I’d remembered him being fierce and intimidating during the crucible.

Augustus studied the men cowering before us like he was making a decision. “Fine,” he said coldly, his expression combative as he escorted me and Kharon inside.

The iron door slammed shut behind us with a loud bang, chains clicking as they slid into hooks.

The small windowless stone chamber had a sinister scarlet cast in the torchlight. A wooden door led to a sparse bathroom, and that was the only other space.

Nyx tightened around my neck.

Realization dawned.

Dear God, please don’t do this to me.

Kharon and Augustus inhaled sharply as they came to the same conclusion I had.

The object of my certain demise was innocuous, yet it was much more insidious than any weapon or monster I’d ever faced. Much worse than staring down the barrel of a gun.

“Unum cubile,” Augustus muttered under his breath as he dragged his hand over his sharp jaw.

One bed.

The three of us were trapped in a room with no other furniture and barely enough floor space for our animals. A wave of relief hit me that I hadn’t accepted Patro’s offer. Sharing one bed with the two lovers would have been particularly awkward.

The relief died a swift death as I remembered who I was trapped with—in my mind’s eye, the singular bed expanded until it was all I could see.