Bonds of Hercules (Villains of Lore, #2)(82)

To calm myself, I made a mental hit list.

Ajax was number one.

He’d dared to touch my wife in front of me.

If Kharon hadn’t snapped his neck, I would have done much worse.

I took a deep breath.

We had to play the federation’s game.

The Great War had ended because of a “peace agreement,” but everyone knew it hadn’t really ceased. Olympians and Chthonics were still battling, as we had been since the dawn of Sparta.

The power struggle never ended.

All we had to do was outlast the Olympians. Sparta was a giant game of combat chess—you had to strategize and play the long game, while being shot at.

Poco’s whiskers tickled my cheek.

Alexis cleared her throat. “I did something …” she trailed off in the quiet.

Kharon stopped swearing under his breath.

My heart skipped a beat at how pained she sounded.

I wanted to turn to see her, to hold her, but there was no room on the stupid bed.

It didn’t help that the soft tenor of her voice made blood rush to other parts of my body. Images of her obeying, kneeling, bowing before me, made it hard to breathe. She was so beautifully submissive.

Every second in her presence was torment.

Fluffy Jr. whimpered and the bed once again slammed against the wall.

“A while ago …” Alexis shifted between us. “I made a choice—a dangerous one … You’re both going to be … angry with me.”

There was a long pause.

She audibly gulped.

“I forgive you,” Kharon and I said at the same time.

“No—you don’t understand,” Alexis said with agitation. “It’s bad … really bad. It has larger consequences for all of Sparta and—”

“No, princess,” Kharon cut her off. “You don’t understand. We don’t care if you went on a murderous rampage—you’re forgiven … you’re our wife.”

“We’re always on your side,” I said.

Alexis pressed against my back as she shifted. “Don’t lie—please … you’re both going to loathe me,” she said.

“Never,” I said with vehemence.

“Carissima,” Kharon chuckled harshly. “We’re fucking obsessed with you. In fact, it’s taking every ounce of control I have to not ravage you right now. Stop talking nonsense and go to sleep. You need your rest.”

Alexis sputtered. “You really want to ravage me … now? Aren’t you stressed? We need to be on top of our game for the SGC and—”

“Oh—I’m always on top,” Kharon said.

There was a long pause.

“You’re ridiculous.” Alexis hit him with her calculator.

“For you, I’m many things. You can call it whatever you want, carissima.”

“Can we please concentrate on the fighting to the death that we have to do?” Alexis asked.

Kharon and I both froze.

“Don’t …” I warned softly, unable to verbalize the devastation.

“No one is dying,” Kharon snarled. “Do you understand me, Alexis? We will wage a war on Olympians before we let them kill you.”

Alexis made a sound like she didn’t believe us. “Oh please.”

“We’re not joking,” I said.

The three of us breathed heavily in the dark, no one speaking.

“There is nothing more important than your life,” Kharon said, breaking the growing tension. “That’s all we give a fuck about. So, STOP talking about other issues … Your safety is the only fucking issue that we care about.”

“Exactly,” I said.

Alexis gasped like she was suffocating.

This was our exact problem—we didn’t know how to love softly. While Alexis was spiraling, I couldn’t stop creating a mental hit list, imagining all the painful ways Ajax would die.

“Stop worrying,” Kharon said. “You need to rest and stay focused. The competition starts tomorrow. If you murdered an entire village, we would take your side. Every. Single. Time.”

“You’re actually mad,” she whispered.

Kharon clicked his tongue. “You’re just realizing that now?”

“Personally … I’ve never liked villagers,” I said.

Alexis relaxed back into the bed, and shifted around, fidgeting with her pillow.

“Go to sleep,” Kharon ordered.

“You sleep.”

“I can’t,” Kharon said through gritted teeth. “I have insomnia.”

“Well, Karen, I can’t sleep either,” Alexis taunted him. “I guess we’re both fucked.”

The narrow bed bounced as Kharon shifted. “I’ve noticed this new swearing trend. I like it, but … why?” His tone changed to contemplative.

Alexis went still. “I’m trying new things … conquering old demons.”

“Wait—” Kharon tensed. “Didn’t you also used to stutter? When did that also stop?”

“Wow,” Alexis said. “Way to be sensitive about it.”

“When did it end?” Kharon pressed. I leaned closer, interested in the answer.

“When I stopped viewing you two as a threat.”