Bonds of Hercules (Villains of Lore, #2)(95)
His gaze roamed over the room and landed on me.
Still smiling, I didn’t look away.
Gray eyes narrowed with confusion, like he didn’t know what to make of me.
Remember, daughter, no one fears the sane.
Two could play at psychological warfare.
I winked.
35
THE REAL GAMES BEGIN
ALEXIS: SGC DAY 6
Drex huffed on my right, and Charlie leaned against my left side, his other arm wrapped around Helen.
It was a blustery day in the Dolomites Coliseum. The sands were empty, anticipation crackling through the air, and dense, towering clouds hung so low they almost touched the electric lines of the dome.
Lightning struck far off in the distance, bright white lines branching to the ground.
There was a long pause, then thunder rolled. “I feel ill,” Drex said with a groan.
“Me too.” I nodded. “I’m not ready.”
“Personally, I’m very excited,” Nyx hissed as she slithered around my waist. “I can’t wait to get into the arena and bite people.”
Not relatable.
Fluffy Jr. whimpered at my feet, and I tried not to look at the distended hump on his back that now had a faint blue hue. No way am I bringing him out to fight. He was clearly sick and needed to recover from … I didn’t know what.
Drex’s knee knocked against mine as he fidgeted with nerves. “We’re so dead,” he groaned. Toucey sat on the floor behind his legs, squawking as Poco tried to poke at him.
I mimed choking myself and Drex laughed (whimpered with manic enthusiasm).
Kharon made a loud, harsh noise behind me.
Peering over my shoulder, I immediately regretted looking—Kharon’s eyes were narrowed into slits, nostrils flaring as he stared at where Drex’s knee knocked against mine. Augustus frowned beside him.
Thunder boomed, closer.
“Sorry for your loss,” Augustus said harshly.
“Uh, what … loss?” I asked.
Augustus looked at Drex pointedly.
Drex paled and swayed in his seat like he was going to pass out.
Wait, did he just threaten to kill Drex?
A few minutes ago, when Charlie asked if I’d sit beside him, my husbands had said they understood that I needed to be with my brother.
Now I’d never seen two people who looked less understanding in my life.
Apparently grown men and teenage girls had one thing in common: they took seating arrangements very seriously.
Charlie linked his arm through mine and I snuggled into him. If he felt Nyx’s scales as she slid out from being squished, he didn’t show it.
“I’ve heard rumors,” Helen whispered across him. “Zeus is going to interrogate each of you personally after your rounds … Are you nervous?”
“No.” I forced myself to shrug. “It will be fine.”
“How do you know?” she asked.
“Because … I enjoy being tortured,” I deadpanned.
She narrowed her eyes like she couldn’t tell if I was joking, and Charlie smiled, but his arm was tightening around mine with worry.
In six days, Drex would be competing.
In seven days, it would be my turn (to die).
The crowd quieted.
Zeus stepped out onto the platform that extended from the bottom of the stadium. His white silk toga fluttered in the wind, its long train trailing behind him. In his hand, he held a thin white scepter with a golden eagle perched atop it.
Hades sat up straighter in his seat, staring at Zeus, as fog pulsed around him with agitation. The other leaders tensed beside him.
Why does he look like he’s seen a ghost?
Zeus held his free hand up to the stadium and electricity leapt across his palm much brighter than usual. “TODAY—THE REAL GAMES BEGIN!” he shouted to the heavens.
Sparta jumped to its feet, a bellowing crowd of creatures and Spartans.
Our section stayed seated.
“You’ll do great,” Charlie whispered beside me.
Drex whimpered. “We’re so dead, it’s not even funny.”
I nodded in agreement. “Beyond dead.”
“Wait.” I turned to my brother in shock. “Did you just … speak?” It was the same voice I’d heard calling my name in the woods.
Shadows crept across Charlie’s face as his expression changed into something indecipherable. His eyes had an uncanny cast.
“No. Why?” Charlie signed rapidly. “Did you hear something?”
“Uh—no?” I clutched at where Nyx was now coiled on my lap.
Great, I’m consistently losing my mind.
Lightning struck three times in a row on the horizon.
Down below, Zeus still had his hand raised, laurel crown gleaming, sparks coruscating. “I have only one piece of advice to give the younger Chthonics!” His booming voice echoed.
“Nequit homo se reformat …”
Zeus paused.
“Absque cruciatu!”
A man cannot remake himself without suffering.
The crowd roared enthusiastically, stomping their feet and clapping in unison.
The clouds darkened, casting the world in gray.
“Lovely message,” I said over the clamor. “Very inspiring.”