Bonds of Hercules (Villains of Lore, #2)(96)

Toucey shrieked at Drex’s feet as Poco plucked a metallic feather and held it up to me like a prize.

Grimacing at Drex, I mouthed, “Sorry,” and took it. Rolling the stolen feather between my fingers, it accidentally snapped in two.

“That will be my spine,” Drex said.

I covered my mouth to hide my laugh. It wasn’t funny, but in a very real sense, it was hilarious.

Zeus banged his scepter down and the stone podium sparked. “We welcome our first competitor … Agatha. Kronos has given her two rounds and five labors to prove her worth!”

“We serve you, Kronos!” the stadium chorused back.

Whenever Father John would shout, “Montana heretics burn in the fires of Hell for all of eternity,” we’d respond with “Burn in Hell, sinners!”

This had the same energy.

“Kronos … Kronos … Kronos!” Zeus joined the crowd as all of Sparta was chanting his name.

Agatha walked out.

Everyone stomped, the force field sputtering.

Agatha’s long ruby-colored hair hung straight down her back, her pale creature skin almost translucent. She wasn’t wearing any armor, but a longsword blade glinted as she spun and raised it up.

She was all alone.

Now that I thought about it, I’d never seen her with a protector. Is it because she’s part Empusa?

Steel rattled as the gate rolled up.

Four Olympian guards stepped out in full battle armor—golden helmets concealed their faces—each of them held two swords.

She’s fighting Olympians?

Thunder boomed, closer than before.

A shocked murmur rumbled through the stadium as they realized some of their own were down there. From the growing sounds of outrage, this was not a normal occurrence.

My stomach twisted as the guards approached, twirling their two swords with practiced ease.

Agatha threw her sword down into the sand as she tipped back her head and laughed with giddiness. What the heck?

Her laughter turned into a screeching cackle as her features morphed—pale skin peeled away, revealing a skeletal monstrous face—her jaw unhinged down to her chest.

Sharp jagged teeth protruded.

A disturbing clicking noise came from Agatha’s distended jaw—it grew in intensity, a metronome of insidious clacks.

The Olympian guards stopped approaching.

They stood up straighter like they were possessed, dropped their weapons, and didn’t move. Are they paralyzed?

Ruby hair floating in the air behind her, Agatha kept clicking as she sauntered toward the Olympian men.

“She’s amazing,” Drex sighed dreamily, like he had a crush. Oh nice, we’re both attracted to lunatics.

Charlie and Helen turned away.

Wait, what do they know? I racked my brain, trying to remember what Empusa did to their prey.

Ten minutes later, I blinked in shock, my mouth gaping as I could do nothing but stare down at the arena.

I should have looked away.

Only Drex was seemingly unaffected—he was still smiling with a goofy, lovesick expression.

The last ten minutes were going to haunt me for the rest of my life (six more days). Numb horror trickled down my neck. Even Nyx was unnaturally still on my lap, like she couldn’t process what she’d seen.

It was now crystal clear what Empusa did.

They ate men.

Agatha was covered in bits of gore. The remaining pieces of the four guards lay around her, scattered across the sand—mostly just bloody armor and clothes. Apparently Empusa ate everything but the stomachs of their victims.

I’d learned this the hard way.

Nyx hissed. “Why can’t you be more like her?”

“Because—I have mental health … sort of,” I whispered (this was a lie).

“SECOND ROUND BEGINS!” Zeus bellowed.

No one cheered.

The gate once again lifted—a man walked out—his hands were bound in front of him, heavy chains trailing behind him through the sand.

He wore a short black exercise toga and a scarlet snake protruded from his bald head.

A collective gasp echoed, and my stomach plummeted.

The Chthonic leaders all jumped to their feet.

“You dishonor Kronos’s sacred sands!” Hades roared, pointing at Zeus, who stood calmly on his podium holding his scepter.

I’d failed to notice that Hermos was missing from our section.

He was bound, down on the sands, walking toward Agatha.

She was his partner.

His … lover?

I wasn’t exactly sure what their relationship was, but they were partners, and it was obvious that they were very close.

For a second, Agatha’s monstrous visage disappeared, and she was once again a beautiful woman. She looked at Hermos with devastation.

Artemis shouted profanities down at Zeus about him taking this too far, and Ares nodded in agreement. Hades’s fog was spreading through the stands in screaming tendrils. Olympians whimpered all around.

“What … does this mean?” I asked.

Drex shrugged like he also wasn’t sure.

Augustus leaned forward. “She has to hurt him as much as possible, until he’s incapacitated,” he said gravely. “Which will also force him to take the humiliation of being branded once for the defeat—any Chthonic loss in the arena results in a brand. No exceptions.”