Page 5 of The Brothers Bane

“Fuck, girl. How did you do that?”

I’m still staring in shock at where I’ve pinned her hand to the table, then quickly release her.

“I—I forgot I’m stronger now. Did I hurt you?”

She rubs her knuckles and laughs. “I’ll survive. I guess I’ll have to be careful with you, but at least this means I don’t need to hold back.”

“Okay, now I’m officially scared,” I joke.

She gives me a wicked grin, then knocks her knuckles on the table. “Help me clean up here, then I’ll show you to your bunk. Someone will give you the grand tour by daylight.”

I rise along with her and pick up my empty glass, following her back into the kitchen where we wash our dirty dishes and put everything away. Despite the novelty of spending a few days in Tartarus—where the prison had a mind of its own, with magic that managed all these menial tasks—it feels nice to do simple work next to a friend.

We work silently side by side, but the entire time I’m preoccupied by what she said.I won’t have the option to fuck the Titans once I face them.

Once I face them.

I’ve known for days that my summoning Pan was linked to their escape, and Vesh and the others have hinted at some urgency in my training to control my magic. This is the first time it’s been said out loud that I will be expected to face them, though.

As we finish up, I venture, “Why do you assume I’m going to have to face the Titans?”

Mel’s eyebrows rise in surprise. “Because you have the power of Chaos in you, Nemea,” she says, as if that explains everything.

When I just stare blankly back at her, she sighs and motions for me to follow. She leads me back out the front, into darkness conspicuous now for its contrast against the lights strung up high farther down the path. She looks up at the broken bulb.

“Power like that can’t easily be countered. It’s too wild. We’ve known of the Titans’ escape for days now. We sent scouts to investigate a sighting of them about five hundred kilometers north of here. They were no doubt headed to Olympus. Whatever they want with the temple, it’s not going to turn out well for humanity if they get it. Then add to that the fact that Alcides shows up here tonight with you, suggests there’s some upheaval going on in Tartarus since their escape. He has been loyal to Vesh for thousands of years. Hasn’t set foot in the mortal world in all that time. But he left for you.

“It doesn’t take much to put the pieces together. Alcides’ sense of duty is strong. He wouldn’t just let their escape slide, but he also wouldn’t allow an innocent to suffer. Seeing what you can do, it makes sense that he’d bring you here. While Vesh and the Brothers Bane have the power to train you, they won’t be as effective if you feel trapped.”

“So I’m really here to prepare to face them, not just for my own sake.”

Mel offers a tight smile. “It’s one thing you’ll get used to if you stay with us. We are fighters at our core. Every woman here is given a chance to heal, but if she stays, she knows it’s because we have a duty to be ready to fight and she wants to be of service. I wish I could tell you that you’d have time to simply get to know yourself better without being shoved into battle, but I can’t promise that. It’s likely this battle will happen soon.”

I stare up at the jagged glass poking out of the light socket, stomach churning. It isn’t with fear, at least, but maybe just frustration at the realization that there is no escaping my fate, though I’m not yet sure whether I’m ready to fully embrace it.

My skin tingles pleasantly from what feels at first like a light breeze, but the deliberate weight of it tells me otherwise. It helps ease some of my worry.

“We can fix that tomorrow. Don’t worry about it,” Mel says, waving a hand at the broken light before moving on.

“I’m not scared of the dark,” I say, more relaxed now with the sense of having Erebus lingering in the shadows nearby, as if summoned by the conversation. A vague pressure inside my skull suggests he isn’t the only one trying to get my attention. Typhon is somehow here too. As much as I appreciate their concern, I’m not ready to open up to them again just yet.

I jog to catch up with Mel, whose boots crunch over pale gravel down the hill to a squat stone building surrounded by flower beds. She pushes the door open carefully and steps inside, motioning silently for me to follow. The interior is mostly dark, but a tiny light casts a glow from a far corner, slightly illuminating the rows of bunk beds on either wall. The light comes from the lower bunk at the far end, where one woman is still awake, reading a book. The others are sleeping peacefully, faint snores coming from a few of the bunks.

Mel takes a detour midway down the row to a door that opens into a locker room. She pauses by a shelf and makes a hum of approval. “Pen’s on top of things, like always,” she says, grabbing a duffel and turning to me. “Clean clothes, towels, toiletries—anything you’ll need while you’re here, and if you need more, just ask.”

I take the proffered bag, unsure what to do with it until she swings open a locker and points. “Yours. And your bunk is the one with the same number. Showers are through here.” I make note of the “26” on the locker before following her into a dank, cool room of polished tile with rows of showers divided by head-high partitions without curtains.

“Not a lot of privacy here, huh?”

“The barracks are for sleeping and bathing. If you want a quiet place to have a moment to yourself, or to share with a friend, we have places for that too. The hot springs are a favored spot, but it’s a bit of a hike to get there. There are also a handful of secluded buildings scattered around the property.”

“But not with a man, right?”

She lifts an eyebrow at me. “I don’t know if Alcides will be allowed to stay. If he is, it will be up to Hippolyta where he’s lodged, but if I know her, she’ll isolate him from the women. Whether you’ll be permitted to visit him will be up to her too.”

“I just meant in general,” I say, cheeks heating.

“The rules don’t change for sex. But we don’t police our residents’ methods of blowing off steam. If anyone absolutely has to have a man to fuck, she’s welcome to visit one of the villages and find one. This isn’t a prison.”

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