Page 35 of Blood of Hercules
“Humans are ridiculous. Anothersimperinggirl trying to get close to the Crimson Duo. It’s a fucking epidemic.” He scoffed. “Kronos save us from that stupid web page. You’ve thrown away your life, young lady—and for what? Now you’re dead.You’re probably still fantasizing about them like an idiot?—”
If I die right now, I’ll never solve the Riemann Hypothesis. Just a few more months and I would have had it.
The Spartan shook his head with disgust.
“There hasn’t been a female mutt in centuries,” he said. “And while there are some heiresses, they’re the most honorable and pure of us all—you’re nothing like them.”
He gagged after he spoke, like the thought of comparing me to them made him sick, then continued ranting.
“An heiress wouldneverbe caught dead participating in any Spartan initiations, or found in a—” He looked around the room with disgust. “—dump like this.”
He shivered dramatically and muttered about dishonor and protecting the pure House ways.
He shook his head again. “Mutt or heiress, no Spartan wouldevervoluntarily abandon a female baby—it’s blasphemous.” His expression was horrified. “Our female numbers are so low.”
We stared at each other for a long awkward moment.
Is he waiting for me to say something?
I didn’t speak.
Unfortunately, he took that as a sign to continue. “Guess what, you’re not even thefirstone to do this—last year we hadeighteenfraudulent positives, all simpering girls... do you think we like to waste resources leaping across the globe, only for you to be fangirls who we have to fuckingmurder? Kronos, it’s embarrassing the state humanity has fallen to. Fun fact, because you’re about to be six feet deep, mutts used to microdose on this stuff to compete with heirs, but that stopped because every single one of them wentinsane. Not that you need me to lecture you on insan?—”
The timer beeped, and the Spartan who’d been standing silently gaped at it. “Boss... look.” He held it up with wide eyes.
They stared at it.
Looked down at me.
Glanced back at it.
“Stand up,” the boss said softly to me.
Is he going to break my neck because the drugs didn’t work?
I didn’t move.
Crap. I’m not mentally ready to be snapped.
I covered my trachea.
“Alexis, you need to listen to him,” Nyx said with urgency. “Stand up now.”
With shaking knees, I pushed out of my desk and flexed my core, unsure what proper neck-breaking decorum was.
Should I try to crack it first to get it loose? Should I turn in the same direction to make it easier?
The Spartans stared down at me like they were telepathicallywilling me to drop dead, and I waited for them to attack. Somewhere in the afterlife, Carl Gauss waited for me (I was delusional).
We . . . kept . . . waiting.
I hummed with desperation.
Who knew getting murdered would be so awkward?
“Fuck, boss, holy Kronos—this is going to... it’s going to change everything. This ishuge.”
The boss cleared his throat. “I know.”
