Page 68 of Blood of Hercules
A low masculine groan and a shout.
Heavy panting.
Someone cried out, like they were in pain.
Then the creaking resumed.
Before I could wake up enough to investigate, nightmares pulled me under.
Crimson eyes glowed from the end of my bed.
There was a weight on my ankle, fingers wrapped around in a vise. A foreign feeling of interest and curiosity filled me. The obsession burned me alive.
Skeletons growled.
The night breeze dragged across my skin like it had claws.
“You’re going to survive,” the familiar raspy voice ordered. “You’re going to do it for them—or I’ll bring you back to life and make you wish you were dead. Then I’ll make him break your mind. Obey—you don’t want to test me, carissima.”
“Wake up!” Patro shouted.
I sat up with a gasp.
Holy crud, I’ve never had dreams like those before.
Patro loomed over the bed. “I assume you read the books I left you,” he said without preamble. “Do you understand the crucible?”
Slumping back against my pillows, I nodded weakly. “Mental test, pain, suffering, starvation, paranoia, death, blah, blah, blah.”
An average day living in the forest.
Patro huffed, and for a second, it almost looked likehe smiled. “That’s a pretty accurate summary.”
I grimaced at his expression—cheerful people freaked me out.What do they have to feel good about these days? Genuinely. I want to know.
Luckily, Patro’s face contorted with disgust (understandable), and he grabbed a thin textbook off the bedside table. “Read this today—it covers the four disciplines of the crucible.”
I reached for it.
“You’ve never heard of them,” he said. “The curriculum is purposefully kept a secret so no initiate can have an upper hand, which actually helps in your case. The book just outlines the names and gives a general description of each class. It’s nothing you, or anyone else your age, have studied before.”
My interest piqued.
What could possibly be taught that I’ve never even heard of?The Spartan merit test covered a dozen different subjects.
Patro must have mistaken my silence for disinterest.
“Youneedto know the four classes,” he said with a huff. “First,Thagorean—advanced math coupled with philosophy.Second, Lost Classical Lore—which focuses on archaic history in Latin.Third,Discipline and Power, D and P for short—the most useful class by far, since it covers powers, Spartan oaths, mental shielding, and leaping.”
“You said there were four?” I asked.
Patro smirked. “The fourth is less of a class and more of a long challenge, which starts after the summer. It’s bonding with an animal protector.”
I glanced over at the pillow I knew Nyx was sleeping under.
“Oh,” I said, spirits sinking because I didn’t want to bond with some random animal.
“Since Zeus seems to be your father,” Patro said with a frown, “as an Olympian with a strong bloodline, I’m sure birds will flock to you, and you’ll have your pick of them.”
