Page 86 of Blood of Hercules
A thick scar slashed across the top of his right sharp cheekbone and ended on his nose—it matched the color of his spiky ruby-covered crown.
I rubbed at my hair-tie-covered wrists. Fear made it hard to breathe.
He loomed high above us with perfect posture. He was about Achilles’s height, and his powerful muscles bunched as he walked into the classroom. His hands—the size of dinner plates—clenched into fists.
He had a commanding (terrifying) aura.
Suddenly the description of sinful handsomeness, disturbed powers, and divine rage made perfect sense.
It fit him.
Augustus was a frightening amalgamation of sharp edges.
Dark stubble covered a harsh square jaw. Tan skin stretched across wicked cheekbones. Shadows pooled in the hollows of his cheeks. His black eyes were smoldering, lips curved viciously.
A severe center part split his two-toned hair—half-black and half-white—which was pulled back into a long silky ponytail.
His parentage was immediately clear from looking at him.
He was deadly.
I don’t want to be alone with him in a dark alley, or even a well-lit alley. Actually, I don’t want to be alone with him anywhere.
Augustus paced slowly at the front of the room, and the hair on my arms and legs stood up.
“Youreallyneed to get a Spartan gun,” Nyx hissed in my ear.
I nodded in agreement.
Two voices whispered near me, and I looked to my left. Nothing was there.
You’re losing your mind.
I took a deep breath and concentrated on the monster in front of me.
The very air around him was electric. Dark power hummed beneath his skin, and my mouth prickled like I could taste it.
We were in the middle of a mountain, but we were somehow also in a lightning storm.
Augustuswasthe storm.
A small gray creature with dark stripes darted across the room from the door, and it climbed up Augustus’s shoulders. Little hands wrapped around the professor’s thick neck, and its eyes were as midnight black as his.
It was also fluffy.
I gaped at theraccoonthat Augustus was essentially giving a piggyback.
It was the cutest Chthonic protector I’d ever seen.
“I could eat that creature in three bites,” Nyx hissed, and I discreetly slapped her.
“You ruin my life,” she muttered, then let out a loud, raspy snore as she immediately fell asleep.
I envied her lifestyle.
Augustus peered down at us while an adorable racoon played with his long hair.
“You will refer to me as Professor Augustus.” His silky baritone voice vibrated through my bones. “This is my animal protector, Poco.”
