Page 128 of Blood of Hercules
“You’re the most patheticSpartan bitchto ever exist. You don’t deserve this. Just kill yourself now and put us all out of our misery,” Titus whispered in my ear.
I gritted my teeth.
“Are you sure you don’t want me to bite him?” Nyx asked. “I can make ithurt.”
I tried to form my lips into words, but no sound came out. Weakly, I reached up and smacked at my neck.
“Ow, ow, stop it, woman,” Nyx said. “Fine—fine, I won’t bite him—just stop hitting me.”
Titus scoffed, “You’re disgusting and weak. Bitches like you are the reason men suffer. You’vestolena man’s spot in the crucible. You’re a thief and a fraud.” He tugged on one of the curls that had escaped my hair tie.
Jessica would have told him that she didn’t listen to men who smelled like sewer rats.
I missed my high school bully.
Things were truly tragic.
“Let’s go, break’s over!” Fox yelled, and there were grunting noises as people stood up. I floundered to find my bearings.
Someone yanked me up, and I fought against their?—
“Calm down.” Drex grunted as I kicked out.
I stopped struggling. “Sorr—” I rasped, unable to finish the apology.
“It’s fine, let’s go,” Drex said as his hand once again tangled in the excess fabric at the front of my toga, and he dragged me down the mountain.
Each step was pure pain.
When wefinallymade it to the bottom, Icollapsed.
“I’ll give you longer to recover before the swim,” Fox said, and there was a chorus of relieved noises.
I made a shaky thumbs-up.
“Thank you,” Leo said. “We appreciate it.”
“Shut the fuck up,” Fox snapped. “Stop falling the fuck asleep and making me do this bullshit. I thought I made it clear last time what would happen if you did. Soshut up, sit down, and think about how you’re never going to fall asleep in class again.”
Preach, sister.
Leo muttered an apology.
“I just told you toshut the fuck up—so why are you speaking?” Fox asked.
There was something attractive about a man who spoke his truth with such charisma. Fox had my vote.
After long minutes of gasping (an hour), my heart rate slowed and my vision unblurred.
Orange and pink streaked across the sky as the sun set behind the peaks.
It’s beautiful.
Tears filled my eyes.
“Oh my Kronos—are youcrying?” Titus asked, and his cronies chuckled like he was hilarious.
Yeah, cause you’re so ugly.
