Page 252 of Bonds of Hercules
I dipped my fingers into blood, and a rod solidified in my palm. I planted it into the sand and hoisted myself up, leaning against Fluffy Jr.
Better to die fighting monsters, than to live cowering at their feet.
Something soft moved against my side.
Oh my god.
Fluffy Jr. rose to his feet with a loud flapping noise—he towered above me, his head taller than mine.He opened his mouth, and the sound that rumbled out was straight from my memories.
It was the terrifying noise from the back of the menagerie.
Flaps echoed, appendages moved, bright blue feathers shimmered.
Fluffy Jr. bellowed louder—majestic wings protruded from his back.
Mother of God.
Goose bumps exploded across my body.
Augustus had been wrong.
Fluffy Jr.wasone of the rare creatures who molted, and he’d just grownwings—they were stunning shades of sparkly blue, straight from lore.
Ihadin fact bonded with a horse, and it all made sense, hereallywasn’t the brightest.
He was a half-breed—part dog, part Pegasus.
His wingspan was at least thirty feet, bigger than the Titans, his feathers glorious.
Fluffy Jr. tipped his head low, as if he was asking me if I was ready, determination and love strumming through our bond.
His intentions were clear.
He bent his body low onto the sand so I could climb on. Holding my blood rod out so I didn’t accidentally cut him, I mounted his back.
I sat at the base of his thick neck, straddling him like a horse.
He rose up to his full height.
Wings flapped downward, air whooshing—we jerkily flew up above the blood-soaked sand.
From my higher vantage point, the world moved in slow motion.
Zeus was standing at the end of his podium, donned in white, holding his scepter—Hades had moved and now stood with Cerberus, blocking Zeus’s path, black toga trailing, fog swirling at his feet.
Gods of a golden era—facing off—in these tragic modern times.
Both were frozen, their heads tipped back as they watched me.
“Behold.” Hades’s voice strummed with pride as he raised his arms wide. “Theheiress to the illustrious House of Hades!”
Zeus flinched.
Make Sparta fear you, daughter.
Shrieks echoed as both Titans rose from the sand to meet us in the air—their black patchy wings unfurled wide, and they hovered, toes dragging across the sand—Fluffy Jr. barked, a thunderous, booming warning.
Luminous wings beat faster around me.
