Page 143 of Bonds of Hercules
Artemis stared at his missing ear, then down to his visible protectors, her mist glittering as something like surprise flashed in her gaze.
Kharon looked away first, his face emotionless as he sprinted up the steps with his flag.
Hell and Hound ran beside him, teeth bared to the crowd. Olympians gasped and recoiled as they pointed at his protectors.
Murmurs of monsters and a missing ear echoed around the stadium.
From the reactions, most Spartans had never seen a hellhound in the flesh, since they were usually invisible.
The murmurs died down as Patro stepped forward.
He had one hand wrapped around the black swan flag of the House of Aphrodite, but Achilles raised it high, his grip taking the brunt of the weight.
Both men looked at me as they walked past.
I raised my chin—it’s not my fault you got caught, it was your plan, not mine—I silently let them see my annoyance.
Patro’s jaw clenched.
Achilles straightened.
They turned to each other and raised the flag higher, running up the steps in perfect tandem, side by side; Nero and Poppae trailed behind them.
It was my turn.
Hades nodded his head to me. Next to him, tears glimmered in Persephone’s eyes. “You can do this, daughter,” she mouthed with a hand over her chest.
The stadium shook with stomps.
I pulled my shoulders back.
I will make my mother proud.
Raising my right arm—Nyx invisible around my forearm—I held the long black staff above my head.
“Bow before us!” Nyx hissed for dramatic effect.
With my head high, I sprinted up the vibrating steps. Sparta blurred around me.
The skeleton hellhound flag of the House of Hades fluttered above.
My House.
My lineage.
Goose bumps broke out across my skin.
My power.
I would figure out what the tingling in my fingers and glowing light meant; I would figure out justwhoI was.
With Fluffy Jr. on my heels, an ancient war cry echoed through my mind. My ancestors ran with me—I could feel their pounding feet and racing hearts—their hopes and dreams were strumming through my veins.
Their power lived on inside of me.
My lungs expanded.
I will make my bloodline proud.
