Page 144 of Bonds of Hercules
Even if it killed me.
“The lost heir to the House of Hades,” Olympians whispered as I ran by. Their bird protectors screamed, wings fluttering with distress—they were afraid of me—the animals and the Spartans.
I straightened as I sprinted.
They should be afraid.
Black flag above my head, arms tensing, I waved it back and forth with all my might.
“Angelus Romae!” someone called out near the top of the stadium, and there was a responding wave of nervous murmurs.Angel of Rome.
I stumbled, nearly tripping over a step.
I was no angel.
Adrenaline and pride drained away as I came to a stop at the designated Chthonic section and took my seat.
There was nothing left to do but wait.
All too soon, the massacre began.
One hundred boys leapt into the arena sands—then, they fought to the death.
Fluffy Jr. lay at my feet, whimpering. Helen and Charlie huddled together with Drex not looking, and my husbands sat rigid on either side of me.
A gruesome legacy to bear.
The chanting had died down as the first body dropped, and now screams from below echoed through the silent stadium.
Hades and Zeus stood together on a podium watching the death match.
Kharon and Augustus sat on either side of me.
I stared down blankly, head full of static.
Last year I’d been one of the bodies crawling through the muck and inky fog. I’d been throwing punches, amped up on adrenaline, delirious with blood lust.
Kharon leaned toward me, like he could read my thoughts. “How did you … survive?”
My hand drifted to the warm scales wrapped around my arm. “Nyx. Without her, I never would have made it. She … saved me.”
A forked tongue flicked against my skin.
“I’m … glad then,” Kharon said softly. “That you have her.”
“Me too.”
Nyx slid off my forearm onto him—Kharon jolted, his eyes wide as he stared down at where the sleeve of his suit indented.
“I always knew he would be a good mate,” Nyx hissed as she twined up his arm. “He smells like blood and death.”
If that doesn’t sum up my life.
Kharon sat up straighter and smirked at Augustus. “The killer snake likes me more than you.”
“False.” Nyx slithered over my lap to Augustus, and he grunted with surprise.
“I like the muzzled one best,” Nyx said. “And the raccoonmother second best. I prefer men who don’t speak. Men should be seen—slaughtering and protecting—not heard. I’ve always said this.”
