Page 32 of Bonds of Hercules
Tingles skittered across my fingers, and claustrophobia crushed my lungs.
Picking up a snoring Nyx, I wrapped her around my neck like a scarf and quietly slipped out of the luxurious bed.
As I stood up, everythingthrobbed, and my knee buckled painfully. It took a few moments of trial and error to figure out how to move.
With a gasp of relief, I finally stumbled into the cooler air of the corridor.
I paused, listening.
What was that sound?
Marble gleamed and columns lined the walls with bronze sculptures displayed between them—naked warriors in various battle poses.
Crystals clattered, refracting candlelight, as chandeliers swayed.
It was eerie.
Helen had said the entire villa was off the electric grid, something about tinted windows and limiting light exposure for privacy. The new fence with neon-green searchlights seemed to moot that point.
A shriek echoed.
The calm shattered.
“Did you hear that?” I whispered down to Nyx.
Scales tightened around my neck. “Shut up and go to sleep,” she mumbled tiredly.
This can’t be happening again. It’s probably all in your imagination and not rea—
Marble vibrated beneath my bare toes as a woman screamed.
Thirst forgotten, I followed the sound.
Countless turns later, a heavy unmarked metal door sat in the shadows of a hall.
A dead end.
Footsteps echoed behind me—I whirled around, heart pounding.
No one was there.
Holding my breath, I crept forward and pressed my ear against the metal door.
Chains rattled. A woman screamed in pain.
Déjà vu hit me.
Grabbing the handle, I pulled with all my might—the hinges groaned—I huffed as I wedged the door open and slipped inside.
It slammed shut behind me.
Old copper and mildew filled my nose as I crept down dark, narrow stairs into a dungeon. A sliver of moonlight crawled through a narrow window and illuminated the dank space.
I stopped.
A tall woman lifted her head from the wall and stopped screaming—dark eyes filled with emotions as she glared at me.
My lips parted on a silent gasp.
