Chapter 4 The Eldest Heir #2
I staggered to a stop in front of a familiar metal door with a dagger carved into it. Before I could reach for the handle, the hall once again plunged into darkness.
Silence descended.
The hair on the back of my neck prickled.
When the generator surged it usually made noises, but there were none.
Poco let out a nervous screech.
Sirens erupted. “Emergency … Emergency … Emergency.” A monotone voice crackled over the hall speakers as it repeated the warning.
Piercing pain stabbed my skull. I doubled over at the onslaught.
Poco climbed up my body, his fur pressed against the back of my head as he hugged me from behind—I blinked with confusion.
It took me a second.
Poco was covering both of my ears with his little hands and trying to protect me from the piercing sounds.
The generator whirred and the overhead lights turned back on, but they weren’t green.
They were neon red.
Vibrant crimson lights flashed as the sirens continued to blare.
With Poco still covering my ears, I shoved my shoulder into the heavy metal door and staggered straight into a body.
“Did you see her?” Kharon asked frantically as he steadied me. “Is she okay? What happened? Did the leaders catch you? Why’s the emergency system going off?”
“No,” I whispered as I pushed him away.
Kharon followed me. “No—to what?” he asked. His hellhounds watched us from the corner, their bony bodies flickering into existence, then disappearing.
Kharon’s powers were also getting stronger because of our marriage bond.
“You’re bad for Alexis,” Patro taunted. He was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. “All you two do is hurt her.”
Kharon turned to him with a growl; Patro met his anger with a smirk.
I threw myself headfirst onto the worn couch and groaned with misery.
In my peripheral vision, Drex sat on the other side with wide eyes. An ugly bird flew above his head in small circles.
Poco repositioned himself into a fuzzy lump on my chest.
“Did you see Hermos?” Agatha asked as she stood up from where she was sitting on the floor. She stalked across the room and got in my face.
Poco hissed and tried to bite her.
She jumped back out of his reach.
“Hermos is in a … coma,” I croaked, fighting through nausea. “Head all wrapped.”
“Screw you,” Agatha said as she whirled around and pointed a finger accusingly at Kharon. “You just had to fucking shoot him.”
“He’s lucky he’s still alive,” he said dismissively.
Agatha snarled.
Kharon pushed past her. “How is Alexis? Is she … okay?” he asked me softly.
I shook my head no.
“Of course she’s not okay,” Patro sneered from where he was still leaning against the far wall. “She’s married to you.”
Grunts echoed as Kharon threw himself at Patro and they wrestled.
Tiny black fingers covered my ears.
At the end of the couch, Drex muttered what sounded like a prayer to Jesus? He’s not going to help you here. This is Sparta.
Poco forgot what he was doing and started playing with my earlobe. He stuck a tiny finger deep into my ear.
Crack.
I peeked open my eyes.
Achilles materialized in the middle of the room in a cloud of smoke, with Poppae and Nero crouched at his feet.
Kharon and Patro had pulled apart, both looking guilty, like they were trying to hide the fact that they were fighting from Achilles.
Achilles signed something rapidly to Patro and handed him a scroll.
As Patro read it, Achilles threw himself down on the couch beside me, rubbing at his temples like he was exhausted.
An unlit cigarette hung between the grates of his muzzle.
Drex whimpered with fear on the other side of the couch, and we rolled our eyes, sharing a long-suffering look—this new Olympian boy isn’t going to last a week in the Assembly of Death.
I stiffened.
“Stay away from Alexis,” I whispered. As my half brother who also grew up in the House of Ares, I’d always considered him my closest family next to Helen.
Red eyes flashed as Achilles arched a brow mockingly.
I reached for my gun holster.
He mimicked the gesture.
He’s not family anymore.
Poco hissed at Achilles, then he pointed his tiny finger and mimed shooting at him. Kharon had spent the last months teaching him the gesture.
Nero prowled over to the couch with a low growl.
I glanced at the wolf.
It tucked its tail and slunk away.
“EVERYONE!” Patro shouted as he waved a yellow scroll through the neon-red air. “Medusa … escaped from the Underworld.” His voice shook like he’d seen a ghost. “She murdered two Olympians—two immortals.”
The sirens seemed to wail louder.
Patro flipped it around for all to see.
The entire page was a picture of Medusa. Pale and small-boned, her eyes looked much too large for her head. Covered in blood and dirt, she stared blankly from behind prison bars.
Patro read the headline, “Manhunt mobilized because monstrous Medusa is rampaging again, two Olympians dead: Is she now coming for the Chthonics who locked her up?”
I rolled my eyes.
Agatha laughed.
“Why aren’t you panicking? What the fuck is wrong with you people?” Patro pointed the scroll at me accusingly. “Now the disgusting Gorgon is going to come after all of us … She should have just fucking died. Snake scum.”
Agatha stepped forward. “Do you have a problem with Gorgons, Patro?” she asked. “Because that sounded like a slur.”
Patro sneered. “Yeah, maybe I do … They’re violent dark creatures who can’t figure out how to fucking act right. They’re more like animals than—”
“I wouldn’t finish that sentence if I were you.” Agatha cut him off, razor-sharp teeth glinting in her mouth as the skin on her face started to peel away, revealing a monstrous visage.
She opened her maw wider.
In a blur, Achilles moved across the room and stood in front of Patro protectively.
He leaned forward like he was also baring his teeth behind his muzzle; the smoking end of his cigarette matched his eyes.
Flashing crimson lights bathed all of them in shadows as the emergency warning continued blaring.
“They don’t fear her because she’s part Gorgon,” I said.
Everyone turned toward me.
I spoke slowly, “Recessive traits … can be expressed when Spartans breed with creatures … That’s why it doesn’t often happen.”
“What are you talking about?” Patro asked with narrowed eyes.
“There are strange ancestors in the Artemis line,” I said quietly, not looking at Kharon across the room. “Medusa wasn’t born with Chthonic powers—she’s a Gorgon, born with the power of Fate.”
Patro gasped, and the scroll clattered as it dropped from his fingers. “That’s why everyone fears Medusa?” he asked with disbelief.
Drex whimpered.
Patro’s face contorted with disgust. “She’s a fucking monster.” He shivered dramatically. “Snake scum with the power of Fate. She shouldn’t exist.”
Agatha rolled her eyes and sat down primly on the couch. “You’re such a bigot.”
“Oh please,” Patro said. “We’re all thinking it.”
Kharon stared blankly at the wall.
Medusa was his sister.
Poco clambered up my chest, whiskers prickling my cheek as he licked at my eyebrows.
“Thanks, buddy,” I whispered, not really sure if he was helping or making it worse.
He purred and pulled out a chunk of my eyebrow.
Definitely worse.
Kharon picked up The Falcon Chronicles and sat down next to me on the couch. He unrolled to the next story.
“Interesting,” Kharon said as he read. “An Olympian doctor has successfully stitched human body parts onto a Spartan.”
I grunted, not really that surprised.
Spartan physiology was adept at transmutation.
We could regenerate soft tissues like brains, eyes, and organs. But we couldn’t regrow missing hard tissues—bones and cartilage. If a bone was badly fractured, it would heal with time because most of the pieces were still intact.
As a result, we couldn’t regrow missing appendages, but our bodies could accept other people’s.
Immortal biology was nothing if not fucked up.
Thousands of years ago, it was even a tradition for lower-ranked Spartan soldiers to slice off their fingers, hands, feet, and sometimes entire legs. They’d stitch them onto higher-ranked Spartans who’d lost appendages in battle.
It used to be the ultimate sign of respect and honor, but the practice was now considered barbaric.
For good reason.
Poco chittered, clapping his hands to get Kharon’s attention.
Kharon put the scroll down, then pivoted. “Pow,” he said as he pretended to shoot Poco with a finger gun.
There was a long pause as they stared at each other.
Poco slumped over like he was dead.
Three seconds later, he popped up and screamed, gray fur sticking out in all directions, as he aimed two finger guns back.
Kharon slumped back with his eyes closed, tongue out.
Poco chittered with excitement.
They high-fived each other, then proceeded to play the “shooting” game no less than a dozen times.
I closed my eyes.
Sleep came quickly.
Bang.
I jolted awake when the door swung open. It felt like I’d been asleep for seconds, but the clock on the wall said it had been hours.
Artemis walked into the room.
The lights above hummed their usual green hue. It was quiet. Poco was draped over my head like a hat, snoring.
Achilles jolted awake where he was asleep next to me on the couch. Patro sat between his knees, still reading the scroll with a frown.
Kharon and Agatha were playing a game of chess on the floor. Drex was cowering in the corner.
I rubbed at my bleary eyes.
Poco chittered on my shoulder and clapped his hands with excitement.
It took my tired brain a moment to process that Alexis was standing next to Artemis.
My heart skipped a beat.
Her bandages had been removed, but dark bruises covered her face. She looked tired and worn out.
We did this to her.
“Who do you choose for your first mission?” Artemis asked with clear impatience as she gestured to the members in the room. “Drex is with Agatha and Hermos, so choose either Augustus and his partner, or Achilles and Patro.”
Kharon stared at Alexis like he was trying to read her mind.
Patro perked up.
“I’ll choose—” Alexis’s voice was hoarse, and she scrunched up her face like she was making a major decision. “Achilles and Patro.”
The pain that zapped through our bond was nothing compared to the twisting in my stomach.
Poco shoved a wad of my hair into his mouth.
“Fine,” Artemis said as she addressed the room with boredom. “The leaders have conferred—everyone will stay at Augustus’s villa until Medusa is captured.” She glanced over at me. “Engage the defenses. You have one week before your next Titan assignments,” Artemis said coldly.
Crack. She leapt away.
Patro smirked over at both of us, his arm draped over Achilles.
“Fuck,” Kharon swore.
Poco wailed at the top of his lungs, then bit down on my bicep, as hard as he could.
After he detached his dagger-sharp fangs, Poco licked at the wound, mewling with regret.
“Don’t worry about it,” I whispered as I patted his fluffy head, blood dripping down my arm. He suffered from anxious biting syndrome.
Poco whined, and I handed him a cookie from my pocket. He carefully took it with two hands.
“It’s not even bad,” I reassured Poco, looking anywhere but at Alexis. My heart shattered.
Poco chittered with relief as he licked at his treat.
I staunched the gushing wound and made a mental note—get stitches and a tetanus shot.
Today was not my day.