Chapter 9 Poisoned Tongues
POISONED TONGUES
ALEXIS
“Don’t worry, just stay behind us. We’ll take the lead and handle this because it’s your first mission.” Patro winked. “Just observe and learn.”
Oh great, men making all the important decisions.
I was worried.
Steeling my nerves, I focused on staying calm as we crept down the street.
The late May morning air was crisp.
Achilles led the three of us through a narrow alley on the outskirts of Rome, eyes narrowed with concentration as he stalked silently, checking around corners before waving us forward.
Nero walked at his heels, Fluffy Jr. whined beside me, and Poppae slunk after the three of us quietly, ears back, long tail low. Nyx was quiet on my shoulders.
Dawn was slowly creeping over the horizon—the sky was streaked with orange rays and bricks glistened with morning dew—but the city was deathly quiet.
It wasn’t sleeping.
Rome’s population had been decimated by Titan attacks decades earlier, and like the rest of the world, it had never recovered.
Ancient architecture crumbled next to the ruins of modern buildings.
Past and present were both dilapidated.
Something feels sinister.
There was an energy in Rome that I’d never felt in an empty Montana field.
Faded maroon handprints streaked across doors, bones poked out from beneath piles of bricks. Human teeth dotted the path as we moved through the ruins.
Death had visited.
You could taste the tragedy in the air.
“If Titans are within this p-protected zone,” I whispered to Patro as we stopped at the end of yet another alley and Achilles looked around the corner, “shouldn’t we be able to locate them? Aren’t they … loud?”
Patro shrugged, looking completely unconcerned.
“Titans haven’t been inside a protected zone in years,” he said. “I’m not convinced that Artemis didn’t have faulty intel.”
I rubbed at the golden cuff that covered my scarred wrist. “And if she was r-right?”
Patro waved his hand in the air. “Don’t worry so much—we’ve done this thousands of times.” His tone was patronizing and dismissive.
Hot rage filled my chest.
Patro paused when he saw my face. “Sometimes Titans don’t always announce themselves,” he sighed. “Some of them move quietly. Every Titan is not the same—it’s not that deep. Stop panicking.”
My jaw hurt from how tightly I was clenching my teeth.
I’m not.
Achilles turned his head, watching us with an inscrutable expression.
Another burning stick protruded from the grates of his muzzle, and the veins in his neck popped, like he was clenching his jaw.
Patro smacked me on the back, and I jumped.
He laughed. “Buck up, Alex. We’re not gonna let anything happen to you. Just follow our lead and relax.”
I turned to him. “Don’t call me that.”
Patro didn’t respond as we followed Achilles through the city’s side streets toward the Roman Colosseum, the ancient Spartan structure towering over the ruins of modernity.
Crash.
I stumbled over a pile of bricks and … I blanched—human bones.
Patro reached out and steadied me, his hand wrapping around my forearm. “There’s something I need to tell you,” he said quietly as we stood, eye to eye. “I’ve been wanting to discuss it with you.”
Achilles turned around and shook his head at him.
Ice wafted off Patro while Achilles reeked of fire. The two dichotomous scents created a toxic combination.
“Why are they acting so weird?” Nyx hissed as she slithered around my neck.
Did they bring me out here to kill me?
Were the Titans all a ploy?
I yanked my arm out of Patro’s grip and took a step back.
Nyx tensed like she was getting ready to strike.
Patro sighed heavily, his cocky demeanor gone as he reached into Achilles’s pocket, pulled out a cigarette, and lit it. Exhaling a cloud of smoke, he looked at me expectantly. “Aren’t you going to lecture us on the dangers of smoking?”
I held his gaze. “No.”
These were dark times. If he wanted lung cancer, then that was his prerogative.
“We wanted to tell you.” Patro cleared his throat again, smoke streaming out of his nose. “Both of us … wanted to tell you this for a while now—but we’ve had to wait to get you alone so …”
He trailed off, glancing at Achilles.
We’re going to harvest your spleen and trade it on the black market, I mentally finished.
The first thing they taught us in high school was to always be wary of people who tried to befriend you.
Every year we had an assembly on S.O.R.E., Snatching Organ Resistance Education. We all signed a pledge to not sell our body parts to anyone but the government.
It was a tad confusing what their message was.
A bird (government drone) screeched above while Achilles glared at Patro like he was trying to set him on fire with his eyes.
Patro pushed his shoulders back and turned to me.
“Penance,” he blurted. “As your mentors.”
What?
Achilles shook his head like he was angry.
“We want to make it up to you—how we acted during the crucible,” Patro said slowly. “We think the best way to help you is to …”
Achilles stepped toward him like he was going to physically intervene.
“Help sever your marriage bond,” Patro finished in a rush.
Nyx gasped, and Fluffy Jr. moved in front of me.
I took a shaky step back. This is about Augustus and Kharon?
Fluffy Jr. moved in front of me, crouching low and hackles raised.
Patro stared at me—the man who’d spent the past year laughing with Kharon as he called me spoiled and pathetic. He narrowed his eyes. “Your marriage is making you miserable.”
No, my entire life is making me miserable.
There was a difference.
He rubbed roughly at his jaw. “We’ve been researching marriage bonds for you.” He looked at Achilles as he spoke. “We think there’s a way you can break the Spartan oath and effectively … divorce them.”
The morning haze swirled, leaving a dense fog along the ruined streets.
“What?” I croaked. My mouth was dry, tongue heavy, heart full of lead.
Patro stared harder at Achilles. “From what we understand, if you use your … blood powers, then you can …”
He trailed off like he was physically unable to say the words.
“I can … what?”
Patro’s eyes glinted like uncut emeralds. “If you bring them to the brink of death, it will break your oath.”
Sludge filled my veins.
“You want me to … kill Kharon and Augustus,” I said, feeling faint. “You want me to murder your friends.” I pointed to them. “Kill your brothers.”
Achilles flinched like I’d struck him.
Patro huffed. “Don’t be so dramatic. You don’t actually kill them—just bring them to the brink.” He snapped his fingers. “They’re strong, they’ll recover. Then … you’ll be free.”
I’ll never be free.
I could taste the vengeance; I could taste the regret.
Dragging my hands down my face, I pressed my palms into my eyes and tried to stop the racing thoughts. When I finally lifted my head, Patro and Achilles were staring at me expectantly, waiting for an answer.
Aren’t we supposed to be fighting Titans? Why would they do this now?
My vision tunneled.
“Why?” I asked as I stared at my mentors like I’d never seen them before.
Patro flicked his cigarette onto cracked pavement and stomped on it. “Because—what they did to you was wrong.” He made a face, like he was trying to convey that he was sympathetic to my plight.
He failed.
Numbness washed over me.
Patro fidgeted.
I wish I had his power.
“So, there’s … no other r-reason?”
Patro rubbed the back of his neck, eyes darting to Achilles. “No.”
He was a crap liar. How ironic.
The sneaking suspicion became an avalanche, and I’d already played the fool.
“You’re both under twenty-six,” I whispered. “Right?”
Nyx hissed.
My face twisted. I let them see the angst, the sleepless nights, the dark choices I’d made—two times over.
They had no idea who I was.
Not anymore.
Achilles stepped toward Patro protectively.
“I bet you’re looking for a wife,” I said. “Someone Chthonic.”
Patro’s eyes widened as he donned a fake mask of surprise. “What? Alex, that has nothing to do with—”
“Stop calling me that name!” I shouted.
Patro’s jaw slammed shut.
His handsome face contorted back into a sneer of hatred, the one I was used to—the one that fit him.
“Just, what the fuck are you trying to insinuate?” he asked.
“I’m not insinuating anything.”
Achilles stepped closer to him like he was offering him strength.
Two versus one.
It always was with them.
“This is not just about us wanting to marry a Chthonic.” Patro crossed his arms. “We aren’t like them … We were actually worried about you. Forget I said anything—enjoy your wedded fucking bliss.”
I smiled slowly. “So, what else is it really about—if it isn’t just about me being Chthonic?”
Patro froze as he realized his slip, but he recovered quickly, his face hardening. He was carved from marble and cruelty, just another dangerously attractive member of the House of Aphrodite.
“I’m sure Kharon’s a real gentle lover,” Patro said quietly as he stepped closer. “I’m sure he holds you and whispers sweet nothings after he fucks you. Everyone knows about his more vicious sexual tastes. I’m sure you’re not scared at all—little girl.”
We stood face-to-face.
“Go fuck yourself,” I whispered.
Patro laughed, the sound loud and manic.
Achilles grabbed his bicep and wrenched him back. “Shut the fuck up,” he signed in big slashing motions. “What are you doing? You’re ruining everything.”
“Careful.” I walked around Achilles so I was once again in Patro’s face. “You almost sound … jealous. Do you wish Kharon could have chosen you?”
Patro recoiled.
“Yesss,” Nyx hissed encouragingly. “Ruin him. Men don’t deserve to feel good about themselves. Make him cry.”
Patro ripped his arm out of Achilles’s grasp and lunged at me.
I held my ground.
Achilles grabbed him again, stopping him a few inches from my face.
“Aw,” I taunted, pursing my lips and channeling my high school bully Jessica. “Do you wish you two could have married him? Is that what this is about? Are you mad Kharon chose a pathetic girl over you?”
“Fuck you,” Patro spat. “You don’t know anything about Sparta. You’re playing a game you can’t win. Augustus and Kharon will never care for someone as weak as you. Two dominant, powerful men like them. You’ll always mean nothing to them. You’re just pathetic.”
The ice inside me became stone.
I’d forgotten how it felt when Patro taunted me, how my heart dropped as he’d mocked me for eating too fast.
How he’d always called me pathetic.
I remembered.
“Shut up,” Achilles signed angrily at Patro. “You’re losing control and ruining everything. This isn’t what you wanted. I told you—you should have waited to talk to her at a better time. This isn’t at all what you were supposed to say.”
My sternum boiled with rage.
“Please enlighten me,” I said smoothly. “What was his script?”
They froze, their eyes widening as they stared at my hands.
Achilles raised his arms, long fingers moving slowly. “Alexis, how long … have you known Roman Sign Language?”