Chapter 25 A Massacre of Power
A MASSACRE OF POWER
ALEXIS
I sprinted out onto the dark lawn.
Barbed wire fence glinted menacingly in the moonlight.
I turned the corner—straight into a warm body.
Kharon grunted with surprise as I bounced off him and stumbled right into Augustus, who grabbed my arms to steady me.
“Sorry,” I said as I tried to catch my bearings. “I didn’t see you—”
Kharon crowded me and Augustus until we were both pressed against the side of the villa.
The Milky Way glittered behind his handsome face, a cloud of stars in the night sky.
“Alexis,” Kharon said softly as he leaned forward, his arms on either side of my head. “It’s really you.” He inhaled shakily.
Augustus was hot against my back, and I melted into him.
The night breeze was chilly, but both of them radiated fierce heat.
There was a rushing in my ears, a flush in my cheeks.
From the way they were breathing heavily, I wasn’t the only one affected by the proximity.
In slow motion, Kharon reached forward and traced his fingers over my jaw, his touch a trail of fire. I gasped as his thumb lingered on my mouth. He licked his lips, gaze ravaging.
“Kharon?” I breathed out softly.
He closed his eyes, his chest heaving. “Carissima,” he said, his voice gravelly. “I want to devour you—”
“Please do,” I whispered.
Kharon pulled his hand away from my face and wrenched himself away from me. He pressed his tattooed knuckle into his mouth and bit down as he stared at me through hooded eyes.
His expression was feral.
Augustus’s fingers tightened on my arm, his hips pressed against me, and something hard dug into the lower curve of my back.
“You know the sinful things we want to do to you,” Augustus whispered silkily into my ear. “Right?”
I gulped. “Uh, y-yes.”
“Are you ready … to take both of us?” Augustus’s stubble grazed against the side of my face.
He cocooned me with his larger body as Kharon stared down at me hungrily.
“Yes,” I breathed out, heat mounting inside my core.
Augustus inhaled deeply. “Good girl,” he growled into my ear.
I jolted as his grip tightened, turning painful. My gaze locked on the scar tissue where Kharon’s ear used to be.
A confusing jumble of emotions welled up. Before I could identify them, Kharon had stepped back more, and Augustus released me.
“You’re not ready for us,” Kharon said cruelly, his face morphing into a skeleton.
Augustus scowled, blood pouring from both his eyes. “You could never handle the both of us.”
Kharon pointed his hand at my face, his fingers in the shape of a gun.
He pulled the trigger.
Sharp pain exploded through my skull.
I jolted upright in bed, gripping my forehead as sleep dissipated.
The sharp agony in my skull was gone, and there wasn’t so much as a headache, just blissful peace.
It was just a dream.
A nightmare.
Morning light warmed my face, and I flopped back onto Helen’s frilly bedding.
Fluffy Jr. stood next to the bed—we made eye contact—he jumped up and jabbed oversized paws (hooves?) into my stomach.
I coughed, barely surviving my protector’s affection (violent assassination attempt).
Struggling for air, I turned my head—a fresh-cut rose stared back at me.
Gently, I traced my fingers over the thorns.
He’s visiting you at night. You know it’s not the grim reaper. It’s your—
I shook my head, refusing to think about it.
At this point, my life couldn’t get any worse.
Knock. Knock.
“We have to go to the initiation massacre in a few minutes,” Drex yelled from the hall. “Everyone ate breakfast and is waiting for you in the atrium.”
Never mind, it’s worse.
“Shut the fuck up and end yourself,” Nyx hissed at Drex from somewhere in the covers. “I’m sleeping.”
She was not a morning person.
A horrible thought struck me. “Were Patro and Achilles at the table?” I asked with growing trepidation.
“Yes,” Drex called back.
“Were they … chained to their chairs?”
“Uh—no. Wait, why would they be? Alexis—what are you doing in your free time?”
“Nothing.”
He made a sound of disbelief.
Ignoring Drex’s judgmental energy, I busied myself putting the new rose in the vase where I’d started collecting them.
Fluffy Jr. wagged his tail and ran in circles as I hurried around getting ready. His excitement for life was endearing, and also highly annoying.
“Simmer.” I pointed at him. “We’re all going to die.”
Fluffy Jr. jumped and kicked his back legs up with enthusiasm.
I tried.
After I finished getting dressed in the outfit Helen had left out for me, I wrapped Nyx around my neck.
“Careful,” she hissed. “The diamonds are cold.”
I moved to the mirror. “What are you talking about? There are no—”
My jaw dropped.
A necklace of glittering blue diamonds hung around my throat like a choker.
Oh.
My.
God.
“Kharon?” I whispered with dawning horror as I fingered the gems, entranced by how much they sparkled. Sighing heavily, I searched for the clasp. “I can’t wear these.”
“Why?” Nyx asked as she slithered down my arm.
“Because it’s too much and I—”
“Didn’t you agree just yesterday to give Kharon a chance?” Nyx cut me off.
“I mean … I didn’t kill him?”
“Exactly,” Nyx hissed. “Accept the pretty jewelry. Don’t be ungrateful—it’s tacky.”
My fingers stilled.
She had a point.
I dropped my hands, determination filling my gut. I can forgive my husbands and prove myself to Sparta.
Either I was turning over a new leaf, or I was completely delusional. Only time would tell (it was definitely the latter).
Drex smiled with relief when I stepped out the door. He grabbed my arm and dragged me through the gilded villa. Fluffy Jr. barked and ran beside us while Toucey flew above our heads, his metallic feathers grazing the high ceiling.
We came to a stop in the bustling atrium.
Everyone turned to me.
The leaders and heirs were all present, including Helen and Charlie. The only person missing was Ceres. At least she would be safe in the villa, protected from the Olympians.
Persephone and Hades smiled at me with pride—I smiled back at them.
In contrast, the side of my face prickled under the heavy weight of Achilles’s and Patro’s death glares. From their expressions, they were not happy with me.
On the other side of the room, Kharon smirked with pure male satisfaction as he stared at the jewelry on my neck.
“Who are you all looking at?” Nyx hissed. “Creeps.”
“Let’s go,” Hades ordered.
Why are Augustus’s right knuckles wrapped?
Everyone placed their hands in.
“Domus,” Aphrodite shouted.
Crack.
Smoke rose—protectors crouched low at our feet with anticipation—the tunnel of the Dolomites Coliseum towered around us.
I’d been here before.
Stone vibrated and dust fell as people stomped above our heads. Most of Sparta would be in attendance today.
“Amor fati, memento mori … Amor fati, memento mori!” chanted through the air.
Remember death, love your fate.
I reached into the layered loose folds of my toga and clutched the cold metal of my emotional support calculator.
Nyx slithered tighter around my arm.
Fluffy Jr. picked up a rock with his mouth and crunched down on it. Yep, that’s a horse.
Ares, Aphrodite, Artemis, and Hades took the lead, walking up a narrow spiraling stone stairwell built into the rock, and we all followed behind them.
Augustus looked back over his shoulder at me as he walked up the stairs. Poco hung off his back eating his hair.
His eyes seemed sharper, brighter than usual.
Kharon walked behind me, his hand lingering on my lower back, pushing me forward. His fingers drifted up my spine and traced across the blue diamond necklace. Did he slip it on in the dining hall, or did he visit me in the middle of the night?
I wanted to ask, but nerves were twisting my stomach, and the tension between the three of us was mounting.
We emerged from the narrow staircase into the stadium—gray clouds hung low, a stiff breeze whipped back and forth eight colorful Olympian House flags, each section was full of a few dozen House members in matching regalia.
Augustus and Kharon moved so they flanked me, each with a hand resting on my lower back. It was the lightest of touches, but I struggled to focus on anything else.
Yesterday, they’d crawled to me, begging.
Their heady scents—lightning and rain—filled my nose.
I discreetly turned my head to the side and breathed deeply as I scanned the crowd, spotting the lion of the House of Zeus.
Amongst the Houses were pockets of different creatures I hadn’t noticed my first time here. I recognized a packed section full of sirens, and Erebus sat with dozens of men in similar cloaks. There were other creatures I didn’t recognize.
In the center of it all, the arena sand was empty.
The contestants hadn’t arrived yet.
“Amor fati, memento mori …” Spartan voices trailed off as every head turned to stare at our group.
The black silk of my toga blew against my legs and my wedding ring felt like a brand on my finger.
The Chthonic leaders turned back to look at us, their expressions cold and regal. Power strummed tangibly around them in glittering mist and fog.
Ares nodded, a ruby halo shining creepily around his black irises.
Stomp.
Clap.
Stomp.
The stadium vibrated beneath my feet as the Olympians slammed their feet against stone with anticipation.
Hades had coached me on this moment.
The flag ceremony at the initiation massacre was apparently a centuries-old tradition. It was a great Spartan honor.
Augustus moved from where he stood beside me and walked forward, tailored black suit stretching across his wide back as he raised the charging Minotaur flag of the House of Ares.
Wordlessly the crowd watched, all eyes focused on him.
Augustus’s long legs flew as he ran up the steps, two at a time—he held the House of Ares flag proudly above his head.
The stadium stomped faster.
Kharon stepped forward next.
With a grim expression, Kharon raised the rabid horse flag of the House of Artemis, his face hardening into sharp angles.