Page 95 of Scion of Chaos

“Actually happened. But it was a result of someoneotherthan Fate being a manipulative monster in my life. You may have noticed I don’t use the name most texts refer to me by, assuming you’ve read some of the modern works that exist. Asterius keeps copies in his library, so we’re all well aware of the various accounts of our histories, most of which only get a fraction of the details right.”

“They call you Herakles, not Alcides.”

He winces. “Yeah, that one. It isn’t my birth name—it’s the name my father gave me in some misguided wish to appease his wife. She’s the harpy who drove me to madness and made me murder my family. Fate had nothing to do with it. I’ve never liked Herakles and have always preferred going by the name my mother gave me.”

“That’s fair. For what it’s worth I’m sorry she did that to you. It’s fucking awful.”

“It was a very long time ago. I never believed I’d have a second chance at a life, or even if I deserved one. Vesh gave me that chance. I’ve been proud to be part of his team ever since.”

“Does he know where we are? Do you think he’ll come after me?”

“You don’t need to fear him, Nemea.”

“I don’t. That’s not why I asked.” I huff out a breath, hating myself a little for hoping hedoescome after me, to apologize, if nothing else.

“He can reach out to me. I’m not going to shut him out or hide, but he has to make an effort to reach me, unlike the others who are easier for him to access. You have the ability to contact him too, if you want, through your bond.”

“I know,” I say softly. “I’m not ready to yet. I hope the others don’t hate me.”

“We would never hate you. You are part of us, even the ones you haven’t bonded yet.”

I’m not sure, but I think I hear a hint of tenderness in his tone, but I try not to let it go to my head. For the first time in the past forty-eight hours, I don’t feel like I’m controlled by my libido, so I’m happy for the clarity. But just as I start to enjoy the peaceful night and the breeze sweeping down the rows of the vineyard, his hand brushes mine and sends my pulse racing. I swallow the rush and take a deep, steadying breath.

“It isn’t just you,” he says after a moment. When I don’t respond, he continues. “I didn’t greet you the first night because I was afraid, not because Vesh took over. He gave me the opening but I … I choked. He covered for me.”

I stare up at him, wide-eyed with surprise. “No shit? What about the next day? I was a little preoccupied, but I didn’t miss when you basically ran out of the cavern before the others. I can only imagine what the whole scene looked like.” I laugh softly to myself.

He makes a low, gruff sound. “I liked what I saw. I just wasn’t ready for it. I haven’t been with a woman since my trials ended. I don’t indulge the way the others like to with one another. I’m out of practice with all of it. And it’s one thing to know we’re fated, but it’s quite another to process that you’re fated for the others and happily fucking them too. I’ve never shared before, either. What if you like them more? What if I’ve forgotten how? What if I hurt you?”

“That’s a lot of self-doubt to unpack,” I say, then reach for his hand and thread my fingers through his. “But despite what you saw, I’m in no rush. Maybe it’s better this way? At the very least, we can take our time.”

He makes a sound of actual doubt that makes me look at him again.

“I can’t stay long—a few days until you get settled in, at most. But they’ll need me to open Olympus, once they get the key. After that, if we can’t subdue the Titans easily with whatever power we secure from inside, then I don’t know when I’ll be able to return.”

“I thought you needed me for that. Aren’t you going to stay and train me?”

“If everything goes well, I won’t be the one training you.”

Before I can ask him to elaborate, we reach the edge of the vineyard and come out onto a narrow dirt road. The scent of grapes fades as we follow the road, replaced by the scent of horses and hay. Alcides sticks to the edge of the road, moving with more caution. He lets go of my hand and carefully urges me behind him.

“Stay close,” he whispers. I nod, opting not to question him if he thinks we might be in danger. All I hear are the faint sounds of horses somewhere in the distance. We continue on, slowing when we reach a drop-off in the middle of the road.

Alcides reaches back, gripping the side of my hip and urging me off the edge into the tall grass as we pass what looks like a giant pit. It’s at least fifteen feet wide and deep enough that I can’t see the bottom, but when we pass by and I look down, I realize it’s half-filled with water, reflecting the starlit sky above.

“Why is there a big pit in the middle of the road?” I whisper. Alcides shushes me and motions for us to keep moving.

Not much farther along, the way is blocked by a wall, and I start to form a full picture. One side is covered in dangling ropes, and when we pass it, I look back to see hand-holds peppering the vertical surface. The next obstacle is another pit with a giant cargo net stretched in a slant across it.

Has he brought me to some crazy survivalist compound? How in the hell would he know such people being stuck in the prison so long? But they haven’t actually been stuck there, have they? They get out, just notout-out. Whatever magic Pan has is how they leave, so they must have connections outside. Though if he’s being this weird about approaching this place, I’m guessing he hasn’t spoken to these people in a while.

The obstacles continue, looking a little less and less daunting as we go. Soon the road intersects with another, and the scent of horses grows stronger. The barn comes into view after a few more minutes, a big, white-plastered stone building with the phases of the moon carved in the wide wooden doors that hang across the front. Just beyond it is a cozy cluster of buildings, some dark, some with windows lit. It reminds me of St. George with its welcoming warmth, which is hard to reconcile with the intense obstacle course we just passed and Alcides’ cautious approach.

We keep to the shadows, and he waves me to speed up as we dart to the side of the barn. All this cloak and dagger shit is wearing on my nerves, so I tap him on the shoulder when he reaches the corner. He looks back at me with a stern expression.

“What gives? Why aren’t we just knocking on the door?”

“At this time of night, it’ll get us shot. Just trust me and stay clo—”

He doesn’t get a chance to finish. A shadow appears behind him, and before I can cry out a warning, someone snakes their arm around my throat in a chokehold. I struggle, reaching for Alcides and the power within me, but a few seconds later, my entire world goes dark.

To be continued…