Both men looked at me expectantly.
Oh god.
I wanted to take him up on his offer and leap back to safety.
You’re a strong, independent woman.
A couple of months ago, I would have done it. It was the logical choice. But that was before their betrayal.
Girding my lady loins, I took a deep steadying breath and shot up a quick prayer to God to not mangle my corpse so badly … Carl Gauss was waiting.
No cost is too high for vengeance.
“Uh, kid,” Nyx said. “I really don’t think you should—”
Augustus and Kharon’s eyes widened.
“Domus,” I whispered as I concentrated on the feeling of home.Warmth. Acceptance.Hades and Persephone flashed through my mind.
I screamed as I plunged into darkness.
Unlike the other times I leapt, the agony was unimaginable. Something had gone wrong. I was being torn apart in every direction, limbs stretched and contorted.
I was lying on my back, ruined limbs spread wide.
Smoke rose around me.
Everything was dark.
A woman was screaming.Is it me?
Nyx hissed and slithered off my neck. “Are … you … kid.” Her tongue dragged across my cheek, but her voice sounded far away.
I coughed as the world spun.
Nausea cramping my stomach, I rolled onto my side and retched up everything I’d eaten the day before.
“Need … move … help.” Nyx sounded worried. That made two of us.
My eyes rolled to the back of my head, and I barely found the will to pull them forward.
Steel beams spaced out across the low rock ceiling. The air was humid and thick. Shadows flickered from torchlight on the walls.
“Kid, you gotta get up,” Nyx said as my ears cleared.
A woman wailed heinously.
Is that me, or just in my head?
The wail steadily increased, confirming it wasn’t me.
I rolled onto my hands, vision blurry. Groaning, I pushed up to my feet.
You can do this, Alexis—you’re a Spartan.
Hunched over, with my hands on my knees, muffled male voices shouted expletives as a woman screamed.
Throbbing pain pierced my skull as I swiveled my head, taking in the opposite ends of the narrow rock tunnel.
