Blood of Hercules (Villains of Lore Book 1)

Patro

My knees cracked against the floor of our home.

Smoke billowed.

Launching myself upright, I grabbed Achilles by the front of his shirt and shoved him into our bedroom so we could have privacy from Alexis’s brother. I kicked the door behind me, and it shut with a loud bang.

“You should have let me stay,” I said through gritted teeth, jaw aching from the force of my rage. “We should have intervened.”

Maroon eyes flashed with warning; Achilles pushed back at me, and we grappled. Our breath was harsh and ragged in the quiet room.

“She didn’t want to marry them—it’s not fucking right,” I said as Achilles thrust my back flush against the wall.

Stars exploded in my vision.

The pain grounded me.

“Fuck,” I whispered brokenly. “She’s our mentee—not theirs . . . she . . . she . . . ”

I struggled to put into words the confusing jumble of emotions I felt for Alexis Hert. She was supposed to be just a nuisance, the annoying girl we had to mentor.

I should hate her.

The problem was . . . I didn’t hate her, not at all.

“What do we do?” I asked, desperation making my voice crack.

The question hung between us like a grenade.

Achilles slowly signed, “We find a way—to take her away from them.”

I inhaled sharply, rubbing at my chest. The branded scar tissue was lumpy beneath my touch.

“She’ll be ours?”

Achilles’s eyes blazed with fire as his fingers moved quickly. “She already is. She just doesn’t know it yet.”