Page 64 of A Spell of Bones and Madness (Nostos #2)

Chapter Fity-Two

Ajax

T raining. Battle. Watching as his parents bled out.

Ajax had been through all of it and nothing came close to this.

Fire seared its way into his bloodstream, snaking through his veins into his heart and there was nothing he could do to stop it.

Thick, thorned vines curled around his wrists and legs, pinning him to the ground.

Forcibly, he was bent in half, kneeling before the ancient God of Death.

That wasn’t even the worst part. No—physical pain was fleeting, it stopped after death.

Ajax could fight through the fire, through the venom that was slowly poisoning his blood.

What he could not manage was the piercing scream and haunting sobs from the woman that knelt beside him.

He would rather a swift death than endure Ember’s pain.

At least if he died there would be no more hope.

She could mourn, but eventually she would move on.

Refocus her energy on vengeance instead of pain.

Was the same thing happening to her? Vision blurring, Ajax tried to block it out, block everything out. Maybe if he could shift he could break whatever magic bound him in place—motionless to help the woman he loved.

Firm arms wrapped around his body and he felt the weight of Ember covering him. “I don’t believe you!” she screamed at the Olympi, her voice echoing off the walls of the cave.

“Stop…” Ajax coughed out, his voice shallow and threaded, “don’t touch…the vines…poison.”

She wasn’t listening to him. Small hands ripped at the vines, trying to claw them apart, but it was futile.

A feral growl loosened from Ajax’s throat as he tried to shift once more. Ajax had to stop her, get her off him. He was dying, he knew that with the utmost certainty as the venom creeped closer to his heart, but he would be damned if he took Ember to Aidesian with him.

“You may not believe me now, but you will. Soon, you both will remember,” rasped a familiar voice, following Ember’s plea.

“Ember, please,” Ajax whispered, his energy nearly depleted. “Let go…”

Ringing replaced the sobbing in his ears. It was as if he fell into the sea, an abyss of nothingness, all noise around him muffled to a gurgling sound.

Then, everything went dark.