Smithy put a hand on mine. “He’s dying?”

I nodded and pulled my hand away. “I love him, and I can’t save him if I don’t do this.”

“You could die trying to stop her.”

“Then at least Remo and I will be together.” I looked up at him in time to see a shot of pain rush over his features.

“I remember a time I loved like that,” he said softly, “and I have known that desire again recently.”

I shook my head. “No, we have had that discussion.”

“I know. But I hope you remember that if your life is on the line, Remo wouldn’t want you to die just to be with him. Life is precious, Alena. Even after all these years, I still feel that way.” He leaned in and brushed his lips across mine, in the same way Panacea had done, though his touch was far less platonic. Even so, the flicker of desire I felt was nothing like the way I felt with Remo. The fleeting feeling was more of an acknowledgment of what almost was—what could have been.

Smithy left the room, and I leaned on the table. “Ernie, you ready?”

“You got it. What do you need me to do?”

“Have your arrows ready; I may need you to shoot someone. But it will be a last resort, okay?” I stood and took a deep breath. This was it; I was going to battle, and I was probably going to die. Funny enough, the second I let myself just accept that fact, the fear and terror slid away from me, like sloughing a skin, and I was able to breathe. I was able to see things clearly.

I jogged out to where the police cruiser still sat, lights flashing. The greeter waved at me as I hurried by. “Thank you for coming to Blue Box!”

I stepped outside and froze in place. Because all my plans just shot out the window in a single wicked smile from nine Hydra heads.

Hercules stood in front of Angel the Hydra. He was dressed in the same black armor that was a blend of old school and modern. Leather bulletproof vest, a helmet that looked like something the SDMP wore, and several weapons at his side, two of which were guns. The one I kept my eye on, though, was his sword strapped to his back. I knew from experience that a hero’s weapon could damage me—badly.

“Drakaina. We end this now.”

I nodded. “Hercules, this doesn’t have to go down this way. Hera doesn’t care about you. She had Hades imprison your father.”

His face darkened. “My father rarely has time for me, so why would I care about his capture?”

“He didn’t know that Hera was manipulating you.” I felt the need to try to make this right, as much to keep him from attacking me as because I understood what it was to always want someone to love you. “You won’t make her believe in you. You will never be good enough for her to call you her son. But you are a good man. I believe that.”

His face darkened further. Ernie leaned in close. “Maybe don’t go that route. With a woman, yes, but a man being told he’s being an idiot when he has a sword strapped to his back—not so much.”

Oh dear. So much for familial bonds. I stepped around the car, and the Hydra let out an echoing hiss across all nine of her heads. I refused to change tactics. I knew I would have to eventually, but maybe I could talk Hercules down. Maybe I could do with him what I couldn’t do with Cerberus. A thought lit me up.

“You are nothing more than a dog on a chain to Hera.” I paused. “And I don’t think you are a bad guy, or you wouldn’t have helped me dig my mother out of the bakery.” I swallowed hard past the sudden lump. Hercules looked away from me.

“I gave her my word I would stop the monster ravaging the world.” He bit the words out.

“It isn’t me,” I said. “Surely you can see that it isn’t me? She’s using your desire to please her.”

He put a hand over his eyes. “What would you have me do? Turn on her?”

“No. Just don’t fight me,” I said, hope blooming in my chest. “I . . . I need to speak with Hera. I need to convince her that she doesn’t have to do this. She’s killing people; the virus is wiping out the humans at a rate that in no time will leave the world decimated.”

His jaw twitched. “I can call on her. She will come.”

The hope that had bloomed withered and died as the Hydra swept a head toward Hercules. “Watch out!”

But I was too late. She slammed into him and sent him flying through the air, at a speed I knew would take him out of the fight for a good amount of time.

Ernie shot high into the air. “I think you should shift now.”

I silently agreed.

I called up the Drakaina in me with a mere thought, and the shift took me faster than ever, coursing through my body. As I emerged from the shift, the Hydra was already charging me. I ducked out of the way, and she dug her claws into the asphalt, spinning her body around to face me. She roared. Spit flew from all nine mouths, splattering my body. I coiled around myself, tucking my body away from her claws as she reached for me. I knew from our previous encounters that with her nine heads, claws, and wicked teeth, she outmatched me. But my venom . . . my venom could do her in. If I could get my fangs in her. I hissed at her, a rumbling sound that reverberated through my entire body and gave her a good look at my fangs as I swayed from side to side.

She paused for a moment, all her eyes narrowing at once, and then she shook herself and launched toward me.

I let her chase me backward, forcing me across the mostly empty parking lot. She charged me, all her heads stretched in my direction. I knew what I had to do, I just had to wait for her to give me an opening. I stopped at the far edge of the asphalt where the trees met the edge, and I flattened myself to the ground. She shot over me, and I slithered between her front legs. She clamped down on my tail with one of her mouths, crushing through the skin and bone. But I was already in place. I coiled myself around her, loop after loop, all the way up her nine necks so that all her heads were pinned together like a gothic flower bouquet. Her one mouth still held my tail, and I squeezed her until she let it go with a pop.