Contents
Chapter 30: The Eldest Heir
Overview
On the tense night before the SGC begins, Augustus, Kharon, and Alexis share a sleepless vigil. Alexis hints at a dangerous past choice but receives unconditional loyalty. Augustus discovers a cigarette-burn scar on Alexis, confirming past abuse and galvanizing their resolve to protect her and seek future retribution.
Summary
Augustus lies awake with Alexis and Kharon in a cramped bed the night before the SGC. Alexis anxiously calculates probabilities, while Augustus wrestles with protective rage against Ajax and other onlookers who degraded her. He restrains his desire to touch Alexis, determined to earn her trust and keep his impulses in check.
Alexis admits she made a dangerous choice with broad consequences, expecting anger. Augustus and Kharon immediately forgive her and reaffirm unconditional allegiance, insisting her safety is paramount and rejecting any talk of her death in the games. Their banter briefly eases the tension as they try—and fail—to sleep.
Conversation turns to Alexis’s recent changes: she has begun swearing and no longer stutters. She explains the shift happened when she stopped seeing Augustus and Kharon as threats—after Augustus drank her blood to break their bond and Kharon cut off his ear for her. The intimacy deepens as they re-adjust on the bed.
When Alexis’s shirt rides up, Augustus notices a circular scar—a cigarette burn—on her ribs. Realizing its deliberate origin, Augustus and Kharon are shaken. Alexis cannot speak about it yet; they respond with tenderness, holding her without pressing for details, while privately vowing violent retribution against whoever hurt her.
As Augustus finally drifts to sleep, he wonders how Alexis knew he was compiling a mental hit list, underscoring their growing, almost preternatural attunement amid the looming trials.
Who Appears
- AugustusPOV narrator; vows unwavering loyalty to Alexis, notices her cigarette-burn scar, and quietly swears vengeance.
- AlexisAnxious before the SGC; hints at a dangerous past choice, reveals a burn scar, accepts comfort, trusts her husbands.
- KharonFiercely protective; forgives Alexis immediately, bans death talk, comforts her, and shares in a vow of retribution.
- Fluffy Jr.Protector sleeping fitfully; his kicks rattle the bed, underscoring the group’s unrest.
- PocoAugustus’s creature; soothes him with purring and playful grooming during the long night.
- AjaxAbsent but central to Augustus’s rage; earlier assault fuels Augustus’s hit list and protective resolve.