34. The Stalker

In a flashback to the initiates’ first lap of the Crucible, Kharon spots Alexis in the water and is stunned when her eyes glow Chthonic red. He rapidly connects the signs and concludes she is the long-lost Chthonic child—Hercules, daughter of Hades and Persephone—believed dead after a Titan attack.

As Alexis struggles with a drowning boy, Kharon decides the federation must not learn her identity. Seeing opportunity, he revels that Alexis could solve the marriage law dilemma and become the political linchpin for him and Augustus. Determined to protect the secret and control the narrative, Kharon unleashes his Chthonic power on the boy, letting his protectors, Hell and Hound, torment him, effectively claiming the kill.

Kharon then formulates a long-game strategy: exploit Alexis’s human-world upbringing and her ignorance of Spartan customs. He plans to send a betrothal box that she might open unwittingly—constituting acceptance—then publicly reveal her acceptance at graduation, making intervention dishonorable and trapping her in marriage.

Drunk on the prospect of unprecedented shared power, Kharon fantasizes about binding Alexis to himself and Augustus, believing they can topple the federation and become feared rulers. He frames Alexis as prey and himself as an expert hunter who never fails.

When Alexis flees the water, Kharon follows at a distance. He pushes his consciousness into Hell and Hound, orders them to shadow Alexis, and begins a covert, continuous watch. Though Alexis briefly seems to sense something, Kharon confirms she cannot see them, and he settles into months of surveillance. The stalking formally begins.