16. Haunted

Alexis arrives back in the Corfu house battered and sleep-deprived after four weeks at the Spartan War Academy and her library brawl. Patro berates her until Kharon appears, condemning her self-endangerment and recounting her fight. He closes in, forces her to count, violently resets her broken nose, and warns her to stop lying and protect herself. He fixates on his name’s pronunciation, an exchange that sparks a volatile, possessive tension, then orders Patro and Achilles away and leaves her shaken.

Alone, Alexis steadies herself as Nyx hints at Kharon’s protective “mate” energy. Doubting her own thoughts, Alexis chooses self-care: she eats, swims under the moon, cleans herself of weeks of grime, and vows to control her mind. She sleeps but dreams of blood-red eyes, whispers, and skeletons.

The next day, Alexis eats, works math by the sea, and swims, briefly peaceful until she spots two men with cameras near the house. Kharon arrives, confirms the threat, and instantly hunts them. Moments later he throws the men into the shallows, interrogates them, stabs one, and then shoots both. He promises to dispose of their boat as Patro and Achilles look on unfazed.

Reeling from the casual brutality, Alexis retreats to scalding water and struggles with resurfacing trauma. That night, after hearing ominous creaks, she steps onto the deck and inadvertently witnesses Achilles and Patro in an intimate, loving moment, their tenderness contrasting sharply with their violence. She slips away, newly aware of the complexity of devotion and menace around her, then dreams of grasping skeletal hands, whispers, and Charlie’s pleas, waking in tears.