That night, Kharon watches Alexis sleep, reflecting that their marriage bond has increased his healing speed. He feels guilty that the bond makes her distrust him. He holds a black-and-white rose that he cut from the garden, hoping that she cares since she touches his nightly offerings even though she discards them. He acknowledges that his stalking is wrong but feels an obsessive need to watch her sleep—a compulsion that Augustus shares. He places a blue diamond necklace, the official stone of the House of Artemis, around her sleeping neck, feeling primal possessiveness. He contrasts his love language of diamonds and weapons with Augustus’s academic gifts. He feels Augustus’s headache stop through their bond but considers this relief nothing compared to the agony of his unrequited love.

That same night, Augustus grips a bathroom sink as blood drips from his eyes. The “madness” of the House of Ares breaks free, craving Alexis and giving him a headache. He punches the mirror, shattering it, and his headache vanishes completely. He realizes that his mental powers have changed somehow, and he feels different as he exits.

Alexis wakes from a nightmare and discovers that Kharon left a blue diamond necklace on her during the night. After Nyx persuades her to keep it, she joins everyone to teleport to the Dolomites coliseum for the initiation massacre, noting that only Ceres is absent, safe at the villa. She notices that Augustus’s eyes seem sharper now that his headache is gone.

During the flag ceremony, each heir raises their House flag. Artemis looks surprised at Kharon’s visible hellhounds and missing ear. The crowd calls Alexis “the lost heir” and “Angelus Romae,” or “Angel of Rome” (245). One hundred boys fight to the death, leaving 10 survivors. Fate, an elderly woman with purple eyes, appears with a clipboard.

Zeus shocks everyone by announcing that the Spartan Gladiator Competition (SGC) will begin the next day instead of two months later due to Medusa’s escape. All Chthonics will be imprisoned at the stadium for 12 days and interrogated. Anyone who refuses or attempts to leave will be declared an enemy of the state. The stadium erupts in chaos, during which Charlie and Helen try to comfort Alexis.

Olympian guards escort the Chthonic heirs into labyrinthine tunnels beneath the coliseum. Charlie and Helen are locked in a cell despite Alexis’s protests. Augustus threatens the guards before calming, explaining that it’s political posturing. Patro offers Alexis a place in his cell, but she refuses, remembering that they abandoned her. His demeanor turns angry. Alexis, Augustus, and Kharon discover that their cell contains only a single bed.

Fluffy Jr. suddenly collapses and has a seizure. A quivering lump appears on his spine. Augustus suggests that it’s a tumor, but when Alexis demands another explanation, he mentions molting—a rare process where powerful beasts develop extra appendages after puberty. She refuses to accept the tumor diagnosis, trusting her protector bond. When she announces that she will sleep in the bathtub, both husbands forbid it.

Kharon angrily insists that Alexis will sleep in the bed. She notices that Augustus seems different without his headache—sharper and less controlled. Kharon pins her against the wall, and Augustus crowds her as well, pressing against her side. The encounter becomes intensely sexual until Augustus abruptly stops them, warning that they cannot afford distraction. The men go to the bathroom to calm themselves.

While they’re gone, Alexis records a diary entry on her calculator, voicing her fears about Fluffy Jr., her husbands, and her powers. Vorex opens the cell door, summoning them for the opening ceremony. Protectors are not allowed, so Alexis leaves a sleeping Fluffy Jr. behind, confident in his recovery.

Guards escort them to the arena at sunset. Alexis experiences feedback in her left ear, and Augustus simultaneously feels her pain through their bond. The Chthonic leaders stand before their flags and a marble altar. Hades appears enraged but calms upon seeing Alexis. Persephone waves from the stands where she sits with Charlie and Helen. Erebus joins the line wearing a bone mask.

Zeus enters with Fate and the eight Olympian leaders: Hera, Hermes, Athena, Poseidon, Apollo, Demeter (Persephone’s mother, who makes a throat-cutting gesture at Hades), and Dionysus. Alexis feels ancient terror from their collective power. The Olympians notice Kharon’s missing ear. Kharon possessively adjusts the diamond necklace on Alexis’s neck. The tension between factions feels like a barely maintained ceasefire. Zeus announces that the ceremony is beginning.

Zeus announces that the SGC is a 13-day contest where competitors fight without guns. Augustus explains the concept of “labors” and “brands,” which respectively determine the number of competitors one fights and the number of rounds they must participate in. Brands denote the number of prior defeats that the warrior has faced. Ajax of the House of Hermes is introduced as enforcer. Amid the opening ceremonies, Artemis, Ares, Hades, and Erebus demonstrate through their scars that they all have zero defeats. Aphrodite performs a sensual reveal that causes many to faint.

Agatha, Drex, and Hermos reveal their various brands and draw their labors. Patro reveals one brand and draws two labors. Achilles reveals zero defeats and draws eight labors to be fought without his muzzle. Kharon reveals his mutilated chest—dishonored by 11 labors when he faced 11 Minotaurs in his first games—and draws three labors. Augustus reveals zero defeats and draws six labors.

Alexis is called last. She struggles to rip her toga until Ajax violently exposes her. Zeus rolls dice that spark with electricity and announces 12 labors. As Ajax reaches for her, Kharon snaps his neck. Hades and Persephone confront Zeus, who claims that Spartan law prevents changing the roll. Remembering Ceres’s advice about deception, Alexis pretends to accept the challenge naively. Persephone seems to understand her strategy.

That night in bed, Augustus resists comforting Alexis physically, wanting to prove that their bond transcends desire. Kharon asks when her stutter stopped. She reveals that it ended when she stopped viewing them as threats. When Kharon makes a suggestive comment, she shoves him off the bed. Her shirt rides up, revealing a circular white scar—a cigarette burn—on her ribs. Augustus asks what happened, but Alexis says she cannot discuss it yet. Both men contain their fury, embracing her while hiding their rage and sharing a silent vow of revenge.

On day one of the SGC, Alexis unsuccessfully tries to activate her light power. She observes a new electric force field covering the arena to prevent leaping. Their protectors sleep as Fluffy Jr. continues spasming.

Artemis rides onto the sand as the crowd chants. When she asks how a competitor loses, Augustus explains that it’s by passing out, coma, or death. Kharon adds a fourth way: Being unable to walk out results in being branded a “loser” even after defeating all labors—his own story. Five giant Cyclopes enter the arena. Artemis releases scarlet mist and fires arrows at impossible speed, killing all five instantly. Augustus explains that they will now attend a symposium, where explicit activities occur.

At the symposium, Alexis gets drunk on ambrosia while guests flirt with her and her husbands. Kharon and Augustus kiss and hold Alexis. Afterward, reporters find and question Kharon about his viral ear-cutting video and connections to Medusa’s escape, noting that Medusa is his sister.

The marriage bond sparks intensely when Augustus helps Alexis stand. They sit in a booth where both men touch her thighs. Drunk, Alexis blurts that she wants them both to have sex with her. They refuse, asserting that she’ll be sober when they all first have sex, and Alexis teases Kharon by joking that she’ll find another Spartan to sleep with.