Page 115 of Axios

As I fought another, I tried to see Eryx from the corner of my eye, not wanting to lose sight of him.

He battled two men at once. When one advanced toward him, the other did the same from the opposite side. Eryx ducked and parried their blows before recovering and striking his own. His fluid movements and precise attacks made him untouchable. Any man who neared him soon met his blade.

A slash to my left arm drew my attention from Eryx. The wound threatened to weaken my hold on my shield, but I fought against the weakness and gripped the shield even tighter, shoving against the man and knocking him back into another Spartan, who sliced him nearly in half.

Worry spiraled through me as I frantically searched the area for my friends. During the commotion, I had lost track of them.

Haden was fighting a soldier several strides away and he looked to be in control.

It was difficult to identify the men due to the helmets, but it was impossible not to recognize the smaller bodies of Quill and Theon, who fought together.

When Theon swung his sword, Quill knocked the enemy back with his shield and blocked any counterattacks. They moved quickly, using their small sizes to their advantage against the bigger soldiers. Their fighting styles complimented the other.

Quill struck a man, but was then knocked aside.

“Quill!” I’d read on Theon’s lips.

Theon tried to get to him, hacking away at the man before him and frantically keeping his gaze fixated on his lover.

And then my breath caught in my throat.

While Theon clashed with a soldier, another Theban approached him from behind. He was gradually becoming enclosed by the enemy.

“Theon!” I shouted, slashing through the man in front of me and trying to reach him.

Quill was standing, but preoccupied with his own combat and was close to being swarmed as more soldiers advanced his way too. The amount of still-fighting Spartans had dramatically decreased as most had already fled toward safety.

We were surrounded.

“Theon!” I screamed again, desperate to get his attention. But I was too far away and my warning did not reach his ears. I continued to run toward him, chopping at any enemy I passed. “No!”

He was stabbed in the back and stopped fighting, staring at the tip of the sword poking through the center of his chest. Once he was unfocused, the man he’d been fighting speared him in the stomach.

“Gods. No!” Tears blurred my vision as I saw him fall to his knees, blood now coating his chest.

The men withdrew their weapons and moved on to another Spartan, leaving him bloodied and forgotten on the ground.

No longer held up by the men, Theon swayed in place before falling forward. When I finally reached him, I gathered his small body in my arms and turned his face toward mine.

He held my stare as he shook. Blood dripped from the corner of his parted lips.

“W-w-where’s Qui…” he stammered right before coughing up more blood. “Q-Quill.”

His eyes widened as he trembled and his breaths left him in harsh gasps. Panic. Fear. Sadness. His face reflected them all. But then he stopped wheezing and the lines of pain marking his face smoothed, leaving him with a calm expression.

When his body stilled and his eyes glazed over, I knew he was dead, and my heart shattered in my chest.

In my grief, I had not noticed the Theban advancing on me. Right as I glanced up, his sword was swinging down toward my forehead. There was no time for me to try and deflect the blow, so I continued to hold my dead friend in my arms and prepared myself for the strike.

It did not come.

Another sword clanked against his and pushed the enemy backward.

“Stand, Ax!” Eryx roared as he raised his shield and blocked a hit. I was momentarily stunned and just stared at him. “By the gods, do as I say!”

So, I did. I laid Theon on the ground and hurried to my feet beside Eryx, readying my blade. The man who had tried plunging his sword into my skull launched again, and I struck him in the stomach. He fell, but another took his place. Then another.

My sorrow turned to rage as I stared down the swarm of Thebans closing in on us.