Page 136 of Axios

The remaining Spartan cavalry was fleeing from the Thebans. So many had fallen, and they were outnumbered. Desperate. Even the most highly trained men could forget their duties when desperate and fearful of death.

The main line shouted for them to turn around, but they did not obey, and instead struck the front row as they tried to escape.

“Do not panic!” Eryx roared. “Hold the line!”

Memories from Tegyra flashed through my mind. Something similar had happened there too. Men retreating. The defeat of the cavalry right before…

“Eryx!”

He didn’t hear me. No one did through the sudden impact.

The Sacred Band force had formed a line of fifty men deep and was charging at an angle toward us. Battles were fought in even lines and head-on, but the Theban generals had attempted a new tactic. One we weren’t expecting nor prepared for.

They collided with the front line in a slanted formation and easily broke through, attacking the men at the sides who were no longer shielded. It happened so fast and there was hardly any time to contemplate our next move before they reached us.

The whole Spartan right was rapidly falling apart. One by one the men fell as the Sacred Band further penetrated our defenses.

“They’re heading for Cleombrotus,” Eryx said, realizing their strategy. “Protect your king!”

Men obeyed his order and gathered around the king, but it was too late. The Theban force crashed into the wall of men and tore them apart. Bloodcurdling cries reached my ears, sounds that would never leave me.

Then, they were on us.

I was knocked to the left as the dense line of men burrowed through our row. Knowing a spear was useless in such a close range attack, I discarded it and grabbed my sword, unsheathing it and slicing a man across the face as I did.

Blood sprayed from the wound as his head snapped to the side. He hit the ground and was crushed.

Another man charged me, and I struck upward with my shield and hit him under the chin, knocking his head back with a crack. As I fought through the wave of Thebans, none of my friends were in sight.

We were swarmed by the enemy. All I saw were unrecognizable bodies. Blurs of bronze and silver. Crimson painted the grass and splashed into the air like the mist that had rained down on us days before.

The sun shone and warmed my helmet to where it was almost uncomfortable to wear, but I did not dare remove it.

I gradually moved farther to the right as I sliced through men. My arms were sticky with blood and the smoldering heat of day was oppressing, weighing me down. When I saw a small opening, I ducked through it to see King Cleombrotus lying on the grass.

He held his stomach as blood poured between his fingers.

Spartans surrounded him, protecting him from further blows. Eryx was amongst them, and so were Haden, Demetrius, and Cassius.

Thank the gods.

I hurried to Eryx’s side, shielding him just as a Theban drove a sword toward his abdomen. The weapon bounded off my shield, and I shoved forward, knocking the man back into the sea of bodies.

Relief flooded Eryx’s face as his gaze met mine, but the moment was cut short as more hoplites stormed the line we’d formed.

I blocked and Eryx stabbed, and then we switched, both of us working as one. But we would not be able to do it for long. Eventually, the other Thebans would advance and the numbers would be too much for us to hold our formation.

“The king needs to be carried off the field,” I shouted above the noise of battle. “If he doesn’t receive help soon, he will bleed out.”

Eryx furrowed his brow, as if contemplating all feasible options. “You and Haden take him back to camp,” he said at last.

I deflected an enemy strike and plunged my sword through their throat.

“No!” I snarled, angry he’d even suggest such a thing. “I swore to you I’d not leave your side, remember?”

“Ax…” He shook his head and peered at me through his helmet. Desperation blazed in his eyes. “Please do as I say.”

He already believed the battle to be lost and wished to spare me.