Page 37 of Axios

Hearing his words and the kind tone he’d spoken them in, it was easy to forget about the surrounding world. We stopped in front of one of the animal enclosures and reunited our lips once more. Worries faded, as did the purpose for them, until all I knew was the feel of Eryx in my arms.

His hair smelled of the earth and sweat from the exertion of training, but there was no greater scent that had ever filled my senses.

“I am certain that is how babes are conceived.”

The voice broke through the haze and pulled us from our embrace, and I looked to see Haden standing two strides away.

“Such a shame you were born a Spartan,” I said, shaking my head. “You would’ve made a fine ass.”

Haden’s astonished look combined with Eryx’s amused snort sent me into a fit of laughs.

“Well, of course one of you must be the woman,” he countered as the smug grin reemerged on his masculine face. “Axalina, possibly? Although, you two would make horrendous looking offspring.”

“Speaking of women,” Eryx said, stepping closer to Haden and scrutinizing him. “I take it your conversation with Leanna did not go as planned?”

Beneath Haden’s left eye was a darkened mark, and I laughed harder upon seeing it.

Instinctively, he reached to touch it and shrugged. There was no humiliation present in his expression, only the joy from the challenge.

“She struck me before I could even finish my ode to her, but I will not surrender until she is mine. My heart is hers for she is as beautiful as she is strong.”

Not able to control myself, I teased, “And you are as strong as you are dumb.”

It was no great surprise that he tackled me after that.

We hit the ground and fought for dominance, thrashing around and attempting to pin each other down. He had the advantage with his size, of course, but I held my own against him.

I grabbed a handful of dirt and wiped it across his face.

He spat it out, along with obscenities, and grasped my hair before shoving my head into a small puddle.

I gasped as water went up my nose, a highly unpleasant feeling. Then I questioned why there was even a puddle as it had not rained in several days. My answer came in the form of a goat who slurped lazily at the water given to him, causing some of it to spill over the side of his drinking trough.

Forcing back the revulsion at having swallowed some of the animal water, I pushed Haden off and rolled on top of him, gripping his arms and trying to keep him down.

He shoved me to the side with ease before flipping me to my stomach and holding my arms behind me.

“You cannot win this fight, my small friend,” he said, putting more pressure on my shoulders to hold me in place.

“Axios, I have faith in you,” Eryx cheered me on through his laughs.

I knew if it had been anyone other than Haden who had me pinned, Eryx would have stepped in and probably torn their throats out.

A battle cry echoed to the right of us, followed by Theon and Quill running up and landing on Haden’s back. The weight of the extra two boys pushed me more into the dirt, and I struggled to breathe. They slapped at him, and he tried to bat them away. Even though I was unbelievably uncomfortable, I was having fun.

How could I have runaway with Eryx, leaving my companions behind?

It wasn’t until they were all three wrestling on me—shoving me into the ground and laughing—that I realized exactly how much they meant to me. I would fight and die for each of them without hesitation. The seriousness of the knowledge was misplaced in such a silly scene, but sometimes the small moments in life showed what really mattered, and the significance of them felt like a weight to the chest.

Once they rolled off, and we lay there trying to catch our breaths, my gaze moved to Eryx. He grinned, and I returned the expression. I stood and made my way toward him with a slight limp, one that would pass shortly.

I briefly regarded our friends who still fooled around even through their fatigue.

Haden, now with messy chestnut hair and dirt upon his cheek, jabbed Quill in the belly as Quill tried to stand, sending the smaller youth back to the earth. Theon leapt forward and collided with Haden, continuing their battle of who’s strongest.

The three of them looked so innocent and cheerful, devoid of the harshness we were all forced to endure. Not ruthless warriors who would someday take lives, but mere boys.

Placing my hand on Eryx’s shoulder, I focused back on him and nodded. No words were shared, but he seemed to understand me without them. I couldn’t form my thoughts in a way that would make sense, and I feared I’d be overcome with emotion if I tried.