Page 38 of Axios

“They’re our brothers,” he whispered, the intensity of his grass-green eyes sending a shudder through me. “And we do not abandon our family.”

I kissed him then, without a care of who saw.

Chapter Ten

Iawoke to shouts outside the bunk doors. Eryx’s body was pressed to my back, and he jolted at the sound as well. The movement of him against my backside sent a yearning through me, causing me to momentarily forget about the reason for my waking.

We’d explored each other many times since the celebration, but instead of running off to the stables, we’d begun discreetly coupling in the barracks when the boys fell asleep. He’d often had to cover my mouth with his hand as he moved inside me as I tended to vocalize my pleasure too loud.

Another shout brought me back to the present.

“Where is he?” a deep, masculine voice boomed. Gaius. “Find the filth and bring me his head.”

The door opened and slammed against the wall. As Gaius’ large form barged into the room, yelling for us to get up, my blood rushed through my veins as a slight panic rose. My mind always thought of the worst scenario, and it was consumed with worries that I was the target.

Of course, that was not true.

“Up you worms!” Gaius kicked a still-sleeping youth. “To the field at once.”

He left.

Eryx placed a kiss upon my bare shoulder before moving and doing as was instructed. I met Haden’s confused stare as we stood and proceeded outside with the rest of the group.

Melias and Ian, two other boys I’d grown closer to over the years but still didn’t know well enough, walked side-by-side, and if I wasn’t mistaken, their stances gave the impression they felt more for each other.

Ian—tall but slender—touched the back of Melias’ arm before dropping his hand. Melias regarded him with a smile, such a small action but one that held warmth.

It was reminiscent of how Eryx looked at me. Our relationship was no longer a secret to the majority of the boys, but to the extent of my knowledge, I hadn’t known if others shared our preference for men.

The morning was warm and carried heaviness in the air, signaling that the days were soon to grow even hotter.

I moved sluggishly and was thankful I hadn’t worn my tunic, for I would’ve torn it off me. By the time we reached the arena, sweat trickled from the side of my head and covered my spine.

Felix stood beside Gaius, and upon seeing him, I had to resist the urge to smile. He’d been away on a war mission for the last several months, and I was overcome with joy to see that he’d returned and fared well.

My delight was short-lived, though, when my gaze fell on the bloody body beside them. By the way of dress, I recognized it to be a Spartan youth, but his face was out of view. Blood poured from his opened throat, coated his chest, and glistened in the sun. A fresh kill.

One of my first thoughts was not who had killed him, but why they had thrown his lifeless body into the dirt for all of us to behold. Barbaric.

I said a silent prayer that he might find peace in the afterlife.

Felix stepped forward. “A slave has forgotten his place,” he growled in a tone that radiated with rage. “You see your brother lying in his own blood, slain by a coward who leapt from the shadows and drew a blade across his throat early this morn. A coward who then retreated into the countryside, thinking to escape his fate. An attack against one of us is an attack against us all.”

Members of our group bellowed and snarled, and their eagerness to act was met with approval from the older men.

“Time for a hunt,” Gaius said, and the cold smile plastered on his face made me shiver despite the hot day. “Others are searching for him now. Go and claim the honor for yourselves.”

Armed with spears, we set out into the wilderness.

It wasn’t often we were provided weapons during our training. They wanted us to know how to kill a man with our bare hands if ever we were weaponless in a fight. However, we trained separately with spears and blunt swords so we’d have the knowledge to use them. I knew how to wield it—the amount of force to use to drive it through a man’s chest and how to throw it to hit my target.

Where the other youths proclaimed their hatred and desire to see the slave’s head on a spike, my attitude on the matter was different. I felt sorry for the Spartan, but I wondered what wrong he’d done to the slave to warrant such a death. Surely the helot had known what awaited him for striking one of us.

Why would one risk his life for naught?

“Axios, put it out of your mind,” Eryx said as we walked through the knee-high grass. The forests’ edge was nearly upon us, and then we’d be shaded by the trees, a relief from the already smoldering heat. “There is no justification for this.”

He read me better than anyone, as if I were an encrypted message that only he could decipher.