Page 61 of Axios

Slowly, I bit down on it, keeping eye contact with him. The ripeness of the fruit had softened the usually tougher skin and made for easy consumption. As the mildly sweet taste exploded on my tongue, I was unable to contain my pleasure and moaned, savoring it.

The king watched me as I chewed, and the hunger in his eyes was one I knew all too well. The moment was innocent, and yet, incredibly erotic at the same time.

I pulled back a bit and used the back of my hand to wipe the juices from my mouth.

Along with the tales of his unorthodox behavior as a king, rumors had also reached my ears of his preference for men. Eryx had told me of this, and since Agesipolis’ return home, I’ve heard of other instances of his sexual activities.

He did not hide them… nor should he have to.

Is that what he intends with me? A seduction?

I knew my suspicions to ring true just as the question drifted through my mind, and yet, I did not excuse myself and take my leave. My anger and disappointment at Eryx kept me rooted in place. With the king. By encouraging the attraction, I was playing with fire. I knew this. Still, I did not stop it.

I would burn one day regardless.

Eryx intended to leave me. He’d made that known. When faced with fighting for me or settling down with a woman as Sparta asked of him, he would let me go.

“I fear neither battle nor death, but I fear the day you are not by my side,”Eryx had told me not so long ago.“Never question where my heart lies, because it is forever yours. In this life and the next.”

As the memory returned to me, I wished I could go back to that time and remain there for all my days. I’d not only seen with my eyes, but I’d felt it deep in my soul that he’d meant the words when he’d voiced them.

I should have known we couldn’t be happy together. Not in a life where our lives were not our own—where at the moment of our birth, we were given to the state to control.

The years Eryx and I shared would fade into memory, and the broken promises and shattered pieces of my heart would be all that’s left.

“Axios?” Agesipolis asked, his brow narrowing. “Are you well?”

“Yes.” I focused on him, escaping the painful reality of my thoughts. “Forgive me.”

“There is nothing to forgive,” he said with a reassuring smile. “Please, join me inside and we can find a true meal. I am sure after an exhausting day with drills, figs will not satiate your appetites.”

Perhaps I was mistaken, but I found a double meaning in his statement.

So be it. I did not care.

If I was a man who found solace in wine, I would have gladly drank an entire cask just to forget my troubles for a while. I’d been injured too many times to recall, but that one hurt the most. A festering wound that could not be healed with oils or soothing sages. A scar no one could see.

Eryx and I were not even separated as of yet, but it already felt like the end.

I nodded. “A meal would be excellent.”

Then, I followed him into his home.

***

After we’d eaten, we sat together on wooden benches covered in a soft pelt and resumed our discussion from earlier. He served us wine, but I knew not to drink to excess, for an intoxicated Spartan was a dead one.

Nevertheless, the tart, yet sweetened, flavor was soothing as I sipped from my goblet.

“Do you usually dine alone?” I asked.

He shrugged and answered, “Not always. Whenever Agesilaus and I are in Sparta at the same time, we dine together, for it is custom for both kings to do so. It is a way to toss away any quarrels or sense of rivalry and allows us to grow as companions.” He chuckled and scrunched up his nose in an endearing manner. “Although, Agesilaus probably would not consider me as a friend, but more so as a pain in his old arse.”

I laughed into my cup and covered my mouth to stop the wine from spurting from between my lips.

“I speak the truth,” Agesipolis said and looked at me with wide eyes, his tone expressing the same amusement I felt. His face then grew more serious. Thoughtful. “He and I disagree on many things. But, he is kind to me and has been my confidant these past years in almost all matters.”

A faraway look came into his eyes, and I wondered if his thoughts were with his co-king who was still campaigning for peace.