Page 71 of Axios

“It shall be a while yet before they provide us answers,” he said, moving his stare from me to the retreating forms of the messengers. “The council must be told and Sparta’s next move must be discussed in full before they inform the masses.”

“How long do you suppose that will take?” I asked, battling through my impatience.

The not knowing was the worst part.

Eryx shrugged. “Perhaps they will announce it soon… or it may possibly take all evening and we will not know until the morrow. I cannot say for certain.” He peered at me from the corner of his eye. “There are ways we could pass the time until then.”

I tried—and failed—to hide my smile. “You’re insatiable. Is my body all you fancy?”

He quirked a brow before gripping my forearms, angling his face down to mine and speaking in a low tone, “Run.”

“Aren’t we too old now for such childish games?” I asked, taking pleasure in challenging his plans. “Besides, I believe I’ve become a stronger runner, and I do not wish to wound your pride by beating you.”

“Run,” he growled again.

The fire in his eyes caused my own desire to ignite and I took a step back. Slowly. I knew the moment I took off running he would be right on my heels. My statement about beating him was nothing more than a taunt and a blatant lie because I’d lose just as I always did.

After taking several deep breaths, I glanced to the left and saw the path that led toward the meadow. And then I started running, moving so fast that I momentarily slipped on the pebbles underfoot, but I quickly gained my balance and kept going.

As expected, he was behind me, only a stride or two away and almost in arm’s reach.

We’d chased each other through this meadow and through these trees so many times, I’d lost count. The destination remained the same, though. To our stream, hidden in the woods. It was the one place where nothing could reach us, where it was only him and me and no one else.

This may be the final time we ever see it.

If the news the envoys carried was that the peace talks had ended and war continued, it would be the last day before everything changed. I wondered if Eryx had come to the same conclusion and was the reason why he wished to go to our stream.

Once we’d passed through the bushes and branches hiding our place from sight and I’d arrived at the water’s edge, he tackled me to the ground. I was not on the grass for more than two heartbeats before he took my face into his hands and kissed me.

Unlike other times, his kisses did not begin gentle and tender. There was no build-up of seduction. No playfulness or teasing of the flesh. Only desperation to touch and be touched.

He kissed me hard and tugged me closer to him, breathing heavily as our kisses deepened and our hands pulled at the fabric between our bodies.

No words were spoken as we surrendered to our sexual appetites. They didn’t need to be.

Once we were sated and no longer overcome with lust, we lay in the grass and talked. We spoke of our friends—Quill and Theon who constantly hassled each other and could never be found without the other close by, and Haden who’d matured into an intimidating Spartan, and yet, who still joked easily with us.

When the light of day began to fade, we trekked back home.

“Where have you two been hiding?” Haden asked as we entered the courtyard outside of the barracks. He barged forward and stopped a foot in front of us. “Have you heard?”

I froze in place. I’d expected it to be longer before any answers were given.

“No, we have not,” Eryx answered, touching his fingers to mine as he did in tense moments such as these. “What of it?”

My heart pounded so hard in my chest that I heard its incessant beating in my ears. The rushing of my blood was nearly deafening, and I focused intently on the big brute before me to hear his reply.

“The peace treaty was a success and the war is over,” Haden responded. However, he did not appear to be pleased with the news, and his face fell with disappointment. “Such rotten fortune that war would end just as we reached age twenty. I looked forward to crushing our enemies and driving spears into their hearts.”

Eryx—who’d been on edge moments before—stood relaxed and calm. “I am certain there will be other wars, brother. Just not this one.” A smirk touched his lips. “I am afraid you must find something else to stab with your spear.”

“And it better not be my sister!” I chimed in, pointing at the beast of a man.

Haden howled with a laugh, and if I wasn’t mistaken, his cheeks even flushed. Before he could comment, Quill ran around the corner and entered the courtyard, concealing something in his cloak and grinning.

“See what I have stolen for us,” he said, glancing around before displaying the contents he had hidden. Dried slivers of meat, bread, and honey. “This night is cause for celebration, I believe, and what better way to do it than engorge ourselves and enjoy each other’s company?”

Spartans did not indulge with food, for we needed to be in peak physical shape and know how to withstand hunger when at war. But I did not mind in that instant.