Page 81 of Axios

“Let us return to Potidaea and celebrate our victory!” the Spartan commander exclaimed before ordering us to leave Olynthus.

I said a silent prayer that the fallen soldiers might find peace in the afterlife, and then I took Eryx’s hand, not caring that the emotion might be seen as a weakness to be mocked. The gods—who I had not been certain even existed—had kept him and my companions safe for me, and for that, I would forever be in their debt.

Haden had a cut on his cheek and scratches covering his biceps from where shields had crashed into him, but was for the most part untouched. Theon had been speared in the leg, but it was only a minor graze, and Quill did not seem at all injured.

As for Eryx, the only blood marking his skin was from the men he had killed.

A victory, Teletius had said.

Seeing the dead warriors upon the ground, some who were so young their beards hadn’t even begun to grow, I did not see a victory. Only the effects of a war we had no purpose being included in.

***

“Sit still and let me look at it,” Eryx growled as he grabbed me and forced me to sit back down on the bed. “You have lost a lot of blood.”

Any amount of blood that I had lost would be considereda lotto him.

“It is only a shallow cut, Ery. Relax,” I said in an attempt to reassure him, but he continued to glare at me until I obeyed. “Very well.”

I watched him as he doctored the wound. His scrunched brow and intently focused eyes nearly made me laugh, but I stifled the sound and covered it with a small cough.

Finding humor in the situation was the only way for me to cope. Not because of my gash, but because my mind refused to leave the battle. The screams of the men who’d fallen on the battleground and the faces of the dead were burned into my memory, and I suspected they would forever haunt me.

“You do not have to hide your pain from me,” Eryx whispered after he finished tying off the wrap around my arm. He’d applied a healing salve that prevented the wound from festering. “Perhaps from the other men… but never from me.”

“The cut does not pain me, Eryx.”

“I am not referring to the cut,” he interjected, still in a soft tone. “There is a shadow in your eyes, even now while you gaze upon me. We lost many men this day.”

Tightness formed in my throat, and I swallowed. “Do you think it ever becomes easier? War.”

He studied me in silence, sitting beside me on the soft cushion. We were not to sleep outside, unlike the night before, and had been given an actual quarters to share with other soldiers so that we could rest and recover from battle.

“I am not certain,” he answered, averting his eyes from mine to stare down at his hands. “War is never easy, nor do I believe it ever will be. However, our attitude toward it may alter as time passes. Just like when killing the helots.” He moved his gaze back me. “It is nevereasyto take a life, Axios, but we can learn to desensitize ourselves to the act.”

I had already learned that lesson. It was what came after that troubled me. The nightmares.

“Lay down. You need to rest,” he said.

Before I could dispute him, he grabbed my uninjured shoulder and pushed me backward.

I growled in the back of my throat as the realization struck that from that moment forth, he’d be even more protective. One injury and I was suddenly a damsel in need of saving. But then he lay down behind me and pulled me into his arms, and any complaints vanished from my lips.

Somehow, he had mended the broken fragments of my mind with one gentle embrace.

Chapter Twenty-One

Days later, we were informed that we’d be returning to Sparta. Upon first hearing the news, I’d been stunned and believed it to be a misunderstanding. Our campaign had not been successful—no matter what lies Teleutias told himself and others—therefore, we could not possibly be going home.

Yet, we were.

Sparta currently had little protection with the multiple armies having left and needed men, so since our section contained young fighters, we’d been chosen to return. The men who had proven to be experienced soldiers were instructed to stay in Potidaea and continue the war efforts.

Fortune was in our favor as we began the trek home.

Winter was not yet upon us, so the journey would be long, but at least it wouldn’t be terribly cold. We had spent many winters wearing nothing more than a cloak and learning to survive in such unfavorable conditions, so even if snow had covered the ground—which was a rarity for us—it would not have mattered, but it would have prolonged the trip, and I wished to reach home as quickly as possible, as did the others.

Haden missed Leanna and Leonidas and was eager to see them, and the rest of us could not wait to sleep in our own beds once again. We had only been away for close to two turnings of the moon and were already incredibly homesick.