Page 109 of Eryx

“There is no offense,” Nikias said, smiling. “Perhaps after a warm meal and a good night’s rest, you will find yourself in better spirits come morning.”

Dining with mysyssitionthat evening chipped away at the ice in my chest that had formed after the battle. Where I had been numb, I now felt warmth again.

Haden wasn’t at the table. He had practically run to his family when the army was dismissed. However, Quill and Theon laughed and pestered each other while Ian and Melias asked about the battle. They had stayed in Sparta at the command of Teleutias, who had wanted several soldiers to stay and protect the city in our absence.

I spared them the horrors of what we experienced and only said, “Battle changes men. I’m not the same as I was when I left.”

It then occurred to me that I’d said to them what Nikias said to me upon his first return home from war. Axios nodded and stared at the bread in his hands while the smile slipped from Theon’s face. Quill also became somber.

“To the fallen,” Axios said, raising his goblet.

The men echoed the phrase before taking drinks.

***

As months passed, we settled into our daily routines. Or at least tried to.

Life in Sparta was not the same after we’d tasted battle. Axios and I trained our group ofephebesand practiced drills with the other Spartiates. Each day, I anticipated word from the army still in Potidaea, wondering if they had been successful in their campaign. I received no answers.

I should be with them, I told myself as I led Xiphos around the arena at midday.

Walking the horse helped calm the anger in my chest, a coping mechanism I’d need to break soon. A small force of men was being sent on another campaign, and the mare would accompany them, as would the other horses I had helped train throughout the years.

After I led her back to the stables, I pressed my cheek to her face and ran my fingers through her dark mane. She breathed slow and even, trusting me fully. I would put the horse from my mind after this. Becoming attached to anything caused weakness to grow in a man’s heart.

And so, I placed a kiss on her muzzle and said farewell before leaving to meet Axios.

As I walked to the dining hall, I smiled at the memory of bedding Axios that morning.

I had woken to him kissing my throat, and we’d joined bodies not long after. His moans had echoed in the barracks, making me chuckle and cover his mouth with my hand. I had taken him again after we finished in the arena. Covered in sweat and dirt, we had rolled around in the field, biting each other’s skin as I’d moved inside him.

Since our return from battle, we had made love more than ever before. Perhaps because we had faced our mortality and knew tomorrow was never guaranteed. Not for us.

At evening meal, Axios sat beside me and spoke of his visit with Leanna and Leonidas. He said the child had stopped pulling the flowers from her garden and now gathered rocks and piled them in inconvenient places—such as right outside the front door. Haden laughed as he recounted a time he’d tripped over them.

“The boy laughed as I plummeted to the ground,” Haden said, shaking his head. “He’s mischievous. I know not where he gets it.”

“Are you certain Leo is not Theon’s son?” I asked as I scooped up broth with my bread and ate.

Theon flashed an impish grin and Haden gently shoved him away. Talk then shifted to Quill, who boasted of a sexual conquest with a woman twice his age. As always, Theon glared and averted his eyes.

In the barracks that night, Axios was restless. He tossed and turned on his bed before rolling over and draping an arm across my chest. He then ran his hand down my abdomen and played with the dusting of hair below my naval. Lower his fingers traveled until I growled low in my throat.

I’d had him twice that day, yet I needed him again.

“Ery?” Axios whispered against my neck. “Make love to me beneath the stars.”

“The night is cold,” I said, trying not to let my desire override common sense.

“We will keep each other warm.” He sucked my nipple into his hot mouth, and I groaned.

Quietly, we rose from our beds, grabbed our cloaks along with our special vial, and rushed out of the barracks and into the field beyond them. I chuckled as Axios tackled me to the ground. His mouth captured mine in a heated kiss as he straddled my hips.

I gave him the dominance he sought and submitted to his will. He rode me fast and hard, and when I sensed him on the brink of release, I stroked his length with my oil-slicked palm.

The bump in his throat was even more prominent as he tilted his head to the sky and whimpered through his climax. I then followed, my toes curling as I spilled into him. The stars danced above him as I stared up at his beautiful neck and soft features. I pumped into him once more as the shudders slowly began to subside.

Afterward, he collapsed on the cloak we had laid on the grass, and I rested my head on his inner bicep. True to his word, we had kept each other warm during the act, but now the winter air caused goosebumps to erupt on our skin.