Page 114 of Eryx

Axios paused and scrunched his brow in concentration. One moment turned to two, and I became impatient.

“He did what?” I asked, closing my eyes to pretend I wasn’t overly interested in his response. Even though I was.

“He told me a story,” Axios said. “One of his time in war.”

I smiled as relief filled my chest. A tale of war. That was all. “You fancy stories.”

Axios shifted to his stomach and rested his chin on my chest. “This was unlike the stories you tell me. It was… unsettling. And he did not tell me all of it. He spoke of an oracle who gave him disturbing visions, ones of death and of a war not yet fought.”

Oracles? It sounded to me as though Nikias only wished to frighten him.

“Enough,” I said, looking at him. As expected, fear blazed in his eyes. “Do not worry your mind over it, Ax. I am certain he was only trying to frighten you. Men who lose so much—as he has lost his purpose as a Spartan—look for ways to give themselves other advantages. And you, my warrior, scare too easy.”

“You are right,” Axios said, after a moment. “He was probably just weaving tales to unnerve me.”

His expression said otherwise. Whatever story Nikias told him had deeply troubled him. I had the urge to track the man down and demand an explanation.

Axios shrugged out of my hold and sat up to dress. I admired his lean muscles as he pulled on his bottoms. The sight made my cock start to fill again.

A chill wrapped around me as I stood from the warm hay and found my clothing. I missed the heat of his body on mine. The promise of having him in my arms again once we reached the barracks was the only thing that kept me from tackling him back to the hay. I placed my hand at the small of his back as we left the stables and walked back to our quarters.

Axios shivered as the cold air nipped at his skin, and on impulse, I moved closer to help warm him. He gave me an appreciative smile. The smile faded when voices echoed from the courtyard. Quill and Theon stood close together beneath an archway, arguing.

“It is not our place to eavesdrop,” I said, as Axios stopped to listen.

He rolled his eyes at me and hid behind one of the pillars to watch them. I suppressed a sigh and followed him.

“What do you wish me to say?” Theon asked, leaning against the column as if bored.

“Speak the truth!” Quill stepped closer to him. “That is what I wish for you to say. Why do you become so enraged when I am intimate with others?”

When Theon tried to leave, Quill grabbed his arm and shoved him back in place.

“By the gods, answer me!”

“Because they aren’t me, Quill!” Theon’s casual composure broke, as did his voice. His shoulders sagged as he hung his head. Softer, he said, “They aren’t me.”

Finally, he admits the truth.

Quill went still. I didn’t have to see his face to know the confession shocked him.

“It is like a dagger to the heart when you are with them,” Theon continued. “It twists my insides to know you pleasure them. That your lips touch theirs.”

I shakily inhaled upon hearing his words. The feeling he described was one I knew well. Years later, and it still felt like a sword to the gut to remember Axios had kissed the king.

“I… I did not know that’s how you felt.” Quill stepped backward, shaking his head in disbelief. “Why did you keep this from me?”

My gaze moved to Axios. He stared at them with wide eyes, and his lips were parted. Such a curious bird, he was. And also like a bird, he could spread his wings and fly away any moment. If he did, would he fly to King Agesipolis?

Guilt clawed at me for the thought.

Axios would never do that to me. Not again.

“I hoped you would realize you felt the same,” Theon said, his voice shaking. “But I can see that will not happen. You will never feel as I do. So leave me be.”

As Theon pushed away from the pillar and left the courtyard, Quill remained frozen. His hands shook at his sides as anger rippled through him. And then he punched the column. Holding his fist, he slid down the marble and slumped to the ground, tears streaming down his cheeks.

Axios started to move forward.