Page 143 of Eryx

Without the head, chaos followed.

Gorgoleon roared and swung his sword as two cavalry soldiers circled him. One then stabbed him in the back while the other pierced his chest. He swayed as he still tried to fight, blood pooling from between his lips. The men withdrew their swords, and the commander dropped to his knees before collapsing. Horses trampled over his dead body.

“Forward!” the line officer shouted, taking control of our unit in light of the commander’s death.

Theopompus, seeing his comrade fall, released a battle cry before charging toward Pelopidas. But he never reached the Theban leader. A man near Pelopidas saw the attack and threw his spear, burying it in Theopompus’ side. The Spartan fell to the dirt, and when he rose to his knees in an attempt to stand, a cavalry soldier rode past and decapitated him.

His head flew into the air before landing a foot from his twitching body.

With both commanders dead, the army began to panic. Our line officer had been stabbed through the neck, and the Sacred Band had killed several of the captains. We were left without a leader.

“Do not lose focus!” I shouted above the noise of battle. “Keep your positions!”

Axios met my gaze through the opening in his helmet and nodded. And my heart ached upon looking at him.

What if this is the last time I see his face?The thought shook me to my core, and I chased it away before focusing on the approaching cavalry.

“When they hit our wall of shields, shove with every muscle in your body and parry them,” I said, keeping my tone steady despite the nerves in my chest. “Men in front, use your swords for quick stabbing. Men behind them, use your spears. Do not let them break our line!”

We held our ground as we defended against another onslaught. Something felt wrong to me as the fight drew on. The cavalry didn’t seem to be attacking as they should have been. They crashed into our shields and then pulled back before doing it again. Some of them never came into striking distance.

They’re distracting us,I realized a moment too late.

The men of the Sacred Band suddenly appeared, formed into a dense phalanx as they charged the middle of our line. I had never seen or even heard of such a formation. They moved with speed and strength, hitting our barrier with so much force that they broke through it. Once inside our ranks, they attacked the flank and the rear.

With our phalanx broken, we weren’t nearly as strong and too many men were left vulnerable. Then, Spartans began to fall.

The Theban cavalry charged again, hacking away at the men at the front of our lines, while the Sacred Band attacked from within. Blood spurted into the air as one man had his throat slit open, and mixed with the blood and sweat was also the scent of vomit and the sounds of men crying out as they were slain.

“Retreat!” a Spartan yelled before running toward the mountain passage toward Orchomenus.

“No!” I yelled. “Stand your ground!”

But the men saw their escape and took it.

“Cowards!” Axios bellowed, watching our men abandon us.

“Do not leave my side,” I said, meeting his gaze through our helmets. Honey eyes filled my vision, eyes I had spent so many years staring into. I touched his hand like I always did, wondering if it would be the last time. “No matter what happens… stay with me.”

Until the end.

Axios nodded as tears glistened in his eyes. His lips were parted, as if he wished to say something but no words came.

Then, the enemy was upon us.

Together, we tossed aside our spears and unsheathed our swords. The short, double-edged blades were lightweight and were more useful than spears for close-range combat. As one man ran toward Axios, two others came at me.

They attacked me at once from two sides. One swung his sword, and I ducked beneath it before twisting around to dodge the other man’s attack. As I avoided their blows and struck ones of my own, I moved on pure impulse, tapping into all of my training. I honed in on their movements, predicting the direction of their attack before they even made a move.

Axios was sliced across the shoulder before he shoved the Theban back with his shield. The sight of his blood made me grit my teeth and fight even harder. He was too distracted. He kept searching the battlefield, and I knew he was looking for our companions.

I worried over their safety as well, but we couldn’t afford to have our attentions divided. Not when half ourmorahad retreated and the rest still fighting were falling fast.

“Theon!” Axios shouted, slashing the man in front of him before running forward.

I focused on the direction he ran, seeing Quill surrounded by soldiers and Theon staring at him. Theon was so fixated on Quill that he didn’t see the Theban approaching him from behind.

After killing the man charging at me, I sprung forward, trying to reach Theon.