Page 166 of Eryx

“You three are to take the king back to camp immediately,” I ordered, keeping my voice and expression stern. “Understood?”

Axios tilted his head at me before stepping closer. As much as I wished to send him with them, I knew he’d never obey me.

“It needs to be done,” Axios said to Demetrius, who had started to argue.

“What?” Haden snarled at me. “And leave you and Axios here to fight? Never.”

“Do not argue with me,” I growled, stepping toward him. “I am your leader and you will do as I say. Save the king. That’s an order.”

I am doing this to save you, you big oaf.

“Eryx…” Haden shook his head and gave me a pleading look. “Do not ask this of me. Please.”

“I am not asking,” I said in a softer tone, my chest cracking open. “Save the king. And return home to your family.”

Haden had always been an ideal Spartan. He followed every order without question, and he was prepared to die for his home. The only reason he had fled the battlefield at Tegyra had been because I’d ordered it of him.

To save his life, I would do it again.

Men of the Sacred Band were still fighting strong, taking down Spartans as if they’d been born with a blade in their hand. In mere moments, they would cut through the lines of men in front of us.

“If you do not go now, it will be too late,” Axios urgently said. “Tell Leanna and Leonidas I love them. And when Icarius is old enough to speak and begins to question the world around him…” His eyes watered and his voice started to shake. “Do not dismiss his dreams and curiosities. Let his imagination run free and do not try to beat him into what they want us to be.”

“Come with us,” Demetrius pleaded, clutching Axios’ arm as tears fell from his eyes. “You two do not have to stay.”

“Remember your purpose in life.”Father had told me.“To live and die for Sparta, above all else.”

“I have already run from one battle. I shall not do so again,” I said, looking at the Spartans around us who continued fighting even though the end was near. “They are willing to give their lives, and I will not abandon them.”

Axios nodded and touched my hand. I had accepted my death already, and it seemed he’d also accepted his.

“You will forever be the father I never had,” Demetrius said to Axios before looking at me.

Cassius squeezed my arm, not saying a word. He didn’t need to. I saw the affection in his eyes. Memories of training him flashed through my mind. He might not be my son by blood, but that’s exactly how I thought of him. He then pulled Demetrius away and rushed over to the king.

Haden didn’t move from his spot.

I remembered all the times he’d caught Axios and I kissing in our tree and how he’d playfully mocked us for it. I recalled the games we’d played and how he’d always insisted I be on his team because he was a sore loser. The years of laughter and brotherhood were in the past now.

“It has been an honor to fight by your sides these many years, brothers,” Haden said, his voice trembling as tears shone in his gray eyes. “Until we meet again.”

His face crumpled as he turned from us and went over to help the boys lift the king. The three of them carried him off the battlefield, and I released a shaking breath.

At least they are safe.

My gaze shifted to Axios. He was still watching them leave. But then he looked at me, and my control began to slip even more.

Dark lashes framed his honey eyes, and as I stared into them, the battle around us faded away. My life with him flashed through my mind; the sound of his laughter, the feel of his hand in mine, and the countless conversations near our stream. The boy who had come into my life like a star falling from the night sky. Beautiful. Devastating.

“Do you recall the night Nikias told us of the three hundred Spartans who gave their lives at Thermopylae?” Axios asked.

“I remember,” I said, recalling how he’d insisted on correcting Nikias that one time. “You were so stubborn even then.”

Axios laughed as a tear escaped his eye. I lifted a hand to wipe it away, and he placed a kiss on my palm. I then gripped his chin and captured his lips in a heated, desperate kiss. I tried putting everything I felt into it, how my heart beat only for him.

For every battle we’d faced over the years, I had prayed to the gods to give me one more day with him—one last kiss. There would be no more days of us lying in the grass outside of our home. No more runs through the meadow and him laughing as he chased me.

His mouth trembled against mine as he released a soft cry.