Page 33 of Eryx

“Haden needs to watch his left side,” I said, keeping my eyes trained forward but seeing Axios’ head turn in my direction. Other than to discuss training, I hadn’t spoken to him that morning. It was precisely how things needed to be between us from now on. “His strikes are precise, but he doesn’t defend well.”

Axios focused back on the boys.

Haden was quick for a boy of his size. He lunged forward, his fists blurring as he hit the other youth’s stomach and chest. Menexenos stumbled back before steadying himself and throwing a punch to Haden’s right side. Haden blocked the hit with his forearm.

Ever since they’d begun their fight, I’d studied them. Haden favored his right side, as it was his dominant one. While he was quick on his feet and accurate in his hits, his left side was wide open. Vulnerable.

Menexenos noticed this. He swung with his left arm, expecting Haden to block the hit—which he did—and then he slammed his fist into Haden’s left side, hitting the bigger boy so hard that Haden flew backward into the mud. With Haden dazed from the fall, Menexenos jumped on him and straddled his chest before punching him in the face. When Haden raised his arms to block one hit, Menexenos used his left fist to strike the other side.

Growling, Haden shoved the other boy off him and got to his feet. He slipped in the mud, though, and fell to his knees, his face a bloody mess and his chest covered in red marks. The rain fell harder, making the ground softer and the mud slicker. Each time Haden tried to stand, he fell back down.

“Enough,” Felix said. He approached Haden and jerked him up by the arm. “You go into a fight with all brawn and no brains. Think, boy. You must calculate the enemy’s next move before they make it. Andalwaysdefend. If this were a real battle, you would’ve been bested by a man half your size.”

Menexenos silently stood beside Haden, showing no signs of pride at having won the fight. Small victories meant nothing in the great scheme of things.

“Axios.” Felix pointed at us. “You and Eryx fight next.”

Axios snapped his head toward me, his eyes shocked and uncertain. I returned his gaze, burying my affection for him beneath a cold resolve. He was my weakness, and what did Spartans do with weakness? We crushed it.

Without a word to him, I walked toward Felix. Axios followed behind me after a moment of hesitation. I felt his eyes on me, and I fought the urge to look over my shoulder at him. Once we were in front of Felix, our trainer shifted a gaze between us.

“Do as the other boys did. Attack and defend,” Felix said as a sly grin curved his lips. “This shall be interesting.”

He then joined the boys watching us from the side of the arena.

Rain continued to fall, the cold drops drumming against my skin. When Axios faced me, he wiped at his eyes, probably to clear his vision. My heart thudded in my chest, matching the rhythm of the raindrops. A voice inside my head screamed for me to stop, but I was already swinging my fist.

Axios fell to the ground as I punched the side of his head. The shock in his eyes as he peered up at me through the rain cracked my chest wide open. His hands and knees sunk into the mud as he tried to stand.

I kicked him in the stomach. The feel of my foot colliding with his soft skin—skin I had often traced circles on and pressed my face against—hurt me more than anything I’d ever done in this life.

He released a surprisedoofbefore rolling to his back and staring up at me.

“To your feet!” I yelled as thunder rumbled in the distance. “For once in your life, Ax, fight!”

His wounded expression would forever haunt me from that day forward. As he lay in the mud, the cut on the side of his head bleeding before being washed away with rain, he looked so broken.

If I had to break him in order to build him up stronger… so be it.

I reared back my arm, but before my fist crashed into his face, he rolled to the left. He swiftly got to his feet and faced me. But he made no move to hit me.

Why wasn’t he fighting back?

I lunged for him. Axios dodged my attack and shoved against my shoulder. I nearly fell but caught myself before running at him again. He blocked my next punch, but the rain made us both slick, so my fist slid against his arm and smashed into his cheek anyway.

I hated hurting him… which was exactly why I needed to. I was punishing him for being weak but also punishing myself for the same reason. Hurting Axios was the one thing that could truly hurt me.

I threw another punch, and he brought up his forearm to block me. He shoved me backward, and for a moment I lost my footing. It was the opening he needed to hit me… but he didn’t. He stood in place, his tears mixing with the rain.

“Hit me!” I barged forward and shoved against his chest. “This is what you must become!” I jabbed at his side. “A warrior. A man. Fight!”

My voice wasn’t my own. It reached my ears, raw and broken. I screamed at him with the heat of a thousand suns, both desperate for him to change his ways and saddened by the thought of him becoming a vicious warrior who would lose the curious mind I adored so much.

The heavy downpour lessened, transitioning to a light mist. The storm might’ve died down, but the one in my heart remained. When Axios’ eyes met mine, his chin trembled. And still, he didn’t hit me.

My fist smashed into his torso over and over again, and he let me do it. His acceptance to be beaten only made me angrier. So, I kept hitting him. With each punch to his body, I felt my heart break.

I hit him because he was weak. I hit him because he mademeweak. And I hit him for all the things I refused to admit aloud—the betrayal I felt every time he stared at another with desire in his eyes.