Page 6 of Eryx

Axios picked up on it and was able to block several attacks.

I smiled. No, he was certainly not weak. He possessed the Spartan determination to win and the intelligence to ensure he did.

Darius prepared another attack, but his body language was different. He’d been lunging forward on all of his attacks. As he went to do so again, Axios was ready. But then Darius rolled under the blow and shoved Axios from behind.

When Axios fell forward and landed in the dirt, Darius took advantage of the opening and threw his arms around his neck. Choking him. Axios slapped at Darius’ arms and fought to throw him off, but Darius had a firm hold. His knee slammed into Axios’ back and pinned him to the ground.

The panic in Axios’ eyes made me ball my hands into fists and step forward. He searched the faces of the boys around me, being met with smiles and laughs. They were enjoying this.

And then his gaze flickered to mine.

My muscles tensed as I fought the urge to intervene. If I did, I’d be beaten right along with him.

Axios’ movements become sluggish the longer Darius held him down. He slapped at Darius’ arm, but the other boy held on tight. The life was being choked out of him, and neither Gaius nor Felix stepped in to stop it. As Axios weakened even more, I grew angry.

Do not surrender. Fight!

I inwardly cheered when Axios’ hand brushed across the rock the older boy had thrown at him earlier before the fight started. He gripped it in his bloody hand and smashed it against the side of Darius’ head.

Losing his hold, Darius fell back. Blood streamed down his face. Axios wasted no time before tackling him. He straddled Darius’ chest and began punching him, screaming as he did. I stared in stunned silence as Axios released all of his pent-up anger on the other boy. He roared with each punch he threw.

The boys around me who’d grinned and laughed only moments before quieted. Their eyes widened as the brutal assault continued.

The screams tearing out of Axios’ throat were inhuman. They were filled with anger and sorrow, tearing right through my chest. They were the screams of someone who hated his life, someone who had reached his breaking point.

Darius struggled to shove Axios off him at first, but as he was repeatedly hit in the face, his arms fell to the dirt and his body went slack.

Axios stopped hitting him then and stared at his own bloody fists. He looked ill. It was as though he’d blacked out during the beating and couldn’t process what he’d done.

Darius was nearly unrecognizable. With swollen eyes and blood oozing from his nose, lip, and ear, he stared up at Axios. I saw his pleading expression even from my distance.

Surely, Gaius would stop it now. It was clear Darius couldn’t continue.

“Finish him,” Gaius commanded from his spot behind them.

Axios looked at Gaius, his face paling. Then, he focused on Darius, who was barely breathing beneath him. Darius tried to raise his arms, to keep fighting, but they fell to the ground. His fear-stricken expression was difficult to witness.

Gaius slapped the back of Axios’ head. “Show no mercy! He has accepted his defeat now finish him.”

The moment Axios realized what needed to be done was one I’d never forget. He looked at Darius with pity in his eyes. Pity and regret. The rock from earlier was beside his leg, and he grabbed it. His arm shook as he lifted it in the air.

Darius’ eyes widened and he choked out a sob right before Axios smashed in his skull. Axios screamed as he hit him, blood splattering on his face with each strike.

Boys around me averted their eyes, as if they knew how easy it’d be forthemto be the ones having their heads busted open. Some of them, the ones in the youngest herd, whimpered and started to cry.

A puddle of blood formed in the dirt beneath Darius’ head. He stopped moving, apart from the occasional twitch in his fingers. His eyes were open but lifeless.

Axios dropped the bloody rock and darted upward, tears streaming down his face. He swayed on his feet, appearing as though he’d faint any moment.

“Well done,” Gaius said, clapping him on the back. “You made Sparta proud today.”

Axios stared at Darius as if in shock. He either didn’t hear or didn’t register Gaius’ words.

“Nowyou may take your leave,” Gaius said to the rest of us before exiting the arena.

Felix stared at Darius, and I couldn’t tell which emotion he felt deeper—anger or disappointment. He patted Axios on the shoulder before walking over to the fallen Spartan youth. He gently picked him up, careful of the boy’s head even though he couldn’t feel anything anymore.

Axios watched Felix carry Darius off the field. The tears had stopped and he seemed so… wounded. Not broken, but close.