Page 71 of Eryx

“I am well,” he said. “Only tired.”

I didn’t believe him, and knowing he was lying made my chest ache.

Deciding not to press the issue, I nodded and removed my hand from his thigh. He picked at his food, and I watched him from the corner of my eye. Boar was his favorite meal, yet he ate it with little emotion.

“If you aren’t going to eat that, I will,” Quill said from my other side, eyeing my food.

I lifted the strip of meat to my mouth and slowly took a bite, holding his gaze. He narrowed his eyes and focused on his empty plate. People said I was cold and indifferent, but the truth was that I felt many things. I just hid them well. After eating a few bites, I gave Quill the rest.

“This isn’t a trick, is it?” he asked, not touching the meat.

“Eat before I change my mind.”

He smiled and tore into it, eating like a savage beast.

I ate the vegetables and a wedge of bread before asking Quill about his training that day. As he answered, I pressed my leg to Axios’ beneath the table. Even when engaged in conversation with someone else, he was never far from my mind.

I inwardly smiled when he pressed his leg to mine too.

As we walked to our quarters later, Axios remained silent. I told him about training my herd and how Cassius had impressed me with his leadership capabilities, and he only responded with amhm. I grabbed his wrist and led him to the courtyard. The clouds had rolled away, leaving the night clear and starlit. The mugginess remained in the air, but there was an occasional breeze.

He sighed as I dragged him behind me. “Ery, we cannot be here. We must go to the barracks.”

I turned to face him once we were concealed by the tall shrubs. “Not until you tell me what’s wrong.” His gaze fell to my mouth as I stepped closer. If I hadn’t been so desperate for answers, I would’ve claimed his lips just as he desired me to. “Do not lie to me again.”

“Again?” he asked, searching my face.

“You forget that I know you better than anyone, Ax. Do you not trust me with the truth?”

“Do not be a fool,” Axios said, sliding his hand to my side. “There is no one I trust more.” When I said nothing, he sighed and turned toward the shrub, picking at a leaf. “I worry about Leanna. For years, she has rejected Haden. She’s rejected all men. It makes me wonder why she changed her mind.”

“You worry she’s been pressured to accept his advances?”

Axios nodded and released his hold on the leaf. “I also fear it’s my fault.”

“How? You’ve done nothing.”

His eyes met mine, sad and unsure. “Mother wishes for you and Leanna to wed. I told you this. What I failed to mention was my reaction to the news. I became angry with Leanna when I thought she might take you from me.”

His meaning became clear.

“You believe she’s allowing Haden to court her, so your mother will put aside her wish for us to wed,” I said.

He nodded and stepped toward me, resting his head on my shoulder. I pressed my cheek to his hair as I slid my arms around him.

“Am I wicked for being relieved?” he whispered, turning his face into the crease of my neck. “I cannot imagine anyone else laying claim to you, Ery, but I dread the thought of Leanna submitting to a man she has no desire for just so I can keep you.”

“There is not a wicked bone in your body,” I answered, thinking the notion absurd. “As for anyone else claiming me, you speak of impossibilities. I am yours. Always. Now set aside these worries. Morning comes early.”

Axios lifted his head and observed me a moment. “What would I do without you? What would I be?”

“What is the moon without the stars?”

His brow crinkled as he thought. “Without the stars, the moon is still the moon.”

I touched his jaw. “And without me, you would still be you. The stars may help the moon shine, but they do not give it its light. You have a light inside you, Ax, and nothing can take it from you.”

“I never wish to test that theory,” he said, turning his face against my palm and closing his eyes.