Page 96 of Eryx

He looked at his feet. “Did you also see the reason for my fighting? The helot?”

“As I once told another boy who held your same beliefs, you must put aside your feelings toward the slaves,” I said in a stern voice. “You do not have to approve of their treatment, but you must hold your tongue and never attack one of your brethren to help them. It is our way.”

“I do not see why they are different than us,” he said, lifting his gaze to mine. “They did not choose to be born slaves, just as I did not choose to be born a Spartan.”

“You would do well to keep that thought to yourself,” I spoke, and the harshness in my tone made him flinch. “Thank the gods for blessing you with Spartan blood. We do not choose our fates, but we must make the most of them.”

“Yes, sir.”

Cassius walked toward us, and when he saw Demetrius he sprinted until he reached us. “What happened?” He cupped the other boy’s face and wiped away the blood running down his chin. Fire burned in his blue eyes. “By the gods, I will kill the man who hurt you.”

Axios softly smiled and rested his hand at my lower back before we said goodbye to them and walked away. It was remarkable how similar both boys were to us. I wondered if they, too, shared an unbreakable connection. If their souls calmed in each other’s presence.

“Have you spoken again to Galen?” Axios asked, as we passed a house where a woman hung bedding outside to dry. “Does he enjoy being a father?”

I had finally introduced Axios to Galen earlier this year. He already knew Paris from the dining mess when we were boys, and it had taken Axios a while to warm up to him. He thought Paris to be cruel, and he wasn’t wrong for believing so. Cruel to slaves, perhaps, but Paris was also loyal to those he considered friends.

Galen and Rhea had had a son only days before Leanna had Leonidas.

“He was in high spirits when I visited him days ago,” I answered, nodding my head to a group of Spartiates that passed by on the dirt road. “However, the worry over Leanna’s health has taken priority since then.”

Axios was silent for a while. Then, “I was worried, Ery. Loss has become part of our lives. Loss of innocence. Loss of freedom, for we belong to the state. Loss of my mother, for she will no longer speak to me. I have survived these losses. Yet, the loss of my sister would have wounded me beyond repair.”

“I know.” I gripped his bicep and turned him to face me. “Leto was with your sister and helped give her strength. This is also something I know.”

“I do not believe in the gods.”

“It matters not what you believe,” I said, before continuing down the path. “A man can say he does not believe in the sun when it’s covered by clouds, yet the sun shines anyway. Same with the gods. They are there whether we see them or not.”

“Perhaps.”

“Answer me this,” I said, as we reached the courtyard. Men stood near a column and nodded to us in greeting. “If you do not believe in the gods, what do you believe in?”

Years together, and I was still learning about Axios. We had spoken of the gods many times in the past, and with each conversation, more questions arose.

“I believe in…” Axios leaned against the tree just outside the enclosure and scrunched his brow. “The earth. I believe the ground will keep me from falling to the depths of the unknown. I believe the sun will rise each day and set each night. And I believe in you.”

“Me?” I rested my hand above his head and stared down at him.

“Yes.” His gaze fell to my lips before lifting again. “I believe that no matter where life takes us, you will be by my side. Just as I will be by yours.”

“And when we leave this world?” I asked, pressing closer to him. His hand moved to my hip as I placed mine on his waist. “If you believe not in the gods, you doubt the existence of Tartarus and Olympus. So, where do our souls go when we die?”

“The stars?” Axios then angled his head to capture my lips.

And as his lips moved on mine, I thought the stars seemed like a beautiful place to rest.

Chapter Nineteen

382 BC – Two Years Later

“Who are they?” Axios asked, staring at the men entering the city. They moved with purpose toward the council chamber.

“Envoys,” I answered, squinting at them through the blinding light of the sun.

A troubled look crossed my lover’s face. “I wonder what it is they want.”

As per the peace terms set forth years before, Persia ruled the cities of Cyprus, Asia Minor, and Clazomenae. Athens kept the cities of Scyros, Lemnos, and Imbros. Every other Greek city would be self-governing. Sparta had been given the responsibility of executing the peace and intervening if the treaty was threatened.