Page 60 of Odette's Vow

Then I felt his cock press against me and my legs widen even farther to accommodate him, as I sheathed him. His powerful thighs thrust into me in one, two, three strokes. I dug my nails into his biceps. He thrust harder. I cried out in the pain of the pleasure. He crushed his lips to mine once again. Then there was only the sound of our laboured breathing.

The sound of two people, each desperately trying to lose themselves in the other.

Between the leavesof the tree above my head, I could see Artemis had hung a full moon. Somehow we had ended up on the soft moss beneath the tree, on the forest floor. Odysseus’ arm was supporting my head as we stared up at a sky so deeply blue it looked black. I was about to comment on it, to break some of the unease I could feel forming in my bones now that conscious thought and clarity had returned, when a rallying war cry echoed up from the beach.

My attention snapped towards Odysseus’, our eyes meeting for a fleeting moment as he moved fluidly onto his feet. By the time I had scrambled up, he had already put his fighting leathers back on and was storming towards the beach.

“Stay here!”

I immediately went to object.

“Just until I know the danger has passed. I will return for you.”

A silent beat of understanding passed between us, a moment we couldn’t afford. I sent him a brief nod.

That was the last moment of peace we had for a long, long time.

I followed him as close to the forest edge as I could get without being seen, where frantic energy filled the air and rushed towards me. On the beach, the men were fighting with the Cicones. Swords clashed, the men desperately grappling and grasping for their weapons and shields that had been abandoned near the fires. The ambush must have happened quickly, given the chaos I saw scattered along the beach – Odysseus’ men being cut down, blood raining onto the grains of sand below.

I could feel Zeus’ anger, the thunder rolling through the sky from the sea and onto the land. Until I realised it was not Zeus, but footsteps. What sounded like the roar of hordes of men. And horses.

My eyes scanned the scene in front of me desperately, searching for Odysseus amongst the carnage. There he was. Crouching and gutting, his spear a light and deft weapon in his hand as he twirled and stabbed, spun and launched. Always knowing when to press forward. Always knowing when to deflect.

So, this was who he had been on the battlefields of Troy. I could have been mesmerised by the dance of it, had my heart not been beating in the same rhythm as the footsteps that approached, growing ever faster.

Surely he could hear them, I thought. Surely he would force the men to retreat back to the ships soon, knowing what was coming. Feeling them beneath his feet. Then again, in the throes of battle, perhaps he could not hear them. I waited a second too long to cry out. Then I heard it.

“Retreat!” Odysseus’ voice boomed over the chaos, a command that carried across the winds, across the beach, all the way to the trees. Every man heard it. Every man turned and ran for the ships as the Cicones followed.

He wasn’t coming back for me. He couldn’t. And the reinforced ranks of the Cicones were descending down the forest mountainside on all sides of the beach, including mine. There was nothing for it. I would have to run through the battlefield if I was going to have any hope of getting out of here alive.

I stumbled onto the sand, running as fast as I could directly to the shoreline. Men fought all around me, but I was at most of the Cicones’ backs for now. I managed to evade most of them. I wasn’t the only woman on the shore. The others who had been dancing and feasting amongst the fires were there, too. Some were fighting with their brothers. Others were cowering. Some were being dragged by their hair by Odysseus’ men.

One made eye contact with me and flashed her fangs. A fighter. I dug my heels into the sand, forcing myself to run harder, faster, when a hand reached out and grabbed me.

Odysseus.

“Come, we must go. Now. Run, Odette.”

At that moment, a spear passed across my chest, a mere millimetre from where I was. Odysseus roared and lunged, gutting the man who had dared, before pushing me towards the boats. I felt every swish of his spear, every countermove at my back as he continued to drive me forward.

It felt like forever before my shins hit cold water. Wading through it to reach the ship felt like it took even longer. But Odysseus’ strong forearms bolstered me as I clambered up the rope ladder and onto the ship, even as he continued to fight off the bloodthirsty Cicones that had waded into the water after us.

Most, however, stayed on the shoreline, their message clear. Leave our land. You are not welcome here.

With a triumphant surge, those who had made it cast us off from shore. I stood beside Odysseus at the helm, as we watched the Cicones thrust their weapons in the air with another rallyingwar cry, this one victorious. Beyond them, dozens of Odysseus’ men lay on the beach.

All slaughtered. All unmoving. All dead.

And in the sky beyond, Zeus roared.

20

Οdysseus

Icounted seventy-two of our men missing.

Meanwhile, Zeus continued to rage. For nine days and nine nights, the north wind swept us along. No matter how many times the men attempted to regain control of the ships, or change course towards Maleia, it seemed Poseidon and Zeus were in agreement, dragging us onwards at their whims. Nine days and nine nights of relentless waves, relentless crashing and swaying. Relentless, endless ocean.

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