Page 101 of Axios
He watched me a moment before standing and approaching the older men. “Gather the commanders for an announcement.”
“Pardon me?” one of them asked with a scoff. “You are nothing more than a mere soldier. You make no demands to me or my council.”
Eryx snarled and strode forward, staring the man down. He radiated dominance, and the advisor stepped back a step.
“I just did,” he spoke in a deep, authoritative tone. “Now gather the commanders.”
The man looked to the others and swiftly nodded before moving with haste to do as ordered.
When I went to stand so that I could ask Eryx of his intentions, Agesipolis grabbed my wrist. It was apparent how fast his strength was waning by how light his hold was on my hand.
His eyes appeared desperate, though, as if he were asking me not to leave him with a look.
An ache burrowed in my chest at the sight, and I sat back beside him, taking his hand in mine. I was aware that I should not feel so strongly for him, that showing such concern over his well-being was out of place. But it pained me to see him so broken.
His eyelids fluttered as he fought the fatigue taking over his body, but soon, he could fight no longer and his eyes closed.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Eryx proved himself to be an excellent leader. I had known that about him ever since we’d been young boys, but he truly displayed the traits of a man to be obeyed over the following days as he issued orders. The army remained in Torone to keep control of the city, but Eryx commanded a small unit of men to transport the king back to Aphytis, which was a few days journey away.
His decision had been questioned, of course, by the advisors.
“Do you think it wise to carry him for travel when he is so ill?” they had asked.
Eryx had squared his jaw before retorting, “He is in need of a physician, and there are none within our ranks. Only a fool would trust a healer from the city we just captured to aid the king of the army that conquered them.”
No arguments had followed his answer, and then we had taken our leave. Two of his advisors traveled with us, and the others stayed in Torone to handle affairs in the city.
With fewer men, we moved quicker through the terrain, only stopping when absolutely necessary. All that mattered was getting our king the help he needed. Even Eryx shared that belief, and he was not bothered by my attention to our ailing ruler.
Along the journey, I had cleaned and bandaged the wound on the king’s shoulder to the best of my ability and had wet cloths to place on his forehead in an attempt to soothe his fever. It had taken nearly three full days for us to travel from Torone to Aphytis, and even though his condition had not improved, it had not worsened either.
Once in Aphytis, we carried Agesipolis to where we’d previously been housed and the people did not hesitate to take him into their care.
And now we wait.
Exhausted from our rush to the city, Eryx and I retired to our quarters. Our friends had desired fresh air and had gone to the shore for a while, so we were alone.
My body was exerted, but my mind was alert and consumed with worry over the king.
“May I be so bold as to ask you a question?” Eryx lay beside me on the bed, slowly running his fingertips over my bare stomach. When I nodded, he continued, “What is it about him that captures your affection? You have reassured me that you did not lay with him during the day you spent in his presence. Yet, instead of easing my mind, it only makes me more curious… only makes me wonder what occurred between you two for you to still think of him with such fondness, even all these years later.”
We had rarely discussed my feelings for Agesipolis. Eryx hadn’t wished to hear of it, and I hadn’t wished to hurt him.
There had only been small moments where something had been mentioned, such as the time when he asked if I wished I was with the king instead of him. It was a topic we had avoided because speaking the words gave them life, and once they were spoken, there was no taking them back.
“Is this a thing you truly wish to know?” I asked, focusing on him.
“I’d rather shove blades into my ears to keep from hearing it, but… I need to,” he responded with the struggle clear in his green eyes. “I have been able to push it from my mind over the years, but seeing you care for him with such tenderness during our travels, I cannot rest until I know the truth. All of it.”
A part of me had wanted this—to explain why I felt so connected to the king. Now that Eryx was asking it of me, I refused to deny him.
“I had just finished fighting with Gaius when I saw Agesipolis watching me from the edge of the training arena,” I began, visualizing the day so clearly in my mind’s eye. “He greeted me and commended me for my fortitude on the field.”
Once I started telling Eryx, the words flowed from me like water caught in a strong current; unstoppable and moving with ease.
I spoke of mine and the king’s shared philosophies and recounted how it had made me feel: relieved that I’d not been the only Spartan to believe such notions and how that had piqued my interest to learn more about him. Those were all things I’d held onto through the years, sweet memories with him and the intriguing discussions we’d had together.
