Axios: A Spartan Tale (Axios Series)

by Jaclyn Osborn

“Do you wish to hear a story?” Eryx asked, breaking the silence. He hadn’t told me one in so long, and I missed them. “Yes,” I said, leaning against his shoulder and staring at the sun sinking below the mountain. A pause followed as he pressed his face into my hair. Then, he pulled away and rested his cheek against the top of my head. “There once was a boy who questioned all things,” he started, putting his arm around me. “Our purpose for being in this life and why the sky was blue. The question he asked most, though, was what formed the stars. ‘Are they gods?’ he’d ask as he lay in the meadow at night, pointing up at them. Another boy, who had taken a liking to him, followed him everywhere he went and tried his best to answer the boy’s many questions. ‘The stars are heroes, men who died and are now commemorated for their bravery in battle,’ he’d answer the boy he adored.” I smiled as it occurred to me the story he told—the one of us. “What happened next?” I asked, closing my eyes and breathing in his earthy scent. “While each day challenged them, they only grew closer,” he answered. “And against all odds and the toughest training any man could ever endure, they fell in love.”