Axios: A Spartan Tale (Axios Series)

by Jaclyn Osborn

Eryx might not be the cold-hearted beast the men wanted us to be, but he didn’t show his gentle side to anyone apart from me. To the rest of the world, he was stern and lacked compassion. He was disciplined and unwavering in his ability to strike a man down. The perfect makings of a soldier—a leader. But to me… he was my home.

I might not have known if I’d die for Sparta, but I knew for certain I’d lay down my life for his.

Eryx tilted his head to gaze upon me, grabbing my hand and interlacing our fingers. “Not even death could keep me from you. My soul will forever find yours. In this life and the next.”

I was his. I had been since the very first day I laid eyes on him. The golden-haired boy who had watched me with concerned, green eyes and beckoned me to stand and fight had come to mean more to me than my own life.

“I crave a life where we can live in peace.” My voice was thick with emotion, and I forced myself to speak through the tightness in my throat. “Where love is seen as a strength and where our days are spent lounging by our stream, lost in conversation for hours on end. There’d be no sorrow, pain, and no darkness. Nothing but happiness and light. Love. However, I’ve come to the realization that dream will never be.”

“I do not fear death because I’m afraid of dying, Ery… I fear it because it would take me from you.”

“You are my heart,” he said unexpectedly. The amount of care in his voice settled over my chest like a warm cloak. “I do not easily confess emotions in the way you do, but know I feel the same. The words I once spoke to you hold true: I will kill any man and turn the whole world to ash for you, my warrior. I fear neither battle nor death, but I fear the day you are not by my side. Never question where my heart lies, because it is forever yours. In this life and the next.”

Eryx was the anchor that kept me from drifting out to sea. My safe haven from the storm.

You and I will never part, my warrior. In this life and the next, we will be just as we have forever been: side by side. There is not a thing that can take me from you, neither the slashing of a sword nor the impalement from a spear, for I will always find you.”

“Sparta is not my home. You are.”