“Listen,” Leonidas proceeded, “and I will tell you why. The troops Xerxes throws at us now are, for the first time, of actual Persian blood. Their commanders are the King’s own kinsmen; he has brothers out there, and cousins and uncles and lovers, officers of his own line whose lives are precious to him beyond price. Do you see him up there, upon his throne? The nations he has sent against us so far have been mere vassal states, spear fodder to such a despot, who squanders their lives without counting the cost. These”—Leonidas gestured across the Narrows to the space where Hydarnes and the
...more
This highlight has been truncated due to consecutive passage length restrictions.
