He didn't know why that offended him. After all it was a common practice for whores to barter their bodies for supplies, but for some reason it cut him deep. "Thanks, Euclid." Pulling his cowl lower, he made his way through the dark alleys back to the palace and his room.
There in the darkness, he opened the lid and mixed the herbs together. Strange how he could still recall the exact amounts to use.
"Inhale this, boy. It'll make it all so much more pleasant for you."
His gut tightened as he heard Estes's voice in his head. The first time he'd been given this, his uncle had held him on the ground and forced him to breathe it in. After that, Acheron had needed very little coaxing. His uncle had been right, it'd made everything much more tolerable since it took away all of his conscience and fight. It'd made him a mindless supplicant to whatever deviant act they wanted to perform on him.
He lit the herbs and blew on them ever so slightly to get them charred to the right amount so that the fumes would be potent enough. Closing his eyes, he picked up the clay mask and held it to his nose, then inhaled until everything that hurt stopped.
His head swimming, he stumbled to his bed and lay down so that he could watch the ceiling tilt and spin.
Apostolos? Where are you?
"Hello, voices," he breathed. They were always louder when he was high.
We want you to come home, Apostolos. Tell us where to find you.
He looked around the room and sighed. "I'm in a dark room."
Where?
Acheron laughed, then rolled over onto his stomach and groaned at the sensation of the coarse linen brushing against his body. He drew a ragged breath as his cock hardened. Artemis had thrown him out too soon. The drug was making him incredibly horny.
Then again, she didn't really care for the mess he made. Every time he came in her bed, she wrinkled up her nose distastefully. It was why it was easier for him to just screw her and please himself later when he was alone.
He sucked his breath in sharply as the sheet rubbed against his nipples. The pleasure was excruciating. But he refused to touch himself.
He didn't want release or any kind of pleasure. He just wanted peace.
More than that he wanted to be touched by someone who gave a fuck about him. And that certainly wasn't him.
November 12, 9528 BC
Acheron sat outside on his balcony, letting the chill winds freeze him as he realized his sister was in the window watching him. He motioned for her to come outside.
Her teeth started chattering immediately. "It's freezing out here."
"Feels good to me." He was actually sweating.
Ryssa narrowed her eyes suspiciously as she neared him. "What have you done?"
"I've done nothing. Absolutely nothing." He barely had the strength to eat.
She shook her head in anger. "You've been taking those drugs again, haven't you?"
Acheron looked away.
She gripped his face in her hand and forced him to look at her. "Why would you do such a thing?"
"Don't start on me, Ryssa."
"Acheron, please," she said, her voice strained as she released him. "You're killing yourself."
He wished. Glancing down, he turned his wrist out to look at the perfect unblemished skin. There was no trace of the cut that had severed his skin and veins. "I can't kill myself. The gods know I've tried. There's no way out for me so here I sit, biding my time until the gods end my life, while I try to stay out of everyone's way."
She brushed the hair back from his eyes. "You look terrible. When was the last time you bathed?"
He shoved her away, angry over the question. "The last time I bathed, I was accused of rape and then castrated. No offense, I'd rather smell."
She shook her head. "When was the last time you ate?"
"I don't know." He scratched at the beard on his cheeks. "What difference does it make? It's not like Father's going to let me starve to death. I'll eat when I have to. When they make me."
The next thing he knew, Ryssa reached up and grabbed his ear in a tight pinch. "You're going to eat right now."
"Hey!" Acheron snapped, but she refused to let go. With a determined grip, she pulled him from the railing and forced him to follow her to her room. She was so much smaller than him that he was bent almost double and had to struggle to keep up with her frenetic steps. "You do know that I'm bigger than you," he reminded her.
"Yes, but I'm meaner and madder." She snatched her hand away, making a lasting sting on his lobe.
Frowning, he rubbed his ear.
She pointed at her dressing table where a plate of fruit, bread and cheese rested. "Sit down and eat. Now!"
"Yes, Your Majesty." As Acheron reached for a bit of cheese, he caught his reflection. Sunken eyes, tinged by red stared out from an unkempt man. His beard was ragged, his cropped hair shaggy. He looked like an old man instead of a youth.
That was okay, he felt even older than he looked. Averting his gaze, he placed the cheese in his mouth while Ryssa poured him a goblet of wine.
She left him to walk over to the door that led to her maid's quarters. "Nera? Would you have them draw me a bath in my room? And find me a razor."
Acheron didn't speak as he ate. Honestly, he was starving. The maids hadn't been bringing food for him and he didn't dare go in search of it on his own given the way his father had reacted the last time he found him near the kitchen and dining room.
When Ryssa returned, she was holding Apollodorus. The baby smiled the moment he saw Acheron and reached for him.
Unable to deny him, Acheron took him into his arms. "Greetings, bit. How have you been?"
He squealed in response.
Acheron look up at Ryssa as she folded cloth for a diaper. "He's grown since I last saw him."
"Yes, he has."
Acheron glanced at the baby's thinning hair. "You're getting bald too."
Ryssa laughed suddenly. "You did the same thing. All of your black hair fell out and then it came back in blond."
Apollodorus reached out and tugged at his beard.
Acheron held the baby out to Ryssa. "I'm too dirty to hold him."
"He doesn't mind. He's just glad to see his uncle again. He's missed you."
He'd missed him too.
Acheron hugged the baby close even as he glared at his sister. "That's unfair, Ryssa. You know what would befall me if Father ever found me here. And if he ever saw me near Apollodorus . . ."
She placed her hand on his shoulder. "I know, Acheron."
The door opened to admit servants who brought in a large tub and hot water. Ryssa took the baby while Acheron ate more.
Once the bath was ready, she left him alone.
With more enthusiasm than he wanted, Acheron sank into the steaming hot water and sighed. It'd been so long since he last had a bath that he'd almost forgotten how good it felt. Even so, it wasn't worth the risk to him.
"I love you, Ryssa," he whispered. She was the only one who really cared about him. Artemis wanted to love him, but she was a goddess and hers was a selfish love-very much like Estes's. So long as he pleased her, she was kind. Granted she was more giving than Estes had ever been, but there were still limits on what she'd do.
What hurt most with Artemis was the memory of how they'd been in the beginning. He craved that innocence on his part. That feeling that he'd meant something to her . . .