Styxx (Dark-Hunter 22)

Styxx froze instantly as his stomach knotted. Obviously, some of the senators had discovered Acheron at Catera's brothel.

This can't be good.

The one who'd spoken, Senator Barax, had been a longtime friend to his father and one of his top advisors.

His father paused by his side as Ryssa smirked at Styxx. She was absolutely gloating.

"What say you?" Krontes asked. He, too, was a friend and advisor to the king.

Barax laughed deep in his throat. "It's true. They couldn't look more alike had they been born twins. The only difference is their eye color."

Even though Acheron had been gone for a decade, how could they not remember his brother? That thought angered him even more than their topic.

"His eyes are eerie," Senator Peles, his father's oldest friend, joined in. "You can tell he's the son of some god, but he won't say which one."

"And he's in a stew, you say?" Krontes asked.

"Yes," Peles said. "I'm telling you, Krontes, you have to visit him. Pretending he's Styxx has helped me immensely in dealing with the royal prick. Spend an hour with Acheron on his knees and the next time you see Styxx, you'll have a whole new perspective."

They laughed.

"You should have been at our banquet last night," Barax continued. "We dressed him in royal robes and passed him around like a bitch in heat."

Styxx's stomach heaved as fear, rage, and hatred rose to choke him. While the three of them must not have bought him from Estes, Styxx knew there were members of the senate who had.

Members he was sure had passed around the same stories about having ridden the royal stallion.

Styxx wanted to die where he stood.

Snarling in rage, his father charged around the wall to have them arrested for defaming his heir. What would he say if he knew Styxx had been as debased by members of his senate as Acheron had?

Ryssa raked him with a sneer. "It should have been you they used instead of Acheron. You deserve it."

He glared at her. "I hope you think of that curse when Apollo violates your precious loins, sister."

She slapped him then stormed away.

Closing his eyes, Styxx leaned against the wall and struggled with the agony inside his heart. Not just for himself, but for Acheron who was still being bought and sold.

He felt his father's presence and opened his eyes to find him standing by his side. "This. Ends."

Ends how?

Other than badly for all of them.

"What do you intend to do, Father?"

"What I should have done to begin with." He turned to leave.

Styxx stopped him. "Father? What are you planning?"

"To have that bastard arrested and put in a place where he can't shame me."

Prison.

Styxx shook his head at the thought of Acheron suffering like that. But his father would reject any plea based on compassion. So he used something he knew his father would care about.

The king's ego.

"You can't. Instead of having senators bragging about tupping your heir, you'll have commoners doing it. Is that what you want?"

His father glowered at him.

"Bring Acheron home, Father. It's time."

"You sound like a methusai."

I'd rather be an old woman than a heartless bastard.

Styxx wanted to argue, but he knew that expression. His father had made his mind up about the matter and no amount of logic would be heard at this point.

As always, he'd have to find some way to deal with the aftermath of his father's lunatic hatred and try his best to modify whatever actions the king took, while trying to keep his own ass out of the line of fire.

January 20, 9529 BC

Styxx reined his horse to a stop as he held Bethany in his lap. Leaning down to bury his face against the nape of her neck, he inhaled the sweet eucalyptus scent of her lotion and smiled. Her scent made him rock hard and caused his head to spin even more than the drugs Estes had once used on him.

She placed her hand to his cheek. "Are we here?"

He squeezed her gently. "We are, love. I'd tell you to close your eyes, but..."

She leaned back against his shoulder and kissed his clean-shaven cheek. Since she didn't care for his beard as it interfered with her ability to feel his expressions, he'd bid it adieu. "You're not funny."

"And yet you tell me you love my humor. What is wrong with you, woman?"

"The very fact I'm in love with you. It rather says it all."

He laughed at her gentle teasing then dismounted. Placing his hands at her waist, he pulled her down to stand beside him. A large dog started barking ferociously.

She frowned at the sound. "Where are we?"

"Were you not paying attention to my directions from the stream?"

"I was, and I know where we are, but not where we are. Or why we're here."

He left his horse to graze and took her hand to lead her. "We are someplace very special."

"And that would be?"

He placed her hand against the wooden door of the small stone cottage.

Her scowl deepened as the dog barked even louder. "What is this?"

"Shush, skylos!" he said to the dog then he gentled his tone to speak to Bethany. "I bought this for you. It's a place for you to escape to whenever the weather is bad."

She went rigid. "Hector-"

"Beth, there are no strings attached to it at all." He put both her hands on his face so that she could feel how sincere he was. "It's yours, plain and simple. You can keep your things here and not have to tote them anymore. It has a large lake that's just down the hill, fully stocked with fish. I made sure before I bought it."

"I don't understand..."

He kissed her palms as terror rode him with spurs. Since he'd come home, he'd been tortured with images of someone hurting her. Of another man stumbling upon her spot and not being wounded as he'd been when he first found her there. Or worse, Apollo harming her to get back at him. "I know you have your knife, but I worry about you when I'm not with you. Constantly. I'd feel better if you had a safer place to be alone."