"Your aspis, young prince."
Bethany's gaze narrowed as she saw Athena, in the guise of a foot soldier, holding the red shield up to her champion who had no idea the Greek goddess intended to ride with him into battle.
So this is your choice? Really? An arrogant prince with no battle experience?
She'd laugh if it weren't so pathetic.
The prince inclined his head to Athena and took the shield that held a black phoenix topped by a Greek crown of laurels and the words "I defend." The weight of the hoplon caused the muscles in his arm to protrude and define themselves even more. He said something to the goddess that made her smile.
Athena handed him his black helm.
With one hand, the prince slid it down over his head then reached for his xiphos. What a pity she'd have to kill him. Beauty such as his was all too rare in the human world.
If only Athena had chosen another to favor ...
Sighing at the waste, Bethany manifested her bow and nocked an arrow. She took aim for the prince's heart.
Just as she released her arrow, he kicked his horse forward.
Damn it! The arrow flew past the stallion's flanks and hit a tent post.
The moment it did, Athena turned to glare at her.
Bethany made a rude gesture at the Greek goddess. Summoning her horse, she flipped onto Herita's back and flew away before the Greek goddess could return her fire.
The battle was starting.
Her heart heavy, Bethany glanced over the Greeks, hoping her Hector was safe.
"Well?" Diafonia asked as Bethany returned to their side of the field. "Did you stir them up?"
"Not as much as normal. I caught Athena's champion and almost had him. But the bitch saw me."
The goddess of discord patted her on the shoulder. "Have no fear, sweet cousin. The day is young. We will drink well on the blood of the fallen Greeks tonight." Diafonia spread her wings and dove for the soldiers with her brother Pali at her side. She and her brother Strife always ran among their enemies to incite their wrath and create confusion.
Times like this, Bethany truly missed Apollymi. The goddess of destruction had always been her best ally in battle.
Oh well. They had a war to fight and she had a Didymosian prince to slay. "Get ready, Hades. I'm about to send Athena's newest pet knocking on your door."
She flew to Xan's side and kept his arm strong throughout the day as he slaughtered Greek after Greek.
Until she finally sighted the young prince of Didymos again.
He'd dismounted at some point during battle, and was fighting on foot beside his men, with Athena nowhere to be found.
Bethany paused as she watched the grace and beauty of his brutal art. Someone had trained the prince well. Even at his young age, he fought like a seasoned veteran. Fearless. There was no hesitation in his attacks or blocks. He met every enemy without flinching or tiring. Indeed, he looked to be gaining strength with each opponent.
Incredible. Blood soaked him, dripping from his armor and skin, and still he fought on in a graceful dance of the absolute macabre.
"Styxx!" Xan's unexpected bellow startled her. She'd had no idea that her prince knew Athena's champion. And judging by the rage of that tone, they were not friendly.
Xan ran at the prince, slashing his way through the men who came between them.
With the sound of screams, cries and clashing metal echoing in his ears, Styxx drove his sword into the middle of the man he was fighting and had barely recovered when a mighty shadow fell across his line of vision. He looked up just as an axe was coming for his head. Lifting his bowl-shaped shield, he gasped at the ferocious blow that numbed his entire arm and forced him to his knees. It sent a piece of the wood flying out of his aspis to the ground.
After yanking the axe back for another strike, his newest attacker shrieked in frustration. The giant jerked Styxx's shield, throwing him sideways. Somehow, Styxx managed to keep his grip on the hoplon, but the action felt like it'd torn his arm out of his shoulder.
Styxx rolled with attack, and landed on his feet to face Xan. For a moment, he couldn't breathe as he felt the memory of the bastard's hands on his body while he laughed in Styxx's ear and taunted him.
Xan narrowed his eyes. "I owe you a debt, little quim. Your life for Estes's."
As Galen had taught him, Styxx clenched his jaw shut to keep from responding to the insult. "Never let the enemy in your head, boy. Your emotions will get you killed."
This was not about rage, ego, or fear. It was war. Cold. Brutal.
Final.
One mistake and he could lose a limb.
Or his head.
Focus and skill were the only things that would keep him alive and in one piece. And while he knew he couldn't die, he didn't want to live with severed body parts.
Xan swung his axe down again. Knowing the power of those blows and the fact that he couldn't stand long against them, Styxx dropped his hoplon and launched himself at the much larger man, driving his shoulder into Xan's stomach and forcing the giant to stumble back as the axe slipped from his hands and landed harmlessly on the ground behind Styxx.
The Atlantean prince grabbed him as Xan fell, pulling Styxx down on top of him. "If you wanted to suck my cock, boy, all you had to do was ask."
Styxx scrambled to get off him, but Xan wrapped his massive limbs around his body and held him tight. Panicked memories assailed him as he struggled not to scream out.
"I think I shall capture you instead of killing you, little prince, and then you can be my personal tsoulus until I wear your tight ass out and sell you to a dung dealer for his amusement."
To Styxx's horror, Xan slid his hand down to cup and grope him through his armor.
"Leave it to the flaccid Greeks to send their pretty little whores into battle."
Rage clouded Styxx's sight. Something deep inside him shattered and released. With a battle cry born of a lifetime of shame, Styxx twisted in Xan's arms and drove his kopis into the giant's side.
Releasing him, Xan cried out.
But Styxx gave him no reprieve as he stabbed him again and again, until he was no longer moving. His heart pounding and limbs shaking, he climbed off the bastard and saw Xan's pale skin and glazed eyes.
"For Acheron," he breathed.