His mother gaped. “Did she not punish him for it?”
“Of course not. They’re her pets.”
Leto lifted her chin as fury darkened her eyes. “And you are my son. How dare a mortal lay hand to you!” She closed the distance between them to gently inspect his face. “I will take this up with her immediately.”
“She won’t listen. I already demanded restitution and she said it was justified.”
Leto curled her lip. “She’s no business being the final say on our kind. She’s too capricious with her laws of fairness. I’m still seething over how you and Artemis were forced to be born, and the curse Hera gave you both with no repercussions. No matter what that bitch says, it was not justified.”
“Believe me, Matisera, I know. I should rip the throat out of her Ēperon guard with my fangs and let her see for herself how fair that curse is.”
“I would agree, but she’d only kill you for it and claim that as justice, too. No… we need something to take to the other gods. Something that shows she’s not impartial.”
“Like what?”
Leto let out a heavy sigh. “We have to catch her breaking the rules.”
“And how do we do that?”
“We follow her, dear boy. Sooner or later, she’s bound to screw up something.”
October 22, 12,249 BC
“Is it just me or does it seem like the gods have a vendetta against us?”
Aricles looked up from his carving to meet Hector’s gaze. “They want us dead.”
“Ah, good. I’m not the only one who’s noticed. And here I thought it was just me.”
Grimacing, Galen moved to sit on the foot of Aricles’s bed. “It is disconcerting, isn’t it? And battle isn’t all I thought it’d be.”
Aricles arched his brow at his brother’s somber tone. “Is that remorse I hear?”
“It’s remorse. I keep going back to that day on the farm when they came to recruit us. Do you remember what you said to me while we packed?”
“Not to forget your cloak?”
Galen laughed and shook his head. “You told me that battle wouldn’t be the same as the war games I’d played. That the day would come when I’d grow tired of walking through blood-saturated fields.”
“And has that day come, brother?”
He nodded. “I never gave thought to how young some soldiers would be. Or how wroth the gods would become with us.”
Hector let out a heavy sigh. “I think we are all feeling that. I swear one of the soldiers I killed today couldn’t have been any older than fifteen… if that.”
Haides moved to sit on Galen’s bed next to them. “It’ll soon be four years since I was last at home. My sister has married and had two children since I left… I miss my family.”
Galen sat back. “Our brother had a baby… a son almost a year ago and we’ve seen nothing of him. And for some reason, I keep thinking of Talia.” He met Aricles’s gaze. “Do you remember her?”
“She was beautiful and thought you hung the very moon in the sky.”
Galen smiled sadly. “Aye, she did. But she was too circumspect for me. I always thought she’d be a better match for you.”
Aricles bit back the reminder that Galen’s other problem with her was that she’d refused to bed him. “And now?”
“I should like a wife with such morals and convictions, and sweet nature. One I can trust to remain faithful to me should I ever be away. Do you think she might still be available?”
“I know not, little brother.”
Haides jerked his chin toward Phelix who was asleep on his bed across the room. “Ever notice even he has stopped sharpening his sword?”
Monokles nodded as he joined them. “I keep thinking of something my father used to say to me – Fight on, my son. Not only with sword and spear, but with everything you have.” Sighing, he shook his head. “But now, it’s the words of an Athenian priestess that haunt me – you should reach the limits of virtue before you take up your sword and cross the border of death.”
“We’re all homesick.” Aricles glanced at each one in turn. “But we have taken a vow to fight for our goddess and for the people of our homelands. As the old saying goes, only the dead have seen the end of war. We cannot forget that well begun is only half done. People have learned to watch for our red cloaks and black armor. They turn to us for protection now. How can we abandon them?”
Galen sighed wearily. “Interesting words considering the fact that you’re the only one of us who didn’t want to be here.”
Aricles paused his carving. “I still have no desire to make war. But I am not a coward and I won’t have the gods or anyone else making that allegation toward me.”
“He’s right,” Haides agreed. “They would mock us if we withdrew.”
Aricles offered them a sad smile. “I think we could all use a furlough. I’ll talk to Malphas and the goddess to see if we can have a week to ourselves so that we can see our families and make peace in our hearts.”
Monokles clapped him on the shoulder. “You’re always looking after us. Thank you, brother.”
Aricles inclined his head to them. “Anything for you, you know that.” He set his carving aside and left their barracks to head to the small temple they’d erected for their goddess. Every time they came home from battle, they’d leave an offering to her for her favor and honor. Not that it was needed. She always watched over them.
And while she seldom stayed in the temple, she would come any time Aricles called for her.
“Bathia?” he said gently.
She appeared instantly with a bright smile before she pulled him against her. “I hadn’t realized you’d returned from battle.”
For fear of betraying themselves, they tried not to be together too much during war and training. She was finding it harder and harder to not react whenever he was injured, and his fear for her safety was extremely distracting while he had people trying to kill him.
“We came in this morning.” He kissed her lightly on the lips and savored the taste and scent of her. “I’ve missed you.”
“And I, you.” Closing her eyes, she sank her hand in his hair and took a deep breath against his neck that left him covered with chills.
He wanted inside her so badly, his body felt as if it were on fire. But this was neither the time nor the place. “May I ask a favor of you?”
“Anything.”
“The men are weary. Is there any way to arrange a small reprieve so that they can visit their families?”
“You ask for them and not yourself?”
“You are my family, goddess. I am more than content to be here, even in your absence.”
She fingered his lips before she kissed him. “I wish we never had to be apart, for any reason.”
As did he, but it couldn’t be helped. “You are always in my heart, no matter where I am.”
She pulled him close and held him tight. “Tell the men that they may take three weeks to ride home and see their families, so long as another war doesn’t break out. I might have to recall them, and they should be ready to return at any time. But hopefully, they won’t be needed.”
When he started to pull away, she stopped him. “However, I’m hoping you won’t go with them.”
He pressed her hand against his lips and kissed her palm. “I will stay.”
With one last kiss, he returned to the barracks to let the others know. Everyone was thrilled, except Galen who frowned at him. “Why can’t you come with me?”
“Should something come up, one of us is needed to stay behind. I volunteered.”
“It’s not fair!”
“Fair has nothing to do with life or war, little brother. It just is. And we get through both as best we can. Now, pack. Take your furlough and send my love to Father, Perseus and Julia, and their son. Tell them that I think of them often.”
“All right. But I shall miss you.”
“I will miss you, too. However, I will enjoy a night’s sleep without yo
ur snoring.”
Laughing, Galen shoved at him. “I’m not the bear in the room. That would be Hector.”
Hector grinned as he packed up his gear. “I would say I’m insulted by that, but it’s true.”
Aricles went to his chest and pulled out the small carved horse and soldier he’d made for his nephew. He handed them to Galen. “Take these to Theodorus and tell him that his uncle will hopefully see him soon.”
“I will.”
“And give Talia my best, too.”
Galen blushed, yet didn’t speak as he continued to pack.
Within an hour, even though it was almost nightfall, the men were gone and Aricles was alone in the room that seemed suddenly too quiet. Since he’d been born a twin and had shared a room at home with both his brothers for as long as he could remember, he’d never spent a night alone before. It was strangely unsettling.
That was his thought until he felt a warm presence behind him. His heart lightened instantly.
He turned, expecting Bathymaas.
Instead, it was the Greek god Apollo.
Aricles shot to his feet to confront him. “What are you doing here?”
An evil grin spread across his face. “Time for payback, Atlantean. And this time, there’s no one here to interrupt us.”
October 23, 12,249 BC
Frowning, Bathymaas materialized in the Ēperon barracks. She’d expected Aricles to call out to her once the others had left, but it was long after nightfall, and she was certain they’d gone home by now.
Her frown deepened as she saw him in bed with no light whatsoever. Scared he was ill, she quickly closed the distance between them. “Ari?”
Horror filled her as she saw his battered face. Bruises covered him all over. There was one fierce mark in the shape of a handprint on his throat, as if someone had held him down and choked him.
With a light groan, he pushed himself up.
“What happened?”
Shame and torment darkened his gaze. “It’s fine, my goddess. I’ll heal.”
“Who did this to you?”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“It matters to me! Was it one of the Ēperon?”
He swallowed hard before he answered. “No. They went home in high spirits.”
“Then who?”
He refused to meet her gaze. “Bathia, please… I’ve no wish to discuss it.”
Tears clouded her vision as she saw how badly he’d been beaten. How she wished she had the power to heal him. But unfortunately, she didn’t have the ability. “I’ll call my aunt. She’ll – ”
“Please, Bathia… I’d rather no one else know about this.”
“Why?”
A single tear fell down his cheek. “Please, let it go.”
“You’re scaring me, Ari. I’ve never seen you like this before. I don’t understand.”
Aricles fought the tears that choked him over what Apollo had done. He’d give the god credit – the bastard knew how to punish someone and ensure they’d rather die than tell another soul about it.
Bathymaas sat down by his side and brushed the hair back from his face. “Is there anything I can do?”
He still couldn’t bring himself to look her in the eyes. He wasn’t sure if he’d ever be able to do that again. “Just stay with me for a little while… I don’t want to be alone right now.”
She took his hand into hers and held it to her heart. “I have no intention of leaving you, precious… Have you eaten?”
He shook his head.
Using her powers, she summoned him a platter of meat, cheese, and fruit. Then to his complete shock, she hand-fed it to him. That went a long way in easing his horror, shame, and pain. But it still wasn’t really enough.
Right now, all he wanted was to die.
Bathymaas felt her own tears sting her eyes at the way Ari continued to act. How she wished she had the powers to read his mind or turn back time to see what had been done. She hadn’t been joking when she said he scared her. Something inside him had been broken.
Wanting only to fix it, she conjured a bowl of water and gently cleaned his injuries. As she brushed her cloth over his neck, she paused at the sight of a bite wound.
Apollo.
It had to be. As part of her curse against Leto, Hera had condemned the twins to live on blood. Unlike the other gods, Apollo and Artemis had to drink from others in order to live. It’d been a harsh sentence, but Bathymaas had had no way to undo it. Not without killing the twins.
“This was done because of me, wasn’t it?” she breathed.
For the first time since her arrival, he met her gaze. “Nay, my lady. Never think that.”
He could deny it all he wanted, but she knew the truth. This had been his punishment for stopping Apollo’s rape.
In that moment, a darkness came over her. One that was bitter and violent.
Terrifying.
She’d never felt anything like it before. All she wanted was to exact revenge on Apollo for hurting him.
And one way or another, she would make Apollo pay for this…
October 30, 12,249 BC
Bathymaas ached at the sight of the tormented shadow that had yet to leave Aricles’s eyes since his fight with Apollo. A fight he still refused to talk about. It pained her that she couldn’t ease his anguish, no matter what she tried. Aricles had told her that she helped just by being with him, but she knew better.
Apollo had left a lasting scar on his soul, and for that, she wanted the Olympian’s heart in her fist.
Trying not to think about it, she sat in the circle of Ari’s muscular arms while they fished at their spot. Leaning against him, she could feel the deep beats of his heart against her shoulder blade. “I’m glad you stayed with me. I would have missed you terribly had you gone.”
He kissed the top of her head. “I would have missed you, too.”
“Are you homesick for your father and brother?”
“A little, but I’d be more homesick for you had I gone with Galen to see them.”
Those words thrilled her. “Are you just saying that to make me feel better for my selfishness in keeping you here?”
“No, Bathia. Promise.”
Rising up onto her knees, she turned to face him and pushed him back to rest on his elbows. “I want to take the sadness from your eyes, Ari. Tell me what to do to make you happy.”
Aricles smiled at those precious words. “I’m happy just being with you.”
She pressed the backs of her fingers against his whiskered cheeks. “Your smile is tinged with sadness and it makes me hurt to see it so.”
Aricles closed his eyes and savored the warmth of her hand against his skin. He hadn’t touched her since Apollo’s attack. The shame had been too much for him and he hadn’t wanted to taint her with it.
But now…
He needed her to hold him. Leaning forward, he kissed her and let the scent of her skin and her soft touch erase all the pain inside his heart. She was all he really needed. “You are the air I breathe, Bathia.”
“Then marry me, Aricles.”
He pulled back with a gasp. “Goddess – ”
She placed her fingertip to his lips to keep him from speaking. “I know your arguments, Ari. But I don’t care about anything else. I’ve spent eternity protecting others, and thinking only of their needs. I want to be selfish now. Every time I close my eyes, I dream of me and you and our baby in a small cottage. Just the three of us. Tell me honestly that you haven’t thought of it, too.”
“Oh, Thia, of course I have.”
“Then run with me.”
“I can’t leave my brother and the others. Who would fight with them if I were gone?”
“Then I shall end this war between the Chthonians. Would you marry me if I did so?”
Aricles bit his lip at the sweetness of her request. “You already own my heart, body, and soul, Bathia. I willingly gave them to you long ago.”
“Then you are my husband?”
Lifting the hem of her peplos, she straddled his hips and kissed him soundly. “You are mine, Aricles of Didimosia. Proud warrior and gentle farmer – so named the Phoenix by your brethren. I will have no other to love, and you are, and will always be, my husband.”
“And you, Bathymaas, goddess of justice and owner of my heart, are the only woman I’ll ever love. You are everything in my world and all I’ll ever live for.” He kissed her hand. “You are forever my wife.”
Bathymaas removed the pins from her peplos, baring herself to him. She trembled at the beauty of his eyes as all the sadness faded from them and was replaced by love. That was what she was used to seeing whenever he looked at her. She’d missed it terribly.
Pulling up his chiton, she removed it to leave him bare before her. She brushed her hand over the chills on his arms as she smiled at him and toyed with the necklace she’d given him. He never took it off.
She bit her lip as he gently slid her peplos down her hips and off. They both shivered when the center of her body brushed against the hard, rippled muscles of his abdomen.
Aricles arched his back as she leaned forward and brushed her breasts against his chest before she laved his nipple. Gone was any thought of anything other than the woman in his arms. And when she slid herself onto him, he growled as ecstasy pierced him. He lifted his hips to drive himself even deeper into her body as she rode him slowly. For once, they didn’t have to fear Malphas or one of the others stumbling upon them. They were alone and had a full fortnight still to enjoy each other’s company.
He cupped her breasts in his hands while she smiled down at him. “This settles it, love. I’m not moving from here for the rest of my life.”
She laughed at his teasing. “I believe I was the one who begged you to run away.”
He hissed as she reached behind her back to cup him. “I must have been out of my mind to refuse.”
“Well… since you’re so compliant…”
Dark Bites (Dark-Hunter World) Page 7