May 15, 9527 BC
Styxx knew he was dreaming, but he couldn’t wake up for anything. He saw himself in his battle armor, mounted on Troian, with his army stretching out for miles in three directions. Gaius was mounted on a white horse to his left and Galen was on his right with a brown stallion. His phoenix emblem was painted on every shield and the phoenix banners blew in a hot, desert wind.
They were on a hill, looking down on a field below where a blond woman, dressed in black, walked like a ghostly shade.
Across from them was the enemy. An army of demons who had swirling skin tones and wings, they were dressed in black armor and fought under a banner that held a sun symbol with three silver lightning bolts piercing its center.
From somewhere off in the distance, a cry sounded that spurred the enemy to ride down the hill to attack.
Styxx gave the order for his own troops to move forward.
He could hear and feel the thunder of the horses’ hooves as the cavalry and charioteers rushed to engage the enemy. As his hoplites ran and locked their shields together. The air was completely and eerily still as the two armies collided. Screams, grunts, moans, and shouts filled the air and were punctuated by the sound of metal clashing and arrows and stones whizzing.
Troian went down under the onslaught. Styxx kept his hoplon high as he cut through the demons, trying to protect Gaius and Galen.
All of a sudden, a shadow fell over him. He raised his hoplon in time to deflect a killing blow.
It was the enemy leader.
He was dressed in black armor that matched Styxx’s, and his blue skin tone was covered with black and red blood. The two of them fought with equal skill. Every move he made, his opponent seemed to know.
Finally, Styxx swung a blow that knocked the helm from the demon’s head. He froze at the sight of his brother with black hair and blue skin. It was the same form Acheron had held the time he’d gone to him on the balcony and fought. Acheron’s swirling silver eyes turned red an instant before he drove his sword through Styxx’s entire body. He buried the hilt just beside Styxx’s navel and used the sword to pull Styxx into his arms.
“Akri di diyum,” Acheron whispered in his ear, in Atlantean. The lord and master will rule. He twisted the grip, rotating the blade inside Styxx’s body. “We were never brothers. And we will never know peace.” Then he sank his fangs into Styxx’s throat and drank from him as Apollo had done a thousand times.…
Styxx woke up in a cold sweat with his heart racing.
“Sweetie?” Bethany’s warm hand grounded him as she sat up and pulled him into her arms. “You’re trembling.”
He couldn’t stop it.
“Another bad dream?”
“Yes.”
She toyed with his hair. “More war?”
He nodded. Since the day of his first battle, he’d suffered horrendous flashbacks, both while awake and especially whenever he dreamed. But none of them had been like this. “I could feel it, Beth. Taste it. It was like I was there.…”
She held his head to her breast and rocked with him in her arms. “You’re home and you’re safe.”
He didn’t feel safe. He barely felt sane. Closing his eyes, he splayed his hand against her distended stomach where their son slept in a peace that forever eluded him. That and the scent of eucalyptus and her touch soothed him until he felt almost normal again. He kissed her cheek then moved to sit with his spine to the wall. Leaning back, he pulled her against his chest to hold her like he used to do whenever he’d visit her at the stream. Careful not to hurt her, he folded his arms over her stomach and below her breasts so that he could lose himself in this one moment of perfect bliss.
“You’re scaring me, Styxx. Do you want to talk about it?”
“Not really. I don’t want to dwell on nightmares while I have you with me.”
Bethany ran her hand over his scarred forearm as she heard the voices of the Atlantean gods calling out for her. But for the first time in her life, she ignored them. She didn’t care about any of that now. And she wasn’t about to leave Styxx to go soothe their stupidity. Not when he needed her.
While he’d never slept a lot, he was sleeping even less now. Worse, he was growing even quieter around her … like he’d been when she first rescued him from Atlantis.
“You know, you never really told me what you did the year we were apart.”
He leaned his head against hers. “I survived, and not well.”
“And?”
He covered her hand with his scarred right one. “I don’t want you to have anything but beautiful memories and thoughts. My job is to protect you and our son. It’s not to burden you with things that can’t be changed.”
“I’m not weak, Styxx. I can handle your past.”
He kissed her hand and held it to the whiskers on his cheek. “I’ve never thought of you as weak, my love. I know in my heart that you are far stronger than I am. And it’s because of that that I can’t tell you.”
“I don’t understand.”
“In all my life, Beth, you are the only one who has always looked at me with love and respect.”
“Galen loved and respected you.”
“Not always. For years, he hated me, and even to the end, I could sometimes see it in his eyes. Not because he felt it for me at that time, but because I remembered what it felt like when he’d seen me as nothing but a piece of spoiled shit to be knocked around and despised for my birthright. You have never, ever looked at me that way, and I couldn’t bear to see it if you did. I don’t want you to judge me for things I did to survive. Things that I couldn’t control.”
“I would never judge you for that.”
Styxx wished he could believe it. But he was afraid to take that chance. How could she look at a whore with love? How could anyone? “Words are easy to say, but emotions betray the best intentions. I have been used and hurt and degraded in ways no one should ever know, and I don’t want you to see that worthless, pathetic victim whenever you look at me. I want you to see the warrior who would lay his life down to keep you safe.”
She laced her fingers with his. “Very well, my heart. I won’t push you, but I promise I would never judge you for things you couldn’t help.”
But Styxx judged himself for them, and as it drew closer to his birthday, it was getting harder and harder for him. The voices in his head screamed louder until he feared he was going insane. The only time he had any solace was when she was with him.
They are all coming for me.
He just hoped that whatever planned to destroy him didn’t touch Bethany.
May 16, 9527 BC
Bethany carefully picked through the fruit that was laid out in bowls on the dining room buffet. Even though she’d eaten only an hour ago, she was starving again. And at times like this, she really missed her eyesight. It was aggravating to play “name the mystery item” when she had no idea what she was touching.
“When Aara was pregnant with Styxx, she always craved apples and figs.”
Bethany paused at the sound of the king’s voice. Xerxes had never really spoken to her before. And even though he was not her favorite person, he was the grandfather of her son. “Styxx still has a preference for both.”
“Does he?”
Shouldn’t you, his father, know? But she didn’t want to be openly rude to the man, especially since he was trying. “He does, indeed.”
“Hmmm … I know he also favors cheese.”
“You mean, he did. He hasn’t had a taste for it for quite some time now.”
“Why is that?”
She had to bite back her anger over the fact that not one member of Styxx’s family knew the most basic thing about him. “Cheese, onion, garlic, black soup, and bitter vetch are the staples of a soldier’s diet, my lord. Many times at war, it was all he had to eat for months on end. Since his return, he rarely touches any of them.”
“I had no idea he’d ever tasted bitter vetch.”
That was because it was d
eemed peasant or famine food by the rich and aristocratic.
Or left for the cattle to eat.
It definitely was not something a prince should have had knowledge of.
“And what is this black soup?” he asked. “I’ve never heard of it.”
“It’s made with blood and barley.”
When he spoke, his tone was laden with disgust. “How could he eat such?”
“In war one doesn’t complain about what’s fed to them. Soldiers are merely glad they have anything with which to slake their hunger.”
“You seem to know a great deal about the matter.”
Because she actually cared about Styxx. “My father is known for the wars he starts and fights, and I know that since his return, Styxx has a tendency to hoard apples in a drawer in his room. Though he rarely eats them, he’s always checking to make sure they’re still there.”
“I had no idea war had left such an impression on him.”
It took everything she had not to lash out at the man and his lack of regard for his own son.
“Should I be worried to find the two of you conspiring?”
She smiled at the sound of Styxx’s deep, husky voice that never failed to send a shiver over her. Until him, she’d never found a Greek accent appealing. But she could listen to his all day.
“Not conspiring, my love. I fear your son is ever trying to ruin my figure.”
He came up behind her and wrapped his arm around her before nuzzling her neck. Closing her eyes, she laid her hand against his cheek and savored the sensation of him holding her. She brushed her thumb against the goatee he was growing again. For some reason, it came and went at various times of the year.
“There are olives and mashed beans,” Styxx said, knowing they were among her favorites.
“Mmmm, that could be good with apples.” She felt his grimace.
“Seriously?” he asked in disbelief.
His father laughed. “Never argue with a pregnant woman, boy. They eat all manner of strangeness.”
Styxx placed a kiss to her cheek before moving away. “All right, odd food it is.” He made her a plate, and sliced her apples while his father watched them with an intensity he found disturbing.
“You look tired, boy. Have you not been sleeping?”
Styxx set the plate on a table then helped Bethany to sit. “I’m fine, Father.” He went to get her some milk to drink while his father sat beside her.
“Styxx tells me it’s your wish to marry in Egypt?”
He glared at his father.
Bethany shrugged. “The Greek gods would take issue with my family attending here. Gods tend to frown on other gods intruding into their territory.”
“So your father really is Set?”
Styxx ground his teeth at his father’s question. “Are you questioning my betrothed’s integrity?”
She placed her hand on his arm to calm him. “Yes, my father is Set. If you like, I can summon him, but I doubt you’d enjoy the visit. While he dotes incessantly on me, he is a beast to everyone else. Even his own family. It’s why he lives alone in the desert most of the year.”
The old man’s gaze went to Styxx. “How do you think he’ll deal with the fact that you have a Greek husband?”
She wiped her lips with her napkin. “He won’t care.” She flashed a sweet smile at Styxx. “Rather, he’ll want to gut any man who touches me, regardless of where he comes from.”
Styxx laughed. “The more you speak of your father, the more worried I become.”
“Don’t fear, love. I’ve already spoken to the rest of my family. Maahes, Horus, and Osiris have sworn to join forces and keep him from tearing you into pieces. But I would recommend you attend the wedding in your armor … just to be safe.”
His father snorted. “I’m glad to see my son marrying well. He’s been so reticent to go near women that I’d begun to despair there was something lacking with him.”
Styxx opened his mouth to respond, but Bethany squeezed his hand.
“Thank you, Majesty,” she said with a smile.
“For what?”
“Confirming Styxx’s loyalty. Not that it was needed. I’ve never once doubted his faithfulness to me.”
Styxx kissed her cheek. “You are the only women I’ve ever touched, and I will have no other.”
She smiled at his declaration. “And you are the only man I’d ever marry. The only man I’ve ever trusted to hold and not break my heart.” She turned back toward his father. “We’ve been together since Styxx was scarce more than a boy. But even then, he was more of a man than any ancient I’ve ever known.” She set aside her plate. “Now if you’ll excuse us, all this talk of your son’s loyalty and fidelity has made me feel a sudden urge to go riding.”
His father scowled. “You shouldn’t ride in your condition. You could fall from the horse and lose or injure the babe you carry.”
Holding Styxx’s hand in hers, she paused to smile graciously at him. “I never said anything about a horse, Majesty. It’s your son I intend to mount and ride. Good day.” With Styxx in tow, she headed for the door.
Styxx didn’t make a sound until they were out in the hall then he burst into laughter. “I wish you could have seen the expression on his face. I can’t believe you said that to him. He can’t believe you said that.”
Bethany finally let her irritation show, which was good, as she couldn’t have withheld it a moment longer. “He deserves that and worse. Ugh, he makes me so angry. I just don’t understand how you come from him!”
He didn’t respond as he pulled her against him so close that she could feel his hard cock against her hip while he nibbled at her neck.
“What are you doing?”
He teased her earlobe with his teeth. “I’m going to take you upstairs and make an honest woman of you. You do still want that ride, don’t you?”
Biting her lip, she reached down to cup and stroke him. He hardened even more. “It would be a shame to let this go to waste, wouldn’t it?”
“It would, indeed.” He kissed her lightly on the lips then swung her up in his arms and carried her upstairs, where he intended to make love to her until neither of them could walk.
June 19, 9527 BC
“So it is true.”
Inside her Theban temple, where she’d been unpacking baby clothes, Bethany looked up at her father’s stern tone. She straightened instantly and tried to block them from his view then wondered why since her distended belly betrayed her pregnancy much more effectively than the baby clothes did.
Her heart thumped wildly as she met his light gold eyes that held more hurt in them than anger. Not to mention their color spoke volumes about his mood … his eyes were an even darker blue than Styxx’s whenever he was happy.
Gold was not good in the case of the god Set.
“I was going to tell you, Papas.”
“When?”
“When I was sure you wouldn’t kill the father.”
Sighing, he moved forward so that he could place his hand on her stomach and feel the baby moving inside her. “He’s strong.”
“Like his grandfather.”
Set scoffed at her flattery. He was so much taller than her that he pulled her next to him until she was nestled under his arm with her head resting against his shoulder. He cupped her cheek in his large hand and kissed the top of her head. “You are my only child, Bet’anya. Have you any idea how precious you are to me?”
She touched her stomach and smiled. “I do now.”
He shook his head and sighed. “Do you love his father?”
“More than my life…” She looked up to meet his gaze. “Please don’t kill him.”
He laughed. “But for you, I’d be thrashing him already. I can’t stand the thought of any man touching you.”
“I know, but he is quite remarkable and extremely kind to me.”
“He better be more than that.” Releasing her, he stepped away and gave her a harsh stare. “I want to meet him.”
<
br /> “Papas…”
“Take me to him. Now.” There was a tone she’d seldom heard him use with her. It was one that brooked no delay or question.
Afraid for Styxx, she bit her lip in indecision. “What are your intentions?”
“To inquire about his.”
Sure they were …
So she answered for her beloved. “He is going to marry me here in Thebes, in just under three weeks.”
That didn’t placate her father even a tiny bit. “I still want to meet him before you make any commitments.”
She wasn’t too sure about that. She rather liked having Styxx in one unbroken piece. “Only if you promise me you won’t spear his head to a wall or tear off a vital part of his anatomy.”
“Define vital. As in something he can live without or something you don’t want him to be without?”
Unamused, she narrowed her gaze to let him know how serious she was. “Papas!”
He held his hands up in surrender. “Can I have a small testicle ripping?”
She gaped at him.
And then he tsked at her reaction. “Come, daughter … just one ball. He won’t even miss it. Neither will you.”
She smirked.
He let out another tired sigh. “Fine then. I promise I won’t hurt your betrothed … today. I make no promises about the future should he do you or the baby harm.”
For her father, that was quite a sacrifice, and it would be the best she could get out of him. But that being said, she had no doubt he’d love Styxx as much as she did once they met. “All right. But you should know before we go that he’s Greek.”
He twisted his face up into a look of supreme disgust. “Not even Egyptian … I blame your mother for this.”
“That’s fine, as she blames you for most of my bad habits. And speaking of Mom, he doesn’t know who she is yet. I’d like to keep it that way, too.”
Styxx (DH #33) Page 60