Styxx curled up into a ball and wept as if his entire world had shattered. “Beth, don’t leave me again … please … please come back to me … I can’t live without you anymore.”
Urian choked at the sight of a profound agony he knew better than anyone. For a long time, he’d hated Ash for bringing him back to life. Even now, every day he lived without Phoebe was a day he despised with fury.
Why didn’t I leave him alone?
Had he known Styxx was in a coma with his family, he’d have left him there forever.
What the fuck have I done? How selfish could I be?
His heart breaking for his newfound friend, Urian knelt down by Styxx’s head and gathered him into his arms. “I’m sorry, Styxx. We didn’t know.”
Savitar came up to them and placed his hand on Styxx’s shoulder, knocking him out again. “Unfortunately, he won’t stay that way.”
“Help me put him back in bed.”
Instead of helping, Savitar picked Styxx up as if he weighed nothing and carried him to the bedroom. There was something weird about how Savitar was acting now. But Urian didn’t know him well enough to even hazard a guess about his thoughts.
“It’s disturbing, isn’t it?” Savitar asked him as Urian entered the bedroom.
“What?”
“How much he favors Ash.”
Urian shrugged. “They’re identical twins. I had two sets of brothers who were, too. But while they may share looks and some tendencies, they are usually very different people.”
Savitar swept his gaze around the room, then opened the closet where Styxx had two pairs of jeans folded neatly on the top shelf. One sweater, a jacket, two long-sleeved button-downs, and three short-sleeved shirts. One pair of shoes. Frowning, Savitar continued searching all six rooms of the condo.
Curious, Urian followed him around. “What are you looking for?”
“What’s your impression of this place?”
Urian answered with the first word that popped into his head. “Spartan.”
Savitar nodded. “Not exactly the kind of place a spoiled prince would be happy in, is it?” He handed a bankbook to Urian. “Acheron gave him plenty of money. And you can tell by the lack of dishes, he doesn’t do much, if any, entertaining. The only thing he appears to have splurged on is the computer.”
“Only because I ordered it for him. He didn’t know anything about them and asked my advice.” He’d even come up here and set it up for him.
Savitar picked up Styxx’s phone, looked at it, then handed it to Urian. “Yours is the only number he has, and it’s the only one he’s called.”
And not that often, and even then not for very long. Their longest conversation had been about the computer and that had probably been no more than twenty minutes, tops.
Urian sighed. “I was hoping he had other people he hung out with.”
“Has he said anything to you about being alone?”
“He really doesn’t talk much. Mostly asks questions about modern things he can’t figure out. Or customs and phrases he’s unfamiliar with.”
Savitar scowled. “Does he ever mention Ash or their sister?”
“Only if I bring them up, and then he quickly deflects the conversation to another topic. Tonight notwithstanding, or when he and Ash went at each other, he’s usually quiet and reserved. Unassuming. But he does have a wicked sense of humor.”
“How so?”
Urian smiled at the memories of their brief conversations. “One of my personal faves … he made a snarky comment on something, and then apologized by saying that he was so allergic to stupidity that it caused him to break out into rampant sarcasm. Another time, he made the comment that he was a leader and not a follower. Unless it was a dark place with loud growls, then fuck that shit, he’d gladly follow me in to investigate it.”
Savitar laughed.
Urian continued, “He also wanted to know why sour cream, buttermilk, and blue cheese have expiration dates. Why boxing rings are always square. Why buildings burn up as they’re burning down.” He paused to laugh. “And my two favorites, he asked why we have doctors now and not physicians.”
