Not even as a boy. Never in his life had he felt completely at home the way Styxx appeared. The closest he’d come had been in Phoebe’s arms.
Without her …
I’m nothing.
When surrounded by a crowd, he was forever alone. And the apocalypse was coming. If he was smart, he’d just roll with it and let it end his suffering, once and for all. Better to go out a hero, fighting.
Yeah. That would be the perfect ending. At least then, he’d finally be with the women he’d loved. Maybe then, he’d finally have the elusive place called home.
June 23, 2012
Acheron sighed in aggravation as he surveyed the empty condo he’d provided for Styxx after his brother had asked to leave Katateros. He’d been trying to catch the bastard for weeks now, but every time he “popped” in, Styxx was gone.
If he didn’t know better, he’d think Styxx had moved out. But the bankbook was still in a kitchen drawer, along with Styxx’s license and credit cards. He couldn’t have gone far without money or ID.
“Ryssa was right. You are always annoying.”
Then again, it was their birthday. Maybe Styxx was out celebrating with friends.
Ash paused at the thought. Did Styxx have any friends? Sadly, he had no idea. As Ryssa’s journals that Tory had uncovered during her excavations had shown him, there was a lot he didn’t know about his own twin brother. And the more he read, the more he was desperate to talk to Styxx.
To find the real truth.
Mentally, Ash flogged himself for not cornering Styxx when he’d been in Katateros. But he’d been too angry then to listen. Too hurt to care about Styxx’s side of anything.
Now …
Closing his eyes, he tried to pinpoint Styxx’s location. Yet all he got out of that was a migraine. New York was too big a city, with too many people in it.I should have stuck his ass on another deserted island. At least then I’d know where he is.
Even more agitated, he glanced to the bookshelves that were lined with ancient Greek books …
Written in ancient Greek. Ash held his hand up and used his powers to pull one from the shelf.
Glancing around the room, he realized then that Styxx had only written in Greek. And not just any Greek. Proto-Greek. The oldest of all the Greek variants. All his notes. Everything. That was Styxx’s native tongue.
Oh shit …
Can Styxx read English?That was something he hadn’t considered before he’d sent his brother out into the modern world. Since Styxx had been imprisoned for more than eleven thousand years, there was a good possibility that Styxx would have no idea how to read any modern language. At all. It would explain the checkbook, cards, and ID. Styxx might not have even known what those were.
You’re an effing idiot!
Replacing the book, Ash winced at his own blind stupidity and hoped that he wasn’t as big a bastard as he feared he was. Of all people, he knew how bad illiteracy sucked. Having been illiterate as a human slave, he knew that better than anyone. He couldn’t imagine trying to navigate the modern world without at least a rudimentary understanding of the English alphabet.
And with that thought, against his will, his mind went to the past—to the days before their uncle Estes had ripped him from the home he’d shared with Ryssa and Styxx.
While Ryssa would spend most of her mornings visiting with her mother, Ash would sit in her room and listen to Styxx’s tutors mercilessly grill him on all manner of subjects. As the heir to Didymos, Styxx had been required to study hard and learn as much as he could, as fast as he could. For hours every day, Styxx had been sequestered without breaks or relief. If he dared to ask for one, his tutors would report him to his father, who considered such actions as Styxx’s attempt to avoid responsibility. Something the king did not take lightly.“You’re to be a king, boy, not some sniveling wastrel!”Xerxes had been merciless with his mandates and expectations.
No wonder Styxx had been plagued with migraines.
His free time had been seriously limited. Even so, Styxx had worked around his father as best he could. And in his mind, Ash could see Styxx as a boy smiling at him while he placed a small box in Ash’s hand and sat down next to him on his bed.
“What’s this?” Ash had asked him.
“Open it and see.”
Instead, he’d reached out to brush Styxx’s blond hair back from a vicious black eye. And that hadn’t been the only damage. A bit of blood still crusted his nose and mouth. “What happened?”
Ashamed, Styxx had looked away. “As a birthday present, Father decided it was time I began my war training. Today was the first lesson, but I fear I have no talent for it. Selinius said that he’s never seen anyone more inept than me.”
