Styxx

by Sherrilyn Kenyon

Chapter Fifteen

 

  I should let you be gang-raped, bitch, and throw it in your face. See then how you'd take being bridled and ridden like a horse.

  Ryssa headed for the stairs.

  Styxx pulled her to a stop. "We need to talk. "

  She jerked her arm out of his grasp. "In spite of what you think, you're not king yet. You do not command me. "

  "Ryssa-"

  "Go back to your whore and wine, brother. Or better yet, for the sake of the gods, get some sleep and sober up before your father sees you and learns what a pathetic waste stands to inherit his throne. "

  Unlike their mother, Ryssa ignored Estes and continued on into the palace.

  Laughing, Estes moved to clap Styxx on the back. "That was certainly rude of them, wasn't it?" He leaned in to whisper to Styxx. "So tell me, nephew. Are you ready to pay me to watch your sister be violated and put in her place?"

  A part of him wanted to see it so badly that it frightened him. He was so tired of Ryssa's and his mother's criticisms when he'd done nothing to deserve them.

  It would serve Ryssa right to taste the degradation he knew so intimately. But as his gaze fell to Xan and he saw the giant size of the Atlantean, he knew that bastard would tear his sister apart. Just as he'd done Styxx.

  No matter how much he hated her, he couldn't allow that to happen. He had to stop this.

  But how?

  September 19, 9532 BC

  Since the queen's return, Estes hadn't dared to keep Styxx as drugged as before. It was both a curse and a blessing. And right now, Styxx didn't want to remember any of the past few horrific hours he'd spent while he occasionally heard his mother and Ryssa laughing together as he'd been kept against his will in Estes's rooms, next to his sister's.

  With any luck, he'd never have to be so debased again.

  Styxx finally got the rope free from his bruised, bleeding wrist. It'd taken him hours to work it through.

  His hand burned from the strain of contorting it so that he could tug at the rough, thick strands. As quickly as he could, he untied his other one. Normally Estes chained him or tied his hands apart from each other. Tonight, for reasons he didn't want to think about, Estes had tied them together and stretched them over Styxx's head to secure him to the bed.

  Then the bastard had passed out before he had a chance to part them.

  Grimacing, Styxx snatched the gag from his mouth while Estes slept soundly by his side. With a deep sigh, Estes rolled over and threw his thigh over Styxx's. His hand quested a part of Styxx's body that revolted him. Careful, lest he wake his uncle, he disentangled himself enough so that he could free his ankles and slide off the bed.

  His heart pounded as he considered his options. There was no way to get word to his father in time. Even if he did, he fully believed that Estes would be able to twist it so that his father would never believe him. His mother would be worthless. Ryssa was stupid to a supreme level.

  If he tried to arrest Estes, everything would come out. And he had no doubt that his uncle would have him committed again and then taken to Atlantis to be bought and sold.

  The only real option he had left him sick to his stomach.

  But it was the only way to make all of this stop. The only way to protect his brother and sister.

  Himself.

  You're a pathetic coward. His own disdain rose up to silence the voices of the gods in his head. A real man would have already done it.

  Yet it wasn't that easy. He'd never hurt anyone before. Not intentionally.

  I have to do this. His uncle had left him with no choice. If he didn't, Ryssa would be raped, too.

  If I let that happen, how would I ever be able to live with myself?

  The same way he'd been living with his conscience and the humiliation Estes and the others had given him.

  One heartbeat at a time.

  But no matter what, he couldn't let Ryssa be harmed. Not when he could stop it.

  And Acheron would never leave Atlantis. Not so long as Estes lived . . .

  With a trembling hand and abject horror in his heart, Styxx pulled his pillow across the bed. He held it to his chest, staring at his uncle's naked body.

  Gods forgive me for what I'm about to do.

  Before he could change his mind or run, Styxx forced himself to slam the pillow down over Estes's face. Estes let out a muffled bellow as he grabbed Styxx and tried to fight him off. Styxx wrapped his body around Estes's as he used every trick Galen had taught him to hold on and make sure that he didn't loosen his grip until Estes went limp in his arms.

  Even then, he waited, afraid it was a trick. If his uncle had even a single breath left, he'd kill Styxx for this.

  His hands were colder than ice when he finally reached to feel for a pulse.

  Nothing.

  He's dead.

  I killed him.

  Tears filled his eyes as bile rose in his throat. He'd taken a life. And not just any life. His uncle's.

  His father's beloved younger brother.

  Styxx pulled the pillow back to reveal Estes's glazed, open eyes. Ironically, Styxx didn't see the sadistic bastard who'd spent the last year molesting him . . . he saw the uncle who'd been kind to him when he was a boy. The one who'd brought him presents and who had tried to help him.

  Unable to cope with what he'd done and what had happened to him, Styxx ran to the chamber pot and unloaded his stomach.

  My father will kill me if he ever finds out.

  He'd committed murder. Cold-blooded. Brutal. A capital offense.

  You had no choice.

  But it didn't seem like that now. Not with this kind of finality. I killed my own uncle. My flesh and blood.

  Horrified, Styxx fell against the wall and tried to fathom why his eyes were dry. He glanced back to the bed and gasped as he saw the ropes he'd untied. They would let others know that Estes hadn't been alone in his bed.

  Panicking even more, he got up and quickly gathered them and any evidence that betrayed his presence here tonight. The second kylix. His gag. The "toys" his uncle had used on him. Then he closed Estes's eyes and put the bed in order.

  Terrified and queasy, he snuck from his uncle's room and went to his, where he burned all the things he'd gathered until there was nothing left to betray him.

  He set the kylix on his table and forced himself to lie in a bed that made his skin crawl. Guilt and fear, shame and horror mixed inside him, overriding any grief he might have known. And all he could do was wait for someone to discover Estes's body.

  And accuse him of a crime that would surely cost him his head.

  * * *

  It was midmorning before one of Estes's entourage found him in his bed. Listening to the commotion outside, Styxx clung to his pillow as fear wrapped him tight and threatened to suffocate him the way he'd killed his uncle.

  "Styxx!" his mother shouted as she threw his door wide. "Come! Your uncle's dead. "

  For a full minute, he couldn't move as he tried to think of how to react. What would be acceptable.

  And what wouldn't get him convicted.

  Before he could decide, his mother snatched the covers and pillow off him. "Did you hear me?"

  Feigning sleep even though he had yet to close his eyes, he frowned at her. "What?"

  "Estes is dead. He appears to have died in his sleep. Get up and dress, you worthless dog! We need you. "

  He drew a ragged breath and got up to bathe and dress.

  By the time he joined his family, his mother was kneeling on the floor next to Estes's side, wailing with a grief he knew she didn't feel. His gaze went to Ryssa, who knelt beside their mother. She had tears in her eyes, but he knew they weren't for Estes. It was Acheron on her mind.

  Xan narrowed a suspicious glare at him that told him the Atlantean prince knew what he'd done, but didn't dare make the allegation without proof.

  "Wh

ere have you been?" Phanes, his father's oldest advisor, demanded.

  Before Styxx could answer, he felt the air leave the room as all eyes went to the door behind him.

  Turning, Styxx saw his father there with a stern glower as he took in the sight of everyone standing over his brother's cold, naked body. Without a word, his father rushed to the bed and touched Estes's shoulder. He winced in pain.

  "Leave us!" his father roared.

  Ryssa helped their mother to her feet and they made a hasty retreat.

  As Styxx moved to follow them, his father stopped him.

  "Not you, boy. I want you to stay. "

  Fear pierced his heart as he closed the door behind the others then returned to his father's side.

  "What happened?"

  "I don't know, Father. I just found out about it myself. "

  Tears flowed down the king's face as he reached for Styxx and jerked him into his arms to hold him. Violent sobs shook his father's entire body. Stunned, Styxx couldn't move while his father wept against his chest. Never in his life had his father shown so much emotion over anything.

  But what cut deepest were his father's thoughts of the childhood he'd shared with his beloved brother. How much he'd loved the man the son he held had killed.

  Styxx stiffened. Anger welled up inside him, demanding he shove his father away and tell him what his brother was really like. What Estes had done to him and to Acheron, and what he'd planned to do to Ryssa. But he knew his father would never believe him. Just as Ryssa would never believe Styxx was capable of any good deed, his father would never believe Estes was capable of a bad one.

  And he would never forgive Styxx for killing him.

  After a few minutes, his father pulled himself together and straightened. He wiped his tears and cleared his throat. "We shall give him a state funeral. Then we'll have to see to his affairs in Atlantis. "

  Styxx inclined his head to him. "What of the pending war?"

  His father glanced back at his uncle and hung his head. "You're right, boy. We'll need to hurry this. We'll have Estes buried tonight in our crypt and leave for Atlantis first thing. Have your sister and mother oversee the body preparations. "

  Styxx hesitated before he complied. "I'm sorry, Father. "

  The king pulled Styxx's head down and kissed his brow. "Pack lightly. "

  "Excuse me?"

  "I don't want to travel alone to Atlantis. I need you to go with me to do this. You will be my strength. "

  His fear and remorse turned to cold rage. For his father's benefit, Didymos could be left without a king on her throne.

  But when he'd needed to go with his father . . .

  There had been no way in Hades it could happen.

  Had you once considered my needs, you bastard, your brother would still be alive. Styxx glanced to the bed where he'd been tied and wanted to tell his father the truth. He wanted to see his father's face when he learned his own brother had turned both of his sons into whores.

  Don't. The truth would not go well for him. His father had never loved him the way he loved Estes, and he never would.

  Styxx glanced down at the scar on his forearm and accepted a reality he couldn't change. Bowing, he left his father and went to tell the others about the burial, and then to pack.

  When he reached his rooms, Xan was inside, waiting for him.

  The giant Atlantean stood with his legs wide and arms folded across his chest. Anger bled from every cell of his body. "You killed him, didn't you?"

  With all the training he'd received since birth, Styxx arched a regal brow. "What are you talking about?"

  A good seven inches taller, Xan moved to tower over Styxx and did his best to intimidate him with his massive size. "I fucked your tight little ass with Estes last night. When I left, you were out of it and tied to the bed. " Xan snatched Styxx's hand and held his bruised, scabbed wrist for Styxx to see. "Estes wouldn't have freed you until he got up this morning and yet you weren't there when I went in to fuck you again. "

  "I awoke in the middle of the night and found him dead by my side. I panicked. "

  "I don't believe you. "

  "Should we take the matter to my father and let him decide the truth? But you'll have to confess to him how it is you know for a fact that I couldn't get free. "

  Xan curled his lip. "You think you've gotten away with this. But the gods know what you've done. You killed him in cold blood. I've heard the Furies in your pantheon have a special wrath they visit on the heads of those who murder their own family. "

  "Then I welcome them with open arms. " Styxx glared at him. "And I'm not the one who killed my uncle. You did the moment you decided to hunger for my sister. "

  Xan slammed him back against the wall so hard, it knocked the breath from him. "I shall miss Estes. He was a good friend. But most of all, I shall miss watching you and your brother suck my cock until I come in your pretty little mouths, and seeing you swallow every last drop of me. "

  Styxx moved to attack, but the bastard kneed him in the groin and left him to his misery. Both physical and mental.

  * * *

  Bethany sighed as she packed up her basket. Again. It'd been over a solid month since she'd last seen Hector. Faithless bastard that he was, she seethed mentally. Give men what they want and they can't leave fast enough.

  How she hated them all.

  Trying not to think about how she'd let a mere mortal hurt her, she was just about to teleport home when she heard a rustling nearby.

  "Beth?"

  At first she thought it might be wishful thinking on her part.

  Until she heard him call out again. "Hector?"

  All of a sudden, he was by her side, pulling her gently against him. He held her so tight that she could barely breathe as he buried his face into the crook of her neck. His entire body was shaking so much that it frightened her.

  "Is something wrong?"

  "Not now that I'm finally with you again. " He tightened his arms around her. "I'm so sorry I haven't been here. Believe me, I tried to come. I've thought of absolutely nothing else except being with you. Night and day. "

  Those words and the truth in his desperate tone brought tears to her eyes. "I thought you'd forgotten all about me. "

  "How could I forget the air I breathe? You alone sustain me. "

  He was a great deal leaner than he'd been and there were cuts and swelling on his body she didn't understand.

  "Have you been ill?"

  "You've no idea how much I cherish the concern in your sweet voice. " He held her hand against his cheek and kissed her palm. "How have you been?"

  "Missing you and mad at myself for it. "

  "Really?"

  She cocked her brow at him. "You delight at the fact that I've been angry at myself?"

  "No. Never. You should never be cross with yourself. Did you really miss me?"

  "Of course. "

  He kissed her hand again. "A pittance compared to how much I've ached for you, I promise. "

  "Doubtful. "

  "Truth. "

  And still he was shaking uncontrollably. "Why do you tremble so?"

  "Your beauty. It always leaves me quaking in its mighty presence. "

  She scoffed, even though his flattery warmed her. "You are ever a silver-tongued master. "

  "No. I am helpless before you, my lady. Always. " He knelt in front of her and placed his head to her stomach.

  Even more concerned than before, Bethany held him there. "I am worried about you. I know something dreadful has happened. "

  "And it was terrible, indeed. I was kept from seeing you, my precious lady. "

  She rolled her eyes at his silliness. "You awful, wretched, thoughtless beast. You make me forgive you when I want to be angry at your neglect. " Smiling down at him, she brushed her hand through his soft hair.

  "I will take your anger so long as it doesn't turn to hatred. I could never live if I thought you hated me. "

  "See, there it all goes. No trace of anger inside me now. Damn you, Hector. You stink!"

  He pressed her hand to his face so that she could feel his smile. "How I've missed you cursing me. "

  "And how I've missed loving you, you aggravating man. " She lifted his hand to her heart so that he could feel it beating for him. "Against everything I've tried to do to prevent it, you have crawled into a part of me where only you can do me harm. Do you understand, Hector? And I am a vengeful woman whose wrath is unimaginable. Do not make me turn that against you. For both our sakes. "

  "So long as there is breath inside me, I will never do anything to intentionally harm you, Beth. " He rose to his feet and gave her the sweetest kiss she'd ever known. "I unfortunately have to travel for the next few weeks. But I will be back here as soon as I return. I swear it. "

  "You better. "

  He pulled her into his arms and breathed her in. "One day, I shall tell you what happened. But for now. . . " He kissed her. "I will be counting down the heartbeats until I see you again. "

  Bethany held him to her and let the innocence of his kiss breathe life into her. "I miss you already. "

  "Not as much as I miss you. "

  Styxx forced himself to let her go and turn back toward his horse. He took a moment to watch her pick up her basket and pole, and wondered if she'd still love him if she knew what he'd done. How ruthless he'd been to his own uncle.

  She deserved so much better than him. He couldn't fathom why she loved him when no one else did.

  Please don't ever hate me, Bethany.

  There would truly be no worse torturous hell.

  September 26, 9532 BC

  Styxx hung back as his father and Ryssa approached his uncle's Atlantean home. Unwanted memories brutalized him as he remembered what had happened to him the last time he was here. And still the most agonizing were the memories he didn't have. He'd never know exactly everything that had been done to him.

  I wish we could burn it to the ground. . . .

  Nothing about the abysmal place had changed. It was just as Styxx remembered it. Right down to every horrid stone.

  Lenas, his uncle's manservant, opened the door to stare at them.

  His father stiffened at the servant's insolence. "I've come to collect Acheron. Show me to him. "

  Lenas opened the door wider to admit them. He raked a heated stare over Styxx's body.

  They do look alike . . . amazing. I wonder if he's as good in bed.

  Styxx cringed. Estes hadn't just shared Acheron with his friends and patrons, but also his staff. As they headed down the hallway, strange images flashed in his mind.

  Were they memories?

  They came and went so fast that he couldn't be sure what his mind wanted him to see or know.

  Trying to push those thoughts aside, Styxx slowed as they neared a room where the sounds were all too familiar. Lenas gave him a knowing stare before he opened the door of the bedroom where Acheron was working with two patrons.

  "What in the name of Hades is this?" his father roared.

  Eyes wide with horror, Ryssa covered her mouth and turned away.

  Styxx couldn't breathe at the sight that greeted them. Completely naked, Acheron was buried between a woman's legs while a man took full advantage of Acheron's squatting position for his own pleasure.

  The man pulled back from Acheron with a feral curse. "What is the meaning of this?" he demanded with an equally imperious air. "How dare you interrupt us!"

  There was a tone his father wasn't going to appreciate, and Styxx was extremely glad he wasn't the fool who'd used it.

  Acheron gave one last playful lick to the woman's body before he rolled over onto his back. He lay unabashedly naked on the bed, smirking.

  "Prince Ydorus," Acheron said to the angry man addressing their father. "Meet King Xerxes of Didymos. "

  That took some of the bluster out of the prince, but not much.

  "Leave us," their father demanded.

  Offended, the prince gathered his clothes and companion and did as the king commanded.

  Wise move, buddy.

  With a sickly gray cast to his skin that Styxx was all too familiar with, Acheron wiped his mouth on the sheet. His features gaunt, he wore those damned gold bands on his neck, arms, wrists, and ankles.

  Licking his lips suggestively, Acheron intentionally flashed the erotiki sfairi that lined his tongue. Styxx gave his brother credit for that stupidity. Especially when Acheron lay back on his bent elbows and spread his legs wide to their father to ram home what he was.

  "So what brings you here, Majesty?" Acheron asked, his tone mocking and cold. "Do you wish to spend time with me, too?"

  Styxx flinched at an angry, defiant offer he knew went through his father like a sword. Acheron had no idea what he was setting into motion, but Styxx did. He just didn't know how to stop it.

  Worse, were the memories of the times he'd been where Acheron was. All too well he understood that hatred and rage that wanted to lash out and throw into his father's face what Estes had made them do. To make the king deal with the reality that had been forced onto them against their wills. Acheron's volatile emotions set his own on edge and left him raw and emotionally bleeding.

  "Get up," their father snarled. "Cover yourself. "

  One corner of Acheron's mouth quirked into a mocking expression. He bent his knees and assumed a sexually inviting position Styxx was glad Ryssa couldn't see. "Why? People pay five hundred gold pieces an hour to see me naked. You should be honored you get to look for free. "

  Brother, stop!

  But Styxx couldn't get the words out as forgotten details slammed into him. Suddenly, he remembered being in this room.

  With Acheron and without.

  "Four thousand solas for the first crack at them! Who wants to taste Greek divinity and royalty?"

  "How do you like that, Highness? Tell me how much you crave my cock. . . . Beg me for it like the little bitch you are. "

  Styxx flinched as he tried to force it all away and focus. But it was impossible. He wanted to do something other than stand here and relive a horror that never should have happened to either of them.

  Their father grabbed Acheron roughly by his arm and pulled him from the bed.

  Acheron covered his hand with his own and tsked at him. "It's a thousand gold pieces an hour if you want to bruise me. "

  Fifteen hundred to make him bleed . . . Styxx flinched as he called Estes's price list.

  The king backhanded Acheron so hard, he fell to the floor and sprawled naked onto his back.

  Styxx gasped as pain exploded in his own skull. It was so harsh a blow that for a few seconds, he couldn't see straight.

  Laughing, Acheron licked the blood from his lips before he wiped it away on the back of his branded hand. "It's fifteen hundred to make me bleed. "

  Styxx backed away as Acheron validated his earlier memory.

  His father curled his lips. "You're disgusting. "

  Styxx's stomach heaved. That was what his father would think of him, too, if he ever learned that he'd worn the same bracelets as Acheron. He saw himself bleeding on the floor, not his brother. This was exactly what would happen to him if his father ever found out he'd been sold.

  If he ever saw the brand Styxx carried next to his cock.

  And if he ever learned Styxx had murdered his uncle . . .

  His father would gut him himself. Just as his mother had done him.

  With a wry grin, Acheron rolled to his side and pushed himself up from the floor. "Careful, Father, you might actually hurt my feelings. " He walked around their father like a proud, stalking lion, looking him up and down. "Oh wait, I forgot. Whores don't have feelings. We have no dignity for you to offend. "

  "I am not your father. "

  Styxx winced at the severity of his father's condemnation against his twin brother and he remembered how tortured and conflicted his father had been when he cut Styxx's arm open.

  "Yes, I know the story well. It was beaten into me years ago. You're not my father and Estes isn't my uncle. It saves his reputation if everyone thinks I'm some poor waif he found on the streets and gave shelter to. It's fine to sell a homeless beggar, a worthless bastard. But the aristocracy frowns on those who sell their blood relatives. "

  How Styxx wished that was true.

  Their father backhanded him again.

  Styxx wiped away the blood on his face before anyone saw it. But his father and Ryssa were too intent on Acheron to pay his condition any heed. Thank the gods for that one small mercy.

  Acheron laughed, unfazed by the fact that his nose was now bleeding, along with his lips. "If you really want to hurt me, I'll ring for the whips. But if you continue to strike my face, you'll make Estes unbelievably angry. He doesn't like for anyone to mar my beauty. "

  "Estes is dead!" their father roared.

  Styxx cringed at the unadulterated rage in those words.

  Acheron froze in place then blinked as if he couldn't believe what he'd heard. "Estes is dead?" he repeated hollowly.

  The king sneered at him. "Yes. Were that it were you in his place. "

  Acheron took a deep breath and the relief in his eyes was tangible. His thoughts rang in Styxx's head. It's over. It's finally over. The twisted bastard's dead and I'm free. . . .

  For the first time, Acheron met his gaze. Styxx saw his own shame, self-loathing, and absolute relief mirrored in those swirling silver eyes that were set in an identical face.

  And while they were free of Estes's future acts, nothing would ever erase those done to them in the past.

  I know, brother. And I'm so sorry.

  Acheron's relief made their father furious.

  "How dare you have no tears for him. He sheltered and protected you. "

  Scoffing, Acheron turned his dry gaze toward the king. "Believe me, I've paid him well for his shelter and concern. Every night when he took me to his bed. Every day when he sold me to whomever paid his price. "

  "You lie!"

  Those words slashed across Styxx and stole his breath, and left him gaping in disbelief. You fucking piece of shit! How could you deny what is right in front of you? How could he call Acheron a liar when he bore witness to it?

  In that moment, for the first time, Styxx was truly glad he'd killed Estes. His only regret was that it hadn't been more violent and painful an end.

  Acheron glared at the king. "I'm a whore, Father, not a liar. "

  With a bellow born of grief, fury, and hatred, the king attacked his brother. He beat and kicked furiously at Acheron, who didn't bother to fight back or protect himself in any way.

  Styxx struggled to breathe under the ferocity of his father's assault as his own body reacted to every blow. It was all he could do to remain standing. If he didn't do something fast, they were all going to learn the truth of the twins.

  Gods help them both if that happened.

  Racked in agony, he pulled his father away from his brother. "Please, Father," he said between gritted teeth as he struggled not to show his own pain. "Calm down. The last thing you need is to tax your heart. I don't want to see you die as Estes did. "

  As expected, the reminder that Estes had been younger and had died of a supposed seizure in his sleep calmed his father and gave Styxx a chance to suppress the damage his father had done to him. He wiped the blood from his face again while his father glared down at his twin.

  Ryssa had gone to Acheron's side.

  "Don't," Acheron said, pushing her away. He spat the blood from his mouth to the floor where it landed in a stark red splatter.

  "Get out," their father snarled at him. "I don't ever want to see you again. "

  Those words hit Styxx even harder than his fists had.

  Acheron laughed at that and met Styxx's gaze without flinching. "Rather difficult, isn't it?"

  The king started for him, but Styxx put himself between them. He had to get them apart and sort through this.

  Somehow.

  "Guards," he called, wanting them to pull his brother to safety until their father calmed.

  They appeared instantly.

  Acheron glared at Styxx with a hatred that was palatable. I know you hear me inside your head, brother. Just like you always did when we were children, and I want you to see how much your precious father really loves you that he could throw us out so easily.

  Tell me truthfully, Styxx, do you suck and lick Father's cock and balls at night? You must choke on his testicles and suck him hard and dry for him to be able to love you so and deny me.

  Rage, dark and deadly, blinded him as Acheron's vicious thoughts hit him hard. How dare Acheron throw that in his face when Acheron knew exactly how much it hurt! It was beyond cruel. Even harsher was the memory he had of Acheron oiling Styxx's body and prepping him for the men Estes sold him to.

  Welcome to my world, brother. . . .

  There had been no remorse in Acheron over what had been done to Styxx, not even when Acheron had seen Styxx's horrendous scars left by the priests. His brother had mocked those, too.

  Next time you should let the brands cool before you masturbate with them.

  In that moment, Styxx wanted to kill his own brother. Twin or not.

  Instead, Styxx jerked his chin toward Acheron. "Put this trash on the street where it belongs. "

  Acheron pushed himself to his feet. "I don't need their help. I can walk out the door on my own. "

  Styxx glared at him with the same hatred Acheron had for him. And you better while you're still able.

  Ryssa shook her head. "You need clothes and money. "

  Their father curled his lip. "He deserves nothing. Nothing but our scorn. "

  Acheron's battered face was completely stoic. "Then I am rich indeed from the abundance of that which you've shown me. " In all his naked glory, he sauntered to the door then paused to smirk one last time. "You know, it took me a long time to realize why you hate me so much, Majesty. " Acheron locked gazes with Styxx. "But then it's not me you really hate, is it? What you truly hate is how badly you want to fuck your own son. "

  Their father bellowed in anger as the brutality of his words tore across Styxx's heart. In that moment, Styxx knew the full depth of his uncle's depravity. He had driven a permanent wedge between him and Acheron.

  One that nothing would heal after this. Styxx would never forget this slap in the face.

  And neither would Acheron.

  With his head held high, Acheron left the room.

  Ryssa raked them both with the full weight of her condemnation. "How could you? I told you what Estes was doing with him and you denied it. How can you blame him for this?"

  Their father shook his head. "Estes didn't do this. Acheron did it himself. Estes told me the way he parades himself and flaunts his body. The way he tempts everyone. He's a destroyer just as they said at his birth. He will not rest until he ruins every person he's around. "

  "He's just a confused boy, Father. He needs a family. "

  Her words cut straight through Styxx. And what am I, dear sister? She was every bit as blind and self-absorbed as their father. How could she see Acheron so clearly and him not at all?

  But then given the harsh brutality of his brother's parting comments, he knew his brother was as far from innocent in thought as he was in action.

  In that one moment, Styxx hated all of them. His father. His mother. Ryssa and Acheron.

  But most of all, he hated himself.