Acheron Read online

Part I Chapter 12

 

  If only he were a god . . .

  He wasn't and it wasn't meant to be. He was human and not just any human. He was a slave. A whore who'd been brutally used by everyone around him. They mocked him and they would mock her for being with him. She winced at the truth. She had enough trouble with her credibility where the other gods were concerned. Should they ever learn about this, they'd strip her powers from her and banish her to the human realm.

  She couldn't allow that.

  Not even for Acheron. It was more than she could give. More than she could bear. She'd seen how cruel mankind was to each other. The last thing she wanted was to be naked in this world and at the mercy of people who had no heart. Look what they'd done to Acheron. He couldn't even walk in public without someone hurting him.

  Imagine what they'd do to her should they learn she'd been a goddess . . .

  They'd tear her apart.

  Sobbing, she held him close and took him away from this stupid, mean world.

  In her own bed, she brushed her hand over him and cleaned him up so that he looked like the Acheron she loved. His hair was fresh and clean, his cheeks smooth and soft while he lay naked on her feathered mattress. Every muscle of his body was sharply sculpted. The lines of his abdomen . . .

  How could any woman not love a face and body so perfect?

  Wanting to be as close to him as possible, she removed her clothes, then crawled into bed to lie beside him. She manifested a fur to cover them as she snuggled close and listened to his breathing.

  While he slept, she ran her hand over the muscles that covered his chest. His body was flawless. Lean and well muscled, he looked powerful even while he was unconscious. Heat poured through her as she fondled his nipple. It puckered in response to her touch, making her smile.

  And she wondered what it would taste like . . . Acheron was always tasting her, but she'd never done that to him. She was bashful about his body. But with him like this, she was emboldened.

  Dipping her head down, she ran her tongue over the taut peak. Hmmm, he did taste good. His skin was salty and smelled of all Acheron. Her body aching, she moved slowly over his chest, sampling every inch of it.

  It wasn't until she reached his stomach that she pulled back. His entire torso was bare except for a small patch of hair that ran from his navel down to the thicker patch at the center of his body. She buried her hand there, letting the coarse hair tease her fingers. Unlike the hair on his head, these were prickly and as she ran her hand through them, his cock began to harden.

  Artemis touched him cautiously. She was fascinated by the part of him that was so different from her own body. At first she was able to move it at will, but before long he was so hard and stiff that all she could do was run her hand down the length of him and make his cock dance in response to her touch.

  How odd . . .

  Even stranger was the moisture that leaked from the tip. She glanced up to make sure he was still unconscious. Reassured, she bit her lip, then crawled closer. Her heart hammering in fear and curiosity, she dipped her head down for a taste.

  Artemis groaned deep in her throat. There was nothing scary about this. Truly, nothing scary about Acheron in the least. Smiling, she pulled back to cup him in her hand.

  He slept on, oblivious to the fact she was exploring him.

  She moved back up his body to kiss those lips that had haunted her dreams these days past. She couldn't stand it anymore . . .

  "Wake for me, Acheron. "

  Acheron was in a daze as he tried to focus his thoughts. But all he could see was Artemis. She was leaning over him, her green eyes scorching him with their heat.

  "You take my breath away," he whispered.

  She smiled ever so sweetly before she nipped his chin with her teeth.

  He was already hard and aching for a taste of her. Was this a dream? His head was so foggy that he couldn't tell. There was a haze over everything.

  "Show your love to me," she breathed in his ear.

  He wanted to and with her on him like this he couldn't remember his objections to it. Turning his face into hers, he kissed her deeply. He'd never wanted to make love to anyone before, but right now he wanted inside her with a madness so unexpected that it tore through him and left him weak.

  His head spinning, he rolled over with her and dipped his head down to tease her right breast.

  Artemis gasped at the sensation of his tongue stroking her. Her stomach contracted sharply with each delectable lick. And to her amazement, she actually came from it.

  Gasping, she clutched his head to her and shook as wave after wave of pleasure swept through her. She'd had no idea that he could do this.

  He growled unexpectedly, before he lowered himself down her body. He nudged her thighs apart to stare at her with a hunger so raw it sent a shiver over her.

  "Touch me, Acheron. Show me what you can do. "

  He ran one long finger down her, making her shudder in response. An instant later he buried his mouth against her. She cried out as his tongue tormented her. It was unbearably pleasurable.

  And she wanted more.

  For the first time, he slid a finger inside her while he tasted her. The intrusion was startling at the same time it was incredibly pleasing. When he slid another finger inside, she tensed.

  "What are you doing?"

  He met her gaze before delivering another exquisite lick. "I'm getting your body ready for me so that I won't hurt you when I enter you. " He pulled back. "Have you changed your mind?"

  She shook her head. "I want you, Acheron. "

  He kissed his way slowly up her body while he continued to tease her with his hand.

  Artemis clutched him as another orgasm tore through her. The moment it started, Acheron slid himself deep inside her body. He moved so quickly and smoothly that instead of hurting her, it increased her orgasm to a blinding level.

  Her head lolled back and forth on the pillow as she tried to make sense of this. But there was no sense to it. And when Acheron started to slowly and deeply thrust against her, she moaned in ecstasy.

  Acheron lost himself to the contented sighs Artemis made that matched his strokes. She held him in a way no one ever had before . . .

  As if he meant something to her.

  Tears pricked at the back of his eyes as he drove himself even deeper into her. No longer drunk, he was in bliss. All he could see was her beautiful face.

  Her eyes darkened an instant before she brushed the hair back from his neck and sank her teeth into him. The moment she did, she came again.

  The sensation of her drinking from him while her body clutched his drove him over the edge. Unable to stand it, he too came in a blinding wave of ecstasy.

  He collapsed on top of her while she fed. Between his orgasm and blood loss, he was weak and sated. She rolled him over onto his back so that she could drink even more.

  At the moment Acheron would have given her anything she asked of him. Even his life.

  Artemis pulled back as her leg touched something wet on the bed. Glancing down, she saw her blood mixed with his seed on her mattress. The reality of what she'd just done slammed into her with a force so sharp it shattered all her happiness.

  She was virgin no more.

  If Apollo or the others found out . . .

  She'd be ruined. Ridiculed. Humiliated.

  What had she done?

  You've been defiled by a human whore . . .

  His eyes half-hooded, Acheron reached for her. She pulled back as her heart slammed against her breast. This was terrible. Awful. Terrified over what she'd allowed him to do, she left the bed, feeling sick.

  Acheron followed her. "Artemis?"

  "Don't touch me!" she snarled as he tried to hold her. She pushed him back.

  "Did I hurt you?"

  The concern in his voice left a ragged hole in her heart. But it was n
othing compared to the shame and fear she felt. "You've ruined me. "

  In that moment she hated him for what they'd done. How dare he make her want him like this. Make her forget who she was and why her virginity was so important.

  Dear gods, what had she done?

  She wanted to kill him and yet she couldn't. How could she hate him so badly and still crave him?

  "Why did you touch me?"

  He looked stunned by her question. "You asked me to. "

  "I didn't ask you to kiss me in my temple," she accused. "I'd never known a kiss before. And then you touched me . . . " She slapped him hard for the affront.

  Acheron staggered back in shock as his cheek burned. Before he could recover himself, Artemis attacked him, slapping and punching. When that didn't seem to satisfy her, she flung him against the far wall and held him there with her god's powers.

  I will protect you . . .

  Her words rang in his ears as he stared down at her, waiting for her to finally kill him. Truthfully he'd rather be dead than feel the splintering in his heart over what she was doing.

  She'd lied.

  Suddenly, he slammed to the floor. That same invisible force rolled him over and held him against the marble as Artemis approached him with a feral glare. "So help me, you ever breathe a word of this to a single soul and I will see you killed so painfully that your screams for mercy will resonate throughout eternity. "

  Those words brought tears to his eyes as they reminded him of so many others who'd hated him because they craved being with him. How many dignitaries and nobles had come to him and then cursed him the moment after he'd pleasured them?

  They lived in fear of a whore ruining their precious reputations. They'd kicked him from their beds or knocked him to the ground, cursing him for their own lust as if he'd wanted it.

  Why had he ever thought for one moment that Artemis would be any different?

  In the end, he was what he was.

  Nothing.

  "Do you hear me?" Artemis snarled in his face.

  "I hear you. "

  "I'll rip your tongue out. "

  He had to force himself not to laugh at a threat he'd cut his teeth on. But he knew the truth. His tongue had more value than anything else since it gave them the most pleasure. "Your will is my will, akra. "

  She grabbed him by the hair and pulled his head up to force him to look at her. "I am the goddess Artemis. "

  And he was Acheron Parthenopaeus. Cursed whore. Despised slave. Incapable of being loved by anyone.

  How stupid of him to fall for her lies. To think for one minute that something like him could ever have had value to a goddess.

  Artemis saw the hurt in his eyes and it ripped through her own heart. She didn't want to do this to him, but what choice did she have? He would be dead in a few decades, but her shame would be eternal if word of this ever reached the other gods.

  Humans couldn't be trusted. Ever.

  "Remember my wrath will be legion. " She wrenched his hair in warning before she sent him back to his world.

  Shattered, Acheron sat on the floor of his room. Numb by the rejection and attack, he crawled out to the balcony that overlooked the sea and laid his head against the stone railing. He heard the voices of the Atlanteans calling to him.

  More than ever before he was tempted to go. What would it matter if they did kill him?

  If he could make sure they wouldn't abuse him more, he'd go to them. But deep in his heart was the fear that they only summoned him so that they could torture him too. Bowing his head, he wept and as every tear fell he hated Artemis for it.

  No one had made him cry like this in years. Not since the day Estes had sold his virginity to the highest bidder and then held a party for everyone to watch the brutal violation that had made him ache and bleed for days afterward. Even now the laughter and jeers haunted him.

  Break the whore in for the rest of us . . .

  Acheron pounded his fist against the stone, wanting the pain to erase the shame inside him. But there was no relief. No mercy. Nothing could take it away.

  The whore was tired now. He was finally broken. And it wasn't by the hand of his master or a client.

  It'd been by the hand of the only person he'd ever loved. Defeated and lost, Acheron lay down on the cold balcony and closed his eyes, praying for death to finally come and end this nightmare that was his life.

  January 28, 9528 BC

  Ryssa was in her father's throne room while he, Styxx and Apollo laughed together, ignoring her. Which was normal. But what she hated was the fact that Apollo wanted her by him any time he came here. He treated her like a possession whose only purpose was to smile and fawn over his presence. And it made her wonder if this was how Acheron had felt in Estes home.

  So what if the god was exceptionally handsome? She despised the way he dismissed her as if she were insignificant. The only thing worse than his treatment of her was her father's insistence that she was blessed to be in the god's presence.

  If this was blessed, she'd hate to see cursed.

  She turned her head as she caught a glimpse of a servant hesitating in the doorway. Pretty and timid, the girl was a year or two younger than Styxx. "Is something wrong, Hestia?" she asked the maid.

  Hestia looked at the men fearfully before she made her way to Ryssa's side so that she could speak to her in a soft tone. "His Majesty wanted me to report if . . . " Hestia's gaze returned to the king before she finished the statement, "the royal prisoner stopped eating. "

  The royal prisoner. Acheron. Ryssa's heart pounded in fear. "Is he ill?"

  She cleared her throat. "I know not, Your Highness. I haven't seen him in days. I leave food and when I return it's untouched. No one's slept in his bed. "

  "What?" her father's roar made both of them jump. "Guards! Follow me. " He stormed from the room in the direction of her wing.

  Terrified for her brother, Ryssa ran after him.

  "What's going on?" Apollo asked Styxx as the two of them followed in her wake.

  Styxx made a sound of disgust deep in the hollow of his throat. "It's Acheron. He's a worthless slave who used to be a tsoulus. Unfortunately his life is tied to mine so we have to keep him healthy. Although I feel fine so I'm sure he's only doing this for attention. May the gods forbid we ever be allowed to forget his presence here for one single day. "

  Ryssa ground her teeth. The last thing Acheron wanted was any attention from either Styxx or their father. But in Styxx's selfish mind he couldn't fathom Acheron wanting to hide from their glorious presences.

  Her father stormed into Acheron's room, then drew up short. She entered behind him and paused to scan the empty interior. There was no sign of Acheron.

  Her father turned on her with a furious glower. "I told you he couldn't be trusted. "

  Ryssa ignored him as she went to the one place her brother frequented. The balcony.

  At first she didn't see him, but as she stepped forward under the awning that shielded her from the passing storm, she saw a figure out of her peripheral vision. It was Acheron sitting to the side with his knees bent and his arms folded over them. Completely naked, he stared into space as if unaware of the frigid cold and the rain that poured down on him. His hair was plastered to his head and at least two days' growth of beard dusted his cheeks.

  Careful to stay out of the rain, she approached him slowly. "Acheron?"

  He didn't respond. There was something about him that wasn't quite right. It was as if he'd died, but his soul hadn't left his body yet.

  She knelt beside him. "Little brother?"

  He turned those eyes on her with a fury she hadn't seen since the morning he'd thrown her out of his brothel. "Leave me," he growled in a tone so ferocious it honestly scared her.

  From the corner of her eye, she saw her father's anger. "Don't you dare speak to her that way. "

  "Fuck you, you bastard. "


  Styxx growled low in his throat as he rushed Acheron.

  Ryssa fell back as Acheron came to his feet and ran at Styxx with the same fury. She covered her mouth as the two of them clashed in the pouring rain. Never once had she seen Acheron strike another living soul. But he fought Styxx with everything he had.

  Apollo snatched her back so that they didn't accidentally hit her.

  Styxx had been trained to fight from the age of five by the best instructors her father could hire. And he beat Acheron down in the rain. Even so, Acheron fought as hard as he could.

  But in the end he was no match for his twin. Styxx kicked him in the ribs. "You're pathetic. "

  Acheron rolled in the water and pushed himself up. As he went for Styxx again, Styxx knocked him back. The rain ran down his face, mixing with the blood that ran from his eye, nose and mouth. Still he ran at Styxx, over and over again as if he thought his sheer will alone would be enough to defeat his twin brother.

  "Guards, take him," her father ordered.

  Acheron tried to fight them as they came forward to subdue him, but he was already weakened by Styxx. They hauled him back into his room where her father waited.

  Her father buried his hand in Acheron's wet hair and snatched his head back so that Acheron could see the full contempt the king bore his eldest son. "Beat him until there's no skin left on his back. If he passes out, wake him and beat him again. "

  Acheron laughed coldly. "I love you, too, Father. "

  Her father backhanded him. "Take him out of here. "

  "Father?" Apollo asked with an arch stare.

  Her father scoffed. "He calls me that, but he's no son of mine. My former queen whored herself and begat that abomination. "

  Ryssa felt her tears fall at her father's condemnation. "He's human, Father. "

  They all laughed at her. Unable to stand their ridicule, she followed the guards to offer comfort to Acheron.

  By the time she reached the courtyard where they beat him, he was already bloodied. But unlike the other times they'd punished him, he fought against his restraints.

  "Hit me again!" he shrieked at the guard. "Harder!"

  The unbridled rage in him shocked her completely. He was actually laughing at the guards as if he took pleasure in what they were doing.

  Had he gone mad?

  What had happened to him?

  Acheron taunted them until he passed out from the beating. The guards exchanged a wary look between each other before the taller one reached for a bucket of water to revive him.

  Ryssa placed her hand on his arm. "Please don't," she begged.

  "Highness . . . your father will be angry if he learns we didn't carry out his orders. "

  "I won't tell if you don't. Please. He's been through enough. "

  The guard nodded, then went to cut him down. She saw the pity in both their eyes as they carried Acheron back to his room and, under her direction, placed him face down on his bed. They turned and left her alone with her brother who looked so pathetically vulnerable lying on the bed, bleeding.

  Ryssa had no idea where Apollo and her brother and father had gone off to. Honestly, she didn't care. They could all rot for their cruelty.

  Her hand shaking in pity for her brother, she brushed the hair back from Acheron's cheek. He was burning with a fever. "Don't worry, Acheron. I'll take care of you. "

  Well, that was highly entertaining. "

  Artemis dragged her gaze away from her koris who were swimming in the fountain outside her temple to see her brother beside her. "What is?"

  "My pet has an illegitimate brother they hate. "

  Her heart stilled at the mention of Acheron. "Really?" she said, hoping he didn't detect the catch in her voice.

  He nodded before he took a seat next to her. "I've never seen anything quite like it. He was sitting naked in the rain completely quiet, not bothering a soul, and they beat the shit out of him, then had him hauled down for a whipping. "

  Artemis forced herself not to react to the news in the least little way. "Why?"

  "No idea. But I swear the prince heir had a hard-on when he held him down on the ground and beat him. "

  Artemis looked away as she remembered how many times Apollo had treated her in a similar fashion. Strange that he didn't see his own actions mirrored by the humans. Her poor Acheron. She wanted to go to him, but didn't dare.

  Apollo laughed. "I give the human credit though, he fought like a lion against them. Even dared them to hit him harder. "

  Tears gathered to choke her. Artemis blinked quickly to dispel them. "I'll never understand humans. "

  "That's why my Apollites will one day subjugate them. The humans are too flawed. "

  She shook her head at her brother's plan to overthrow the people her father had created. "Do the Greek humans know that you're not backing them in their war against the Atlanteans and Apollites?"

  "Are you insane? Of course not. Let them offer their daughters to me and make sacrifices. What do I care?"

  Artemis cocked a brow at that. "You care for your pet, don't you?"

  He shrugged nonchalantly. "She amuses me for the time being. But there are many more exquisite women in the world. Besides she'll eventually age and I'll cast her off then. "

  "They do age too quickly. " That was more for her benefit than his. Surely Acheron wouldn't appeal to her once his beauty faded.

  Apollo didn't comment.

  Artemis wondered at his presence in her temple garden. "Why aren't you with your pet?"

  "She's with the slave, tending him. Once they beat him, she became too morose for my taste. "

  "And you tolerated that?"

  He shrugged again. "I think her illegitimate brother must have given her tips on how to please me. She's been way too knowledgeable and compliant for a virgin. Styxx told me that they used to sell the bastard to humans for sex. Apparently it's a family tradition. "

  That news surprised her. Normally her brother shunned anyone who was unchaste. "Ryssa has had others?"

  "No. I'd have killed her. When I'm not around, they keep her well guarded. But I find it fascinating that they offered her to me in such a manner. I would never do that with my daughter. "

  Artemis glanced to Satara, Apollo's young daughter who was dancing in the fountain with another of her koris. "No, you only gave your daughter to me to be a servant. "

  "I gave my daughter to you to feed you when I'm not around and to keep you away from the humans. She's never to be touched by any man. "

  "She's young still. What will happen when she grows older and decides to take a consort?"

  Apollo's eyes flared with anger. "I'll kill them both. "

  Artemis was aghast at his words. "You would kill your own child?"

  His look pierced her. "I'd kill my own twin should she whore herself for a man. Satara is one of many children I have. But none of them will shame me without feeling the full weight of my wrath. "

  "Even if she loved him?"

  He curled his lip in disgust. "What are you? Aphrodite? Don't speak to me of love. You're a goddess. There is no love for us. Only lust which fades. A man can seek lovers, but for a woman to do such . . . "

  Made her a whore. She knew her brother's stance on that.

  As if she could hear his words about her, Satara paused in her play to look at her father.

  "I'm off. " Apollo vanished.

  Artemis didn't miss the look of disappointment on Satara's face that her father hadn't bothered to speak to her. An instant later, she shoved the kori closest to her and stalked off.

  Artemis shook her head. Apparently violence ran deep in their genes.

  Her thoughts turned to Acheron and guilt slammed into her. What she'd done to him had been wrong and she knew it. But how could she face him after the way she'd acted?

  You're a goddess. He should be grateful you even noticed him.

  That was the way she'd been re
ared. Yet Acheron was different. He hadn't just been another human. They'd been friends.

  And she'd hurt him out of fear. She'd done the very things to him that she'd sworn she'd never do. Things she knew hurt and humiliated him.

  Why?

  Closing her eyes, she could see him chasing her through the forest. Hear his laughter as he teased her.

  No one else made her feel like that. No one.

  And she'd ruined it by being stupid.

  He's human, who cares? That would be Apollo's stance. If only she could share it. But deep in her heart she knew the truth. She missed him and she ached at the thought of his being hurt again by his father.

  Don't even think it . . .

  It was too late. She'd already flashed herself from her garden to his room. She hovered in the shadows where she saw his sister leaning over him.

  "Please eat, Acheron," Ryssa whispered. "I don't want them to hurt you anymore. Father says that if you refuse any more meals he'll have them force feed you again. " She held a piece of bread toward his mouth.

  He turned his head away.

  Artemis saw the raw pain on Ryssa's face.

  "Fine. I won't have you hurt any more. " The princess shoved the bread into her mouth and swallowed it whole. After that, she ate all of his food.

  Her eyes filled with sorrow, Ryssa stood up. "I'll tell them that you ate it. " When she reached for Acheron, he grabbed her hand and shoved it away from him.

  Her face stricken, she sighed. "Sleep in peace, little brother. I'll make sure no one disturbs you. "

  Artemis didn't move until Ryssa had left them alone. Materializing into a solid form, she stepped out of the shadows.

  Acheron curled his lip at her. "Leave. "

  "You shouldn't take that tone with me. "

  He laughed, then winced as if something pained him. "Do I look like I give a damn what you do to me? Get your ass out of here and leave me alone. "

  "Acheron-"

  "Go!" he snapped, then hissed as if in severe pain. "You've already made it clear to me what I am to you. As you can see, I don't need you to beat me or hit me. There are plenty of others vying for that honor. "

  She knelt by the bed, her heart breaking at the bruises on his face . . . at the wounds marring his back. "I can heal you. "

  "I don't want your healing. I want nothing from you except your absence. "

  "Don't do this, Acheron. "

  Acheron cursed. "I'm through begging for mercy. No one heeds it when I do anyway. Better I should die on my feet with all the dignity a whore can manage than crawling on my belly like a worthless slave. "

  She shook her head as she tried to explain to him what had happened. "I was scared of what we'd done. "

  His look went through her like a dagger. "And I'm sick of being everyone's regret. My mother died in shame because she'd borne me. My father and brother despise me and my sister can barely look me in the eye. And you . . . you made me actually believe in something. I trusted in you and you lied to me. "

  "I know and I'm sorry. " She placed her hand on his whiskered cheek, hoping to make him understand just how sincere she was. "I'm here now, not as a goddess, but as your friend. I miss you when you're not around. "

  Acheron wanted to shove her away, but the truth was he couldn't. No matter how much he needed to hate her, he didn't know how.

  Her eyes tormented him before she closed them and healed his sore body.

  He let out a tired breath as the pain faded and left him whole again. "Don't expect me to thank you. "

  "Don't be like this. I don't apologize to humans. Ever. Yet I've apologized to you . . . "

  He understood what she was saying, but it didn't ease the pain inside his heart where she'd stabbed him. "I don't want your friendship anymore, Artie. You'll have to find another whore to entertain you. "

  Before he could even blink, she set upon him and shoved him back upon the bed. Acheron sucked his breath in sharply as she sank her teeth into his neck. This time there was no pleasure for him. Only pain wracked him with every drop she drained. Even worse, she kept him paralyzed so that he couldn't move or fight her.

  It was an act of violation and he knew it. He'd had enough people attack him in a show of power to recognize it when it happened to him.

  Beg me for mercy, whore. Tell me how much you enjoy it.

  Acheron struggled to stay conscious as the voices from the past echoed in his head. The pain and frustration built inside him as impotent rage simmered deep.

  Finally Artemis pulled away. By the bemused expression on her face he could tell she was surprised to see him still awake.

  Acheron swallowed as he stared up at her with contempt. "Are we even now? Or do you want to rape my body as much as you've raped my soul?"

  Pain sliced through him as all of his wounds and bruises from his beating returned. He cried out from the intensity of it as it increased even more than it had been before.

  Artemis stood up to glare down at him. "You will not mock me, human. I've had enough of your ridicule. " With that she vanished.

  Acheron closed his eyes as relief coursed through him. Maybe now he'd be left alone.

  But as he sought comfort in his mind, instead of the orchard he'd played in at the summer palace that one spring day, it was an image of Artemis that haunted him. An image of their brief friendship before she'd turned vicious.

  He missed that respite.

  "It's over," he breathed. He was through being her toy. His life had been controlled by others for far too long. It was time he stopped trying to please everyone else and learned to live for himself. He would never again allow anyone to have power over him.

  Especially not the gods.

  February 13, 9528 BC

  Acheron walked through the center of town on his way to the stadium to watch the latest play. Entering the marketplace, he paused as he glimpsed a shadow from the corner of his eye. He turned quickly toward it only to see nothing. Unsure if it was Artemis following him, he ducked behind a small group of people.

  He felt so hollow inside. So used. Honestly, he never wanted to see her again. The mere thought of her set his anger on fire and yet there was also a sadness so profound at the loss of what could have been between them that it almost brought him to his knees.

  He didn't want to be used anymore. Not even for love.

  Why not? You've been bartered for everything else.

  He ground his teeth at a brutal truth he didn't want to think about.

  "Grandma, he's cheating us. "

  The young boy's voice drew his attention to a table close by. An older woman was there with braided gray hair that was laced with black streaks. Her eyes were milky white and she stood with one hand on the boy's shoulder. No older than seven or eight, he had dark hair and a face so innocent it was touching. Though their clothes were threadbare, they were both well washed and clean.

  The vendor raised his hand in warning to the child as if he were about to hit him.

  Backing up, the boy's face lost all color.

  "Merus?" his grandmother breathed. "What's happening?"

  "N-nothing, Grandma. I-I-I was mistaken. "

  Acheron didn't know why, but the boy's cowering went through him like a dagger. How dare the man take advantage of an old woman and her charge when it was so obvious that neither of them had much in this world.

  Before he could think better of it, he stepped forward. "You need to give them what they've paid you for. "

  The man started to argue until he took in the full height of Acheron who stood more than a head taller than he. Though Acheron was lean, he was muscled enough to look intimidating. Luckily the vendor had no idea that Acheron knew nothing about fighting. The man's eyes also widened at the quality of the cloth he wore-a royal chiton Ryssa had insisted he wear whenever he ventured out to the plays.

  "I wasn't cheating them, my lord. "

 
Acheron looked down at the boy who gaped at his height. "What did you see, child?"

  Merus swallowed before he crooked his finger at Acheron.

  Softening his face so that he didn't scare the boy any more than he was already, Acheron bent down.

  The boy whispered loudly in his ear. "He had his thumb on the scale. My ya ya told me to always tell her whenever they did that. She says it's cheating. "

  "So it is. " Acheron patted him on the arm before he straightened to look at the vendor. "How much flour were you buying, Merus?"

  "Three pounds. "