"His eyes are eerie," Senator Peles, his father's oldest friend, joined in. "You can tell he's the son of some god, but he won't say which one."
"And he's in a stew, you say?" Krontes asked.
"Yes," Peles said. "I'm telling you, Krontes, you have to visit him. Pretending he's Styxx has helped me immensely in dealing with the royal prick. Spend an hour with Acheron on his knees and the next time you see Styxx, you'll have a whole new perspective."
They laughed.
"You should have been at our banquet last night," Barax continued. "We dressed him in royal robes and passed him around like a bitch in heat."
Styxx's stomach heaved as fear, rage, and hatred rose to choke him. While the three of them must not have bought him from Estes, Styxx knew there were members of the senate who had.
Members he was sure had passed around the same stories about having ridden the royal stallion.
Styxx wanted to die where he stood.
Snarling in rage, his father charged around the wall to have them arrested for defaming his heir. What would he say if he knew Styxx had been as debased by members of his senate as Acheron had?
Ryssa raked him with a sneer. "It should have been you they used instead of Acheron. You deserve it."
He glared at her. "I hope you think of that curse when Apollo violates your precious loins, sister."
She slapped him then stormed away.
Closing his eyes, Styxx leaned against the wall and struggled with the agony inside his heart. Not just for himself, but for Acheron who was still being bought and sold.
He felt his father's presence and opened his eyes to find him standing by his side. "This. Ends."
Ends how?
Other than badly for all of them.
"What do you intend to do, Father?"
"What I should have done to begin with." He turned to leave.
Styxx stopped him. "Father? What are you planning?"
"To have that bastard arrested and put in a place where he can't shame me."
Prison.
Styxx shook his head at the thought of Acheron suffering like that. But his father would reject any plea based on compassion. So he used something he knew his father would care about.
The king's ego.
"You can't. Instead of having senators bragging about tupping your heir, you'll have commoners doing it. Is that what you want?"
His father glowered at him.
"Bring Acheron home, Father. It's time."
"You sound like a methusai."
I'd rather be an old woman than a heartless bastard.
Styxx wanted to argue, but he knew that expression. His father had made his mind up about the matter and no amount of logic would be heard at this point.
As always, he'd have to find some way to deal with the aftermath of his father's lunatic hatred and try his best to modify whatever actions the king took, while trying to keep his own ass out of the line of fire.