Styxx made his way through the building until he heard two voices that locked his legs.
"I'm telling you right now, it's true. I had both the prince and a boy who looks just like him, except for his eyes, in Atlantis, in my bed at the same time."
"You're lying!"
"Ask Melus if you doubt me. He was there, too, and took a turn with both of them."
"When?"
"Last fall."
"You're such a liar."
"Liar, am I? Next time you're around Styxx, drop something and look up his chiton. His entire left side and buttocks are horribly scarred. He even has a brand mark on his ass and left nipple."
Styxx couldn't breathe as those details racked him and verified the truth of the boast. When Estes had told him he'd sold him, Styxx had assumed all the men had been Atlantean.
Not ...
"You've no idea how distracting it is to see him now when all I can think about is how much I'd love to have him on his knees in front of me again. You can't tell it by looking at him, but he has the most amazing tongue. I don't know who trained the prince, but kudos to a most apt pupil."
Unable to deal with it or face the men who were talking about him like that, Styxx spun about and left. By the time he returned to the palace, it was all he could do not to scream in horror. Panic took full possession of him.
What do I do?
That bullshit would eventually reach his father. And there was no telling what he'd do to Styxx for it. The only thing he knew for certain was that his father would find some reason to blame him for the whole ordeal.
Everyone would know he was a whore. That he was a branded tsoulus ...
How many other Greeks and Didymosians had bought him?
Had Estes lied about the number?
They know I'm a whore....
My father will brutally execute me for this.
Terrified, he walked furious circles in his room as he tried to decide what to do.
And he had a banquet tonight where they'd all be in attendance ... laughing and reminiscing. Possibly dropping things to verify his scars.
I'll be able to hear their thoughts.
If he got around anyone who'd slept with him, he'd know it. Their thoughts would override his.
I can't do this.
Even if his father beat him. He could not go to that banquet. How could he walk out there with his head held high while "whore" was branded on his body and there were men in the crowd who'd bought and screwed him?
His hands shaking, Styxx grabbed the wine from his table and drank it.
No, he needed his herbs.
He went to the chest and pulled out the last batch his uncle had brought him. After taking out three times the normal amount, he used his finger to stir it into the wine then he downed it in two gulps.
Please, gods, please let me die....
He laid down on the floor and closed his eyes, hoping and praying he never opened them again.