"How about you co with ?" I asked, my voice quiet but firm.
The question hung in the air between us, heavy with aning. I didn't know what answer I expected, or if I even expected one at all. But as Khillea's eyes t mine, her expression softened, and I could see the flicker of surprise—and perhaps sothing more—in her gaze.
But then, as if a shadow passed over her thoughts, her gaze turned reluctant, the softness replaced by sothing guarded.
"After the war, you can just co with ," I said, trying to bridge the silence that had grown between us.
She didn't respond imdiately. Instead, she stared past , her lips pressed tightly together, as if weighing words she wasn't yet ready to share.
I tilted my head back, frustration creeping into my voice. "I feel like you're hiding sothing from , Khillea. Sothing important, sothing I should know."
Her eyes snapped back to mine, her brows furrowing. "And I know you're hiding things from too, Nathan," she shot back, her tone defensive but not unkind.
"Then maybe it won't work between us," I said bluntly. "With so many secrets between us, don't you think it's dood from the start?"
"I'm not asking it to work," she countered, her voice quieter now, almost wistful. "I just asked you to stay with … until the end. Until the war ends."
There it was again—the cryptic way she spoke, as though her words carried layers I couldn't unravel.
"What are you talking about, Khillea?" I asked, my frustration slipping into my tone. "Can't you just speak plainly?"
But I already knew my answer, even if her words left confused. "I'm sorry, but I can't," I said firmly.
My place was in Troy, not here among the Greeks. The very thought of staying in these camps, surrounded by their savagery, made my stomach churn. Achilles' tent was likely the only sanctuary in this chaotic cesspool, but even that wasn't enough to convince .
Khillea turned her gaze away from after saying that.
Trying to ease the tension, I attempted a joke. "I don't want to anger Achilles. He's probably sharpening his spear now that I've impregnated his sister."
A faint smile tugged at her lips, though it didn't quite reach her eyes. "You don't even know him," she replied, her voice softer now.
"Well, I know he's odd enough to leave his sister and Briseis for to fuck in his absence," I said with mock incredulity.
The mont Briseis's na left my lips, Khillea's expression darkened. A shadow fell over her features, and her body seed to tense.
Of course, I'd heard the rumors—what Agamnon had done. That filthy, arrogant piece of shit.
Briseis had always struck as a kind woman, her beauty matched by a quiet dignity. She didn't deserve what had happened to her, especially at the hands of soone like Agamnon. A fleeting mory of her surfaced in my mind—her grace, her gentle and shy deanor. If I'd known what would befall her, I might have taken her with when I left along Astyno.
The weight of those regrets sat heavily on , but I pushed them aside. There was no changing the past, no undoing what had already been done.
Wait—maybe it wasn't too late.
The thought struck like lightning. I could still take Briseis away when I left for Troy tonight. The idea widened my eyes, a plan forming as another way to ruin Agamnon's day popped into my head.
"She was my only friend, and that trash king took her away," Khillea muttered, her fists clenched tightly.
Her words made pause. Only friend? I hadn't known they were that close. Seeing the hurt etched into her face, I instinctively reached out and grasped her hand. She didn't pull away. Instead, her fingers tightened around mine, her touch both desperate and resolute.
"Why didn't Achilles stop him?" I asked, unable to hide the irritation in my voice.
Khillea's silence was answer enough. My mind raced. Achilles could have stopped it—should have stopped it. He wasn't the type to bow to anyone, let alone soone like Agamnon. Even in the myths, he gave Briseis to Agamnon, but I couldn't recall if it was this effortless. Could there have been a reason? At this mont, none of it made sense.
"If it were ," I muttered, "I'd have told Agamnon to go to hell."
"You are speaking boldly for serving under Agamnon's brother." Khillea's lips twitched with sothing akin to amusent, but it quickly faded. "Whatever the reason, it's too late now," she said, though her voice carried a hint of regret.
"Is she in Agamnon's tent?" I pressed.
I could imagine her state right now, it's been a few weeks since he had taken her after all. She might be broken.
But Khillea's answer denied it.
"I heard he hasn't touched her yet. He's keeping her for the 'best,' preparing her." She spat the words as if they left a bitter taste in her mouth.
"Preparing her?" I echoed, though I already dreaded the answer.
"He's… breaking her," Khillea said, her voice trembling with anger. "He's forcing her to watch while he abuses other won—prisoners, helpless and broken. He's doing it to drain her, to make her despair. When he finally takes her, he wants to savor her submission, her broken spirit."
What a perverted sadism...
I did similar before but doing on won who had done nothing to you, innocent won and raping other "innocent won" to break an "innocent woman", was sothing I'd never do.
But this… this was better than I'd expected. The bastard hadn't touched her yet, saving her for his grand mont. My smirk crept onto my face, unbidden. This was going to be satisfying.
A flicker of amusent lifted my mood, and I reached out, placing my hand on Khillea's swollen belly. "I can feel her," I murmured, the sensation grounding .
Khillea's lips curved into a faint smile. But then, as if struck by a sudden thought, her expression turned contemplative.
"Do you want to keep her? Raise her?" she asked, her tone earnest.
"What?" I blinked, caught off guard by the unexpected question. Her seriousness left no room for doubt—she wasn't joking.
Why was she asking to keep the baby? Shouldn't she raise her? It seed like the natural choice. It would be better that way, wouldn't it?
"I thought of leaving her education to my mother," Khillea explained, her voice soft. "She's excellent at it, but… you're her father. You have the right to decide as well."
I shook my head slowly, firmly. "It's better if you do it," I said, my voice heavy. "I don't have an easy life…"
The weight of my words hung between us. I didn't need to elaborate. Soon, I'd have to face the Divine Knights, and even worse—so gods. My life was chaos, a storm brewing on all fronts.
"My life isn't easy either," Khillea said, her voice steady but carrying an undercurrent of frustration. "If I ever thought I could be a good mother, I'd have already had children by now. My mother is better at this than I'll ever be."
"Yet you still chose to have a baby in the end," I pointed out, curiosity edging into my tone. "Why the change of heart?"
Khillea paused, her expression softening as she looked down at her belly. "Because I wanted to leave sothing in this world..." Her voice trailed off, and I could tell there was more she wasn't saying.
"Then you should leave her to your mother," I said, trying to keep my tone neutral. A thought struck . "You have the sa mother as Achilles? Then she's a goddess, right?"
I already suspected as much—it had to be Thetis. But sothing about Khillea's connection to Achilles had always felt… unusual.
Khillea nodded, smirking slightly. "Yes, a goddess." Her eyes glead with mischief. "By the way, she wants to see you. Patroclus went to bring her."
"What?"
I shot to my feet, alarm coursing through . This was bad. Really bad.
"Thetis wants to see ? Why?" I demanded, though I already feared the answer. She was a goddess. Face-to-face, my usual tricks and disguises wouldn't hold up. The gods in the heavens might not notice from afar, but up close? She'd see right through .
And if she was truly Thetis—Achilles' mother—then she was aligned with the Greeks. If she discovered I was working with Troy, I was as good as dead.
"Why are you scared?" Khillea laughed, her voice lilting with amusent as she walked toward the bath. She slipped into the water, sighing in pleasure.
"I have to leave," I said quickly, pulling my pants back on, urgency overriding everything else.
"Co join ," she teased, her lips curving into a sensual smile.
This woman… I'd just taken her anal virginity, and she was still trying to seduce ?
"Spartans will get suspicious if I'm late," I replied, seizing on the excuse. Patroclus had ntioned the tension between Achilles and the other Greek armies, and it was a convenient out.
"It'll only take a minute," Khillea insisted, leaning back in the bath. "She just wants to know how I got pregnant when I was told I could never conceive."
Her words made freeze. She couldn't get pregnant? And yet, sohow, she had… with ?
This was worse than I thought. If Thetis wanted to et because of that, there was no way she wouldn't notice sothing strange about . Stay updated through empire
"I'm sorry. I'll co back later," I said hastily, pulling on my shirt.
"Where are you going?"
I turned, my chest tightening at the sight of a woman standing in the doorway. She looked like Khillea but older—more regal, with an aura that seed to radiate divinity.
My breath caught. This had to be Thetis.
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