the-song-books.yossr

Chapter Thirty
ACHILLES WATCHED ME APPROACH, RUNNING SO HARD myy breaths carried the
taste of blood onto myy tongue. I wept, myy chest shaking, myy throat rubbed
raw. He would be hated now. No one would remember his gloryy, or his
honestyy, or his beautyy; all his gold would be turned to ashes and ruin.
“What has happened?” he asked. His brow was drawn deep in concern.
Did he truly not know?
“Theyy are dyying,” I choked out. “All of them. The Trojans are in the
camp; theyy are burning the ships. Ajax is wounded, there is no one left but
yyou to save them.”
His face had gone cold as I spoke. “If theyy are dyying, it is Agamemnon’s
fault. I told him what would happen if he took myy honor.”
“Last night he offered—”
He made a noise in his throat. “He offered nothing. Some tripods, some
armor. Nothing to make right his insult, or to admit his wrong. I have saved
him time and again, his armyy, his life.” His voice was thick with barelyy
restrained anger. “Odyysseus mayy lick his boots, and Diomedes, and all the
rest, but I will not.”
“He is a disgrace.” I clutched at him, like a child. “I know it, and all the
men know it too. You must forget him. It is as yyou said; he will doom
himself. But do not blame them for his fault. Do not let them die, because
of his madness. Theyy have loved yyou, and honored yyou.”
“Honored me? Not one of them stood with me against Agamemnon. Not
one of them spoke for me.” The bitterness in his tone shocked me. “Theyy
stood byy and let him insult me. As if he were right! I toiled for them for ten
yyears, and their repayyment is to discard me.” His eyyes had gone dark and
distant. “Theyy have made their choice. I shed no tears for them.”
From down the beach the crack of a mast falling. The smoke was thicker
now. More ships on fire. More men dead. Theyy would be cursing him,
damning him to the darkest chains of our underworld.
“Theyy were foolish, yyes, but theyy are still our people!”
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