Read Online Infinite Sacrifice by L.E. Waters - Free Book Online

“I miss my mother,
but I’m happier than I’ve ever been in my whole life. I can’t
believe I’m this happy.”
    That night I make her practice
running with me since the next day is the annual Festival of Naked
Youths. We take our clothes off and sprint around the fields. Ever
faster than Ophira, it is so much fun to hear her complain as she
falls farther behind me. After racing, Ophira and I dance up on the
cliffs to the rhythmic sounds of the ocean. This is something she
does better than me, though. I sit back and watch her move, never
needing music. I imagine steady, mysterious hip-drum beats,
meandering abdominal harps, accented with the cymbaled climax of
her delicate hands and expressive eyes. Even though she is a helot,
she could’ve turned many suitors’ heads at the race tomorrow. It’s
a shame I can’t bring her. Nereus is also forbidden, since Sparta
punishes those who never married by not letting them attend any
state events. I’ll have to brave it alone, but I’m sure I will
win.

 
     
     
     

Chapter 3
     
    I strip my short, belted tunic off
and rub oil all over until I shine along with all the other young
men and women. We’ve been competing with each other since we were
small: wrestling, throwing javelins, tossing discuses, and racing.
Sparta believes that to make stronger men, you have to make the
women who give birth to them stronger, and I’m glad for it. Once
all the girls are oiled, we parade around and flirt with the boys
we most admire. This is the time we can catch their attention and
coax them into considering us for marriage. Many of the young men
have been allowed a pass from their military school, Agoge, to
compete.
    Even though I’m not light-haired,
as most men cherish, I have the ideal female shape. I’m tall,
almost as tall as a man, with long, thick legs that curve in taut
muscle. My back and middle are powerful, with broad shoulders and
strong arms.
    I am the racehorse of
women.
    It’s my turn to wrestle, and I’m in
the highest heat. I’ve already won the discus, javelin, and all
three short-distance races. Although those were only against
females, wrestling is much more challenging since I can compete
with the boys.
    I pin the first two boys quickly by
staying low and keeping my feet moving. I know I’m going to have
trouble when Leander enters the ring. He’s taller, has fully
developed chest muscles, and biceps much larger than mine. If I’m
going to win, I’ll have to use my leg strength and not let him pick
me up. We get into our wrestling stances, and my eyes focus on the
two large moles he has on his jaw.
    The match begins, and we collide
low. He tries to get under to throw me, but I fight to get under
him. He catches me in a number of holds, yet I always manage to
squirm free. The match goes on like this until it is announced he
wins. Disappointed, I throw my tunic back on, gather all my laurel
wreaths, and walk out before the feasting begins.
    I feel a tap on my shoulder, and
I’m surprised to see Leander standing there.
    “Are you leaving?” he
asks.
    “Yes.”
    “Before the feast
begins?”
    “I have to get home,” I say over my
shoulder as I walk away.
    He follows behind me and calls out,
“Is it true you have no parents?”
    I stop. “What is it of your
concern?”
    “I’ve some business to discuss with
the head of your household.”
    “They died in the earthquake,” I
answer. “I have to go.”
    I turn and nudge through the
current of citizens on their way in for the feast.
    Unfazed, he catches up to me. “Then
you run your own household?’
    “Leave me be, I must get home.” I
begin to make some headway, but he pulls me back toward him, within
the swirling mass of the crowd.
    “I’m interested in marriage, and
I’d normally ask your father or brother, but you have
none.”
    Leander’s one of the strongest
young men, and at twenty, he’s only days away from initiation into
the revered full-citizen hoplite army.
    “You can ask