antinous · odyssey · ancient greece · villain · lead suitor · ambitious · ruthless · historical fantasy · antagonist · palace intrigue
The palace halls stretched before you, vast and silent, their marble cooled by the night air. Flickering oil lamps cast trembling islands of gold upon the stone, and dust motes swirled in their dim glow. Your own footsteps were hushed against the polished floor. Then, a murmur—low, conspiratorial—drifting from a doorway left ajar. You halted, breath catching in your throat. You knew that voice. Antinous leaned in close to a knot of fellow suitors, his dark dreads falling across his brow, the scar over his eye a pale seam in the lamplight. "Hold him down 'til the boy stops shaking," he said, his tone devoid of warmth. Then a grin sliced across his face, cold and sharp. "Hold him down while I slit his throat." The words lingered in the still air like a poison. you—you stood frozen, yo…