The House of Atreus | ONC 2023 Shortlist

XX

His fingers dig into my thighs, gripping me almost painfully. We are one tangle of limbs, naked and covered in sweat. I grind my hips against his, hard and slow, almost languid. The friction sends shivers down my spine. He groans, tilting his head back and I can feel the rumble in his chest as I claw at it. I whimper when the orgasm rattles through me and collapse on top of him.

I have been spending a lot of time in my chambers again, but this time I'm not alone. The servants don't come in anymore, they just leave food on trays outside the door. They haven't tried to bring in any more flowers. I barely even see them anymore at all. It seems they avoid me now. I've started to dress myself in the mornings — or afternoons — and wear my hair open more times than in plaits these days, something I haven't done since I was a girl.

Aegisthus says he likes it. He says a lot of things he thinks I'll like, I've noticed. And does a lot of things I do like. Both with his hands and his mouth and other parts of him. I roll off of him and already my mind conjures up images of what I'd let him do next. I rest my head on my arm and look at him expectantly.

He pants and turns his head towards me. "I can't," he manages between breaths. He moves, trying to get more comfortable and his hand gropes for one of the thin blankets that hang crumpled over the side of the bed.

I stop him from covering himself and shift my weight, hooking my leg over his and pressing my body into his side. "You always say that and then we go for another round anyway." My hand caresses his chest before it starts to wander further down, across his abdomen and lower still.

He takes hold of my wrist before I can make it down there. His fingers close around my arm, holding me firmly. He rears up and turns me around until I'm underneath him and he's pinning me to the bed with his body. He looks down at me and I just smirk. His hair is a mess and he's still breathing hard but I'm not done yet.

"You're insatiable, you know that?"

His hand lets go of mine and grabs my breast instead while his head bents down and he buries his face in the crook of my neck. I inhale sharply when I feel his teeth scrape against my skin. His hand slowly wanders deeper until his fingers slide between my legs and he starts rubbing hard circles into me. I moan and let my head fall back into the pillows. How can he be so skilled with only his fingers when both my husbands merely managed to stick their dicks inside me for long enough to get me pregnant?

It wasn't awful with Agamemnon. I enjoyed it sometimes. He always had a strong body, steely from all the fighting and sparring he's done all his life and he knows how to use it well. But he would've never done some of the things Aegisthus seems to be so casual about. Agamemnon would've never gone down on his knees for me. He kneels before no one, not even his wife.

How I hate him.

* * *

Later I lie on the bed, watching Aegisthus as he gets dressed.

"So, what is the anax going to say when he gets back?" He looks at me over his shoulder as he wipes down his neck with a wet cloth. I take in the way the muscles in his back shift when he moves.

"Are you planning to stay and find out?" My voice is light and a tiny laugh slips out but I watch him carefully.

He never answered my question about why he came here, not truthfully at least. I can tell he's avoiding it and it makes me wonder. I know all the sounds he makes when I'm wrapped around him yet I'm still in the dark about his intentions. And I don't like it. I used to be able to read people much easier than this. But this man is a closed door refusing to be opened more than just a crack. Or am I just too blinded to see it? Too intoxicated by his body and how it makes me feel?

He takes his time wrapping his chiton around himself and fastening the fabric at the shoulders. All I'm left with is to look at his back. I move to sit at the edge of the bed, still undressed but I don't care. I'll dress whenever I want. Finally, Aegisthus turns around to look for his belt but I've quietly snatched it up from the floor.

"What business do you have with Agamemnon?"

I look up at him as he towers over me but he knows that I'm really the one in power here. I am the queen, while he's... nothing. Even as a woman I'm above him. He's the son of a traitor, a usurper and kingkiller. No one would believe him when he told them he had nothing to do with Atreus' death, even when he claims he never got along with his father.

Blood is thicker than water.

Yet this family has been spilling each other's blood for decades. The House of Atreus is cursed. That is why my daughter is dead and my sister is the figurehead of even more bloodshed.

Aegisthus is quiet, watching me with those silver eyes of his. If he's surprised at my directness, he doesn't show it. He knows me well enough by now though, not just my body but also my mind. He should know that I'm not afraid to take what I want anymore, be it his attention or information. I had to learn how to grab onto those things but now that I've discovered that power, I won't let it go. I won't fall back into a fake display of propriety.

"Agamemnon killed my father," is what he finally says. He sighs, running his hands through his still dishevelled hair and holds out his hand for his belt.

"I thought you didn't care about your father." I don't even consider giving his belt back to him. "So why do you care that he's dead?"

"Atreus betrayed him." His face changes right before my eyes. The calmness slips from it like a mask and leaves behind anger. His eyes are hard, shiny and glittering like coins. "Do you know what he made him do?"

I shake my head, unable to speak or take my gaze away from him.

"They were fighting for the throne, you know? And Atreus killed my half-brothers out of spite." Aegisthus huffs as if he's out of breath again and I can see his hands tremble before he balls them into fists. He starts to pace in front of the bed, suddenly agitated. "He made my father eat them."

I observe him quietly and almost smile to myself. Finally. Finally, there's an emotion on this stony face. Finally, his armour begins to crack and I get a glimpse at what's underneath. If I were married to someone else, this tale might sound gruesome to me, and it does in a way. Yet I am not surprised to hear it. This family is truly rotten.

"Atreus, Agamemnon, Menelaus. They wreak havoc on people's lives and get away with it. They're all monsters."

So are you, my dear, I think to myself but I remain silent. He's part of their cursed bloodline. That was why his mother had killed herself. She couldn't live with having brought him into this world.

"So, what are you going to do about that?"

My question hangs in the air between us. Aegisthus remains silent for several heartbeats and just looks at me with wide eyes. I can't tell if he's stunned or afraid at having spilt his secrets to me. He knows he's at my mercy now. I could have him tried for slander. I could have him executed.

"I want to make them pay," he finally says through gritted teeth.

I allow myself to smile at last. "What if I told you I want the same?"