Free Kyros' Secret (Greek Myth Series Book 1) by Elizabeth Rose

putting him through this! And damn Ares’ daughter for making him want to kiss her, distracting him in the first place. Usually he could prepare his mind for the change. But lately his mind was preoccupied and the transformations only seemed to get worse.
    As Kyros lay with his head on the damp earth, he could hear light hoofbeats coming nearer and nearer. He jumped to his feet - all four of them - in the process grabbing his sword from the ground.
    “Kyros, it’s me. Nemos.”
    Kyros squeezed his eyes closed for a second and took a deep breath at the sound of the young centaur’s voice.
    “Nemos. Where are you?” Kyros looked around, but his vision was still blurred. Then he saw the boy’s shadowy form stepping toward him through the trees.
    “Are you all right?”
    As Kyros’ vision cleared he could see Nemos looking at him cautiously, coming nearer but aware of keeping a safe distance from him.
    Kyros panted and tried to smile at the boy in between breaths to let him know he was safe.
    “I’m fine, Nemos. Come closer.”
    He lowered his sword and ran a hand through his long, tangled hair. As a man, his hair was past his shoulders. As a Centaur, his hair reached down to his waist. In his Centaur form, his chest was nearly twice his normal size. Not to mention the muscles that graced his body as well. Everything was exaggerated.
    “You … you looked so …”
    “Vicious? Angry? Pathetic?” Kyros filled in the blanks for him.
    “Scared.” The boy said the word slow and soft almost as if he wasn’t certain how Kyros was going to take it.
    Kyros sauntered over to a tree and rested his head against the rough bark, looking into the night as he spoke.
    “I’m the most vulnerable when I’m in the middle of a transformation.”
    He spoke to himself as well as the boy, reminding himself just how foolish he’d been not to take cover before the damned curse took hold. He didn’t look at Nemos but could hear his light hoofbeats trotting over to join him.
    “I was waiting for you at the hovel, but you never came. So I decided to find you.  I tried to remind you - I came to your camp.”
    Kyros turned his head slightly and looked at Nemos in the darkening sky. He knew what a risk it was for Nemos to come to him. And now that the sky was turning dark, he knew he’d have to walk the boy back to the hovel. A centaur’s sight was strong in the sunlight of the day; but when the night fell, every one of them were at a disadvantage of not seeing danger until it was upon them.
    “Thank you, Nemos. Your loyalty is true. I know what you risked coming to me. And your devotion has earned your place at my side. If I were king, you’d serve in my court.”
    The boy grinned and sheepishly ducked his head as Kyros reached out to ruffle his hair.
    “I’m a centaur,” he reminded Kyros. “Centaurs don’t serve the king, let alone go anywhere near the people of Trozen.”
    “Not now they don’t,” said Kyros. “But someday that’s all going to change.”
    Kyros’ vision cleared and he first noticed the huge bow and quiver of arrows the boy carried on his back.
    “Phylo’s bow?” he asked.
    The boy grabbed it from his back with a newfound eagerness. He proudly handed it to Kyros.
    “It has the strength of ten centaur bows, twice the speed, and an alarming accuracy. Artemis had Hephaestus make it for Phylo. It was to protect the centaurs from Ares. It’s said to have powers against the gods. If a god besides Artemis touches it, it’s said to even be able to kill them.”
    Kyros grabbed the bow in one hand and tested its weight.
    “What do you mean … said to have? Doesn’t anyone know for sure?”
    “No one’s dared to use it since Phylo was killed. Ares has tried to find the bow but we’ve hidden it well. Though the bow has a magical air about it, it’s also said no one but a king can use it.”
    “So, Phylo was the king of the centaurs?”
    Nemos’ eyes grew wide and he nodded his head.
    “He was the