Then Xenophon was at the edge of the stadium, with Kratos too.
"Come'on Stefanos! Get up!" Kratos yelled.
Stefanos heard him somewhere at the back of his mind, but he was focussed on his writhing body and whirling head, willing himself to steady as he pushed up from the ground as if escaping a deadly pit of Hades.
"Finish him!" the king of Sparta suddenly yelled from the embankment, his cold voice high above the others. "Finish the Argive, Typhon!"
The Hellanodikai were leaning in close now to watch for Stefanos' sign of submission as blood poured from the wounds on the side of his head and cheek, and his eyes swelled.
Typhon stood over Stefanos and laughed through his laboured breathing.
"You see, Argive. You're nothing! No match for a Spartan, man or woman!"
As Stefanos had almost
