CHAPTER TEN
“I need to go out,” Marcus says. “As one of the organizers of the games, I need to attend the colosseum to oversee the preparations.”
“You could take me with you,” I suggest.
Marcus’ eyes briefly widen at that suggestion.
“Is it so surprising that I’d want to come rather than being stuck here?” I ask, gesturing to the villa. Marcus’ home is lovely, both luxurious and safe, but I’m also a prisoner here. At least I can go into the city alongside him. And maybe I can help.
“It might not be safe to take you into the place that’s at the heart of Selene’s plans right now,” Marcus points out.
“It’s because the Grand Tournament is so central to her plans that I want to see it,” I insist. “We need as much information as possible about what’s going to happen, and I can help you get that. A second pair of eyes can’t hurt.”
Marcus puts a finger to his lips as a servant walks past. Marcus only employs people he trusts, but he still doesn’t want to risk Selene forcing information from one of them.
What do the servants think of us falling silent like this?
Perhaps they merely think Marcus is in the middle of trying to seduce me, or maybe he’s trying to bring me into his many schemes and political maneuverings.
As soon as the servant passes, he replies.
“I’m not happy with this idea, Lyra. There will be plenty of Selene’s allies around, watching for any misstep. You know the terms of your release into my hands: I’m responsible for you.”
“You’re afraid you’ll be punished if I step out of line?” I ask.
Marcus shakes his head. “I’m afraid I’ll be forced into punishing you.”
“You’d do that?” I ask.
“I don’t want to do that,” Marcus says. “That’s the point. That’s why I don’t want to take you with me. What if one of Selene’s allies finds some pretext to say you’re acting to harm them?”
“Then you can call it out as a pretext,” I point out, putting my hand on his shoulder. “You can say that I’m yours and you’re not going to let others dictate what you do with me.”
“And if that isn’t good enough for them?” Marcus asks. “We could risk them becoming suspicious of us. I really think it’s better if you remain behind.”
And since he’s the one into whose custody I’ve been released, Marcus has the final say on this. It’s frustrating, because I want to help, want to stop Selene, but he really can just leave me. Unless…
“If it comes to that, then do it,” I say, looking him in the eye.
Marcus is already shaking his head. “You seriously think I’d-”
“You’ve said before that we need to stick to the parts we’re playing. So if it comes to it, do whatever you have to,” I say. “I want to be involved in this. Leaving me behind, not able to do anything, is worse than anything else you might do to me.”
Marcus looks at me as if he might still demand I stay here, but he doesn’t. Instead, he nods tightly.
“All right. But you need to be careful, Lyra. Don’t give anyone any reason to suspect you’re there other than because I want to keep you close.”
“I can do that,” I assure him.
We walk to the colosseum, Marcus wearing his white toga, me wearing my servant’s outfit. It’s slow going, because Marcus seems to stop and talk with almost everyone he meets. There’s a reason why he’s probably the most popular senator in Aetheria.
But it means I’m forced to stand silently by his side, looking down and trying not to catch anyone’s eye. They must all know who I am, but for now, at least, people are prepared to accept that I’m simply a silent addition to Marcus’ presence.
That changes when we reach the colosseum.
“Marcus, there you are,” an official says. He’s a young man in his twenties, with spiked blonde hair and skin bronzed by time working in the sun. He wears a dark tunic and sandals, but a few pieces of jewelry make it clear this isn’t some common worker.
“Laro, it’s good to see you,” Marcus says. “I was just coming by to check that the preparations for the Grand Tournament are all going well.”
“If we can get the building work finished in time,” Laro says. He looks at me with suspicion. “What’s she doing here?”
“I want her where I can keep an eye on her,” Marcus says.
Laro frowns. “But here?”
Marcus smiles that casual, friendly smile he does so well, as if he’s letting the other man in on a secret. “You know how against the games Lyra was. Maybe I want to show her all the preparations for the Grand Tournament now she’s not in a position to do anything about them.”
Laro laughs. “You’re a cruel man, Marcus. Still haven’t forgiven her for running off to join her lover in the resistance, then?”
A flicker of genuine anger and jealousy crosses Marcus’ face. I shouldn’t be surprised. After all, I did break off our engagement, abandoning him for Alaric and the resistance.
“Let’s just say forgiveness is an ongoing process,” Marcus says, although I note he doesn’t say for which of us.
Does he think I need to make it up to him for hurting him like that, or that he needs to find forgiveness for making me think he was on Selene’s side?
“In any case, how about you give us the tour?”
Laro nods, starting to lead us into the colosseum. I thought I’d seen most of the expansion during Domitian’s execution, but now, as he starts to take us down into the inner workings of the stadium, I realize there have been far more changes than to just make it hold more spectators.
“As you know, Marcus,” Laro says, “the principal challenge has been to make the colosseum easier to reconfigure. There are going to be multiple preliminary rounds for the Grand Tournament and extended brackets of fighters. The crowds don’t want to see the same straightforward bouts again and again. ”
That was true even in the old days. For the Champions Tournament I fought in, the organizers put everything from mazes to platforms in the colosseum. In recent times, we’ve even flooded it to allow the pretense of naval combat.
I want to ask about all that, but I’m not sure I can afford to ask questions when I’m meant to be playing the part of someone dragged here unwillingly. Thankfully, Marcus seems to guess what I want to ask.
“I imagine Lyra thinks that’s just the same as when the colosseum was reconfigured in earlier contests,” Marcus says.
“It’s not even close,” Laro insists. “Yes, we’ll still be relying on magical abilities to reshape stone and call water, but we’ve also set up the colosseum so that sections of the floor can lift and fall on command, letting us reshape it without having to spend whole nights working on each change.
Before, we could manage one kind of contest per day of the games.
Now, we can change things around even as the spectators watch. ”
“That will certainly add to the spectacle,” Marcus says. “Is there a suitable stable of beasts for the contests? My understanding was that most of those below Ironhold had been moved out.”
“We’re working on it,” Laro says. “Although obviously any assistance your trading fleet can give us would be appreciated. Thankfully, we can store the creatures in the beast pens here, now that we don’t have to worry about the threat of a beast whisperer the same way.”
He nods to me, or rather, to the dampener on my arm. It’s obviously common knowledge that I’ve been all but deprived of my powers, with only the barest flicker of magic.
“I imagine that makes your life easier, too, Marcus,” Laro says. “Less chance of her suddenly growing claws to gut you.”
“Thankfully, Lyra has learned obedience quickly,” Marcus replies. “Show us the beast pits.”
Laro nods, taking us through the colosseum to what was once my favorite part.
The pits where the animals are kept are cavernous in their proportions, divided by rows of cages and large pens.
The noise and stink of them is almost overwhelming, as trainers move between different animals to keep them fed and contained.
There are razor wings here: birds with knife edged feathers, kept in cages to prevent their escape.
There’s a crocodile the size of an elephant, and an elephant whose hide seems to have been augmented with infused metal to make it almost invulnerable, in imitation of the Ironhide rhinoceros.
There are ostrich like birds that rush back and forth, and a lion whose roar seems to shake the cage around it.
And there are shadow cats.
My heart aches at the sight of the dark, panther like creatures that pace their rune encrusted cage, sometimes seeming to slip into the shadows around them, only to reappear from others further along the cage.
In the first days when I was a gladiator, I had a shadow cat that became my constant companion, always ready to protect me from danger.
Now, they roar at me, looking at me as if I’m nothing more than food. Without my powers to connect to them, that’s all I am. I can’t feel the emotions or needs of any of the animals here, can’t begin to connect to them and make them obey me. That loss is enough to bring a tear to my eye.
Maybe Marcus notices that, because he quickly heads for the door.
“This is good. What about the rest?”
“Well, there are the expanded provisions for bookmakers, and of course the stones set around the arena, ready to be used in the final phases to amplify magical abilities. We want to give the people a show.”
A show of magic’s power. A display that will reinforce everything Selene wants to say. And a way to amplify her psychomancy if she wants to influence the crowd.
We head up to the receiving rooms, but there, Laro pauses.
“Marcus, there are a couple of other matters I should talk to you about, but I don’t feel comfortable discussing them with you in front of her, even if she is contained now.”
“You think Lyra is in a position to say anything to others?” Marcus asks.
“I don’t know,” Laro says. “And that’s why I need to speak to you in one of the rooms.”
Marcus hesitates, but I know he can’t miss out on this. He points to a spot in the receiving room, one partly out of sight, behind a pillar.
“Stay there, Lyra. Don’t go anywhere.”
I hate simply being commanded, but I stand there, and maybe my reluctance helps to sell the performance to Laro as he and Marcus retreat beyond the receiving rooms. I keep my head down as I see a couple of nobles coming into the rooms, which catches me by surprise when there are no games running.
One is a young nobleman, while the other is Senator Olivia.
She’s wearing an elegant, sweeping dress today rather than her toga. She glitters with jewelry. She’s leaning close to the nobleman as the two of them head towards one of the side rooms, but I catch her whispers.
“I can tell you which fights to put money on. Some of the contests in the Grand Tournament will be real, but the right bribes and threats have been used elsewhere, along with promises of survival for those who comply.”
“Really?” the nobleman says. They’re moving out of range for me to listen to, and this information feels too valuable to ignore. I creep from my hiding place, following them as best I can.
“I wanted to meet you here so I could show you all the trouble we’ve gone to. Do you think Selene’s really going to leave herself a difficult route to become champion?”
I lean in, my attention caught by Olivia’s words, but even as I do so, she looks up from her whispered conversation. However quietly I think I’ve moved, it clearly hasn’t been quiet enough, because her eyes lock onto mine, instantly filling with hostility.
“What are you doing here?”
“I was commanded to wait,” I say, hoping I can hide behind Marcus’ commands.
“And to spy on us?” Olivia demands.
“I wasn’t-”
Olivia slaps me, sudden and stinging. “Are you contradicting me?”
I could argue with her. I could fight with her, and probably win, given that she’s never had the kind of combat training given to a gladiator. But if I do that, I’ll be attacking a senator of Aetheria. I’ll probably be executed for it.
“Lyra is where I told her to be,” Marcus says, and the relief that flows through me as he returns is almost enough to make my knees buckle.
“Was she told to spy on her betters?” Olivia asks. “Because she was sneaking around after myself and Arro, Marcus.”
“I’m sure there’s an innocent explanation,” Marcus says.
Olivia rolls her eyes. “With her? Hardly. She’s hated me from the first. I demand to be given the opportunity to punish her for her transgression, Marcus.”
There’s something hungry in Olivia’s expression as she looks me over.
“Give her to me for one of my parties and we’ll say no more,” Olivia says.
Marcus shakes his head angrily. “Lyra is mine, Olivia,” he snaps. “Mine to keep, and mine to punish if necessary. It doesn’t fall to you.”
“Then punish her,” Olivia demands.
“I will,” Marcus assures her. “As soon as I get her back to my villa.”
Olivia shakes her head. “Not good enough. We both know you’ll be too soft on her. Here and now.”
Marcus is looking angrier by the moment. He also looks a little frightened as he looks my way. He warned me things might turn out like this.
“You say that as if you get to command me, Olivia,” Marcus says.
Olivia isn’t backing down, though. “You took on responsibility for her. That means you’re the one who has to rein her in when she goes too far. Do it. Show us that you can keep Lyra in her place. Or do I need to talk to Selene about whether she’d be better placed with me?”
Marcus is trapped now, caught between his need to maintain the facade of being on Selene’s side and his desire not to hurt me. I catch his eye and mouth two words.
Do it.
Marcus lifts his hands and lightning dances out from them, making me cry out in agony as I fall to the floor. The pain is excruciating, my body twitching and dancing under the weight of his magic. I groan as he stops, and Olivia is looking down at me with something like satisfaction.
“Mmm, perhaps Marcus can control you properly after all. Very well, Marcus, take her out of here. And see she doesn’t interfere in my business again.”