CHAPTER TWENTY
I wait until night, then use a bird to carry a message out to Sorrel, asking him to meet me at a spot in the slums. It feels dangerous going to meet Sorrel out here, but it feels like the only place where we aren’t going to be observed by Domitian’s people.
If I bring him to the palace, everyone will know.
If I go to Ironhold to speak with him, it will be just as obvious.
The slums are the best option. I slip out beyond the walls, trying to keep from being spotted I creep through the slums, wrapped in a cloak, trying to make sure that no one identifies me as I head to the meeting.
I can see the damage the unrest has caused, with broken windows and shacks torn almost to nothing.
There's an air of tension, although there are also brighter spots.
There are places where people have constructed statues of their favorite gladiators, or hung up the colors of different factions within the arena.
It's clear that the reopened Colosseum is having an impact here.
Is it a good thing? I can still see the gangs moving around in the slums, looking for trouble or controlling their territories.
There are market stalls here and there, selling whatever the owners have been able to scrape together.
There are more guards moving through the slums now, in a show of strength and order, but they don't interfere with the gangs.
I see one guard nod to a gang member controlling a corner, as if recognizing someone doing the same job.
It's a level of acceptance of criminality that only points to more corruption within Aetheria.
There’s plenty of graffiti on the walls.
There always is, in Aetheria, often augmented with fragments of magic so that the images shift and come to life as I pass.
I see images of gladiators, and I recognize versions of Cesca and Sorrel, even Kai and Glacius.
There are other aspects to the graffiti, though, because I can also see messages decrying the games:
The Senate is trying to bring back the empire through the games!
The rich want to see us kill one another!
Stand up to the death matches!
They’re obviously phrases being spread by Alaric’s supporters, trying to persuade the masses of the outer city to stand up to the things Domitian and the others are trying to do.
Even now, I assume that it’s all Domitian’s idea, when I’ve seen Marcus at the heart of the conspiracy to bring death back to the games. I need to accept that Marcus hasn’t been on my side all this time, that he’s just been using and manipulating me for his own ends.
That thought brings a wave of anger and pain with it. I want to make Marcus pay for what he’s done, to me, and to Aetheria.
I reach the place where I’m due to meet Sorrel, a small open space around a well, with multiple roads leading to it.
I wait there carefully, using the eyes of birds to watch for danger, knowing that I’m not safe in this meeting, or anywhere else, now.
Before, I was protected by being close to Marcus.
Now, I’m sure Domitian and Marcus will twist the truth if they find out about what I’m doing, making it look as if I’m collusion with Alaric to bring down the city.
I’ll be called a traitor, and cast down from my role as a senator at the very least. I might also find myself thrown into a dungeon, just made to disappear.
It's enough to make tension course through me as I wait, watching for any sign of Sorrel. Will he come? Will he feel that he needs to help me any more than he has, or will he hide away, keep his head down, and wait to see what happens with the games?
It feels uncomfortable standing here while people come and go, occasionally glancing at me as if they can’t work out while I’m there. I feel too conspicuous, especially with birds occasionally landing around me, drawn by my power. I send them up into the sky, still watching.
I see Sorrel coming, moving across the rooftops, using his power to move with speed and grace most people couldn’t manage.
He isn’t cloaked, but his route means he isn’t passing people anyway.
I borrow some grace from the birds, moving lightly up onto the rooftops to meet him, ignoring the strange looks I get from the people below.
I intercept Sorrel’s course on a flat rooftop, trying to keep low enough that we won’t be seen from the street.
“Why did you call me here?” he asks.
“Because I need your help,” I say. “There’s a group of senators who want to change the games and the city, who want to return everything to the days of the empire.”
“And what can I do about that?” Sorrel says. “I’m just a gladiator.”
“Which means all of this will affect you,” I point out. “Do you want to be pushed into a match where you might be killed if you lose?”
“I won’t lose,” Sorrel says with a confidence that’s far too familiar.
I sigh. “I’ve heard so many people say that, Sorrel. Because every gladiator has to convince themselves that they can’t lose. But I also saw them lose, saw them die. You'll be the best, strongest gladiator in the Colosseum until the day you aren't. And then you'll die."
I see him swallow. I know I’ve gotten through to him.
“You still haven’t told me what you want me to do,” Sorrel says.
“I want you to find information for me,” I say. “I need proof that Domitian and those around him are pushing for death matches, that they’re plotting to twist the games, and to gain more power over the city.”
“I already told you about the Gilded Swan,” Sorrel says. “But there are other places that put on death matches. And I’ve been asked to take part. I could get you proof of those, I suppose.”
That would be more than I could hope for. It might be enough to bring before the Senate, enough to bring Domitian's schemes to a halt.
Yet, even as I open my mouth to tell Sorrel to do it, something catches my attention, caught through the eyes of the birds around me. I see guards from above, converging on our position. There are too many of them to fight, even for two trained gladiators.
“Guards!” I say. “We need to go.”
“Can’t you just tell them to leave us be?” Sorrel says. “You’re a senator.”
"And they're probably in Domitian's pay," I reply.
Or Marcus'. I'm not sure that would make it better.
"They'll seize us both, then try to pretend that we're part of Alaric's rebel group.
They'll call us traitors, and even if I manage to sort it all out, it will take far too long, with both of us rotting in a dungeon. "
“Then we fight them,” Sorrel insists.
"There are too many of them, and you aren't even armed," I point out. "We need to run, Sorrel.”
That seems to get through to him, and he sets off across the rooftops, leaping from roof to roof.
I can see guards climbing up ahead of us, and I jump down into the streets, rolling as I hit the ground.
A guard grabs for me as I rise to my feet, and I hit him, knocking him back.
Somewhere in the distance, I hear Sorrel cry out, and through the eyes of a bird, I see him being swarmed by guards and carried away.
I feel the sharp sting of guilt. I brought him here. I led him into danger. Somehow, Domitian has found out about one of my meetings again, and now Sorrel has been caught.
I can’t get to him. I can’t help him, not here.
If I get back to the palace, maybe I’ll be able to do something, but not until then.
For now, I need to run. I sprint along the streets, dodging past guards and ordinary citizens alike.
I keep my cloak wrapped around me tightly, trying to make sure that no one can see my face as I run.
I use my view from above to track the progress of the guards, picking out the best route to avoid them.
I duck into an alleyway, trying to slow my breathing even as fear floods through me.
I stay still and silent, listening to the guards searching for me, even as I watch them from above through the eyes of the nearby birds.
Finally, there’s a gap in the pattern of their search.
I dart out from my hiding place, leaving them behind as I run back to the main section of the city.
I’ve avoided capture, barely, but Sorrel hasn’t been so lucky, and that’s my fault.
I called him to this meeting, and now he’s in the hands of the guards.
Once again, Domitian has worked out where I’m going and sent people to intercept me.
The question is what I can do about it. I don't have enough allies in the Senate anymore. I don't have any control within the games. There's only one person left for me to turn to:
I need to find Alaric.