Chapter Nine
The sound of the crowd hits me as I exit the maze. After its silence, the noise is almost overwhelming. Some of the crowd cheering as I appear, obviously celebrating the fact that I have survived this first trial.
Others are booing and jeering.
“Why didn't you fight them?” a voice calls out. “We didn't pay to see you tame cats!”
There are other jeers and calls on a similar theme. It's obvious not everyone there appreciates the way I succeeded. I try to imagine what it must have looked like to the watching crowd. I passed through the maze, avoiding the traps and moving cautiously. I didn't fight any of the beasts within. My only moment of combat was with Malira, and that was brief, thanks to Vesper.
Yet, others are still cheering. I try to focus on those rather than on the ones who dislike the way I've succeeded. I try to tell myself that it shouldn't matter at all how the crowd are reacting. I'm not Alaric, who lives for the reactions of the crowd and the glory to be found in the colosseum. But it does seem to make a difference to me, not least because I know it is vital to Lady Elara's plan that the crowd sees me as a hero.
I see her sitting in her box. She looks pleased, nodding my way. If this is anything like the other games in which I have participated, she will have put considerable bets on me. I have earned her a lot of money in my past few seasons.
For now, I ignore all of that, focusing on the fact that I'm still alive, on the feeling of the sun on my face. I look around and find that Vesper and I are not the first to make it out of the maze.
Alaric is there, lounging on one of the arena walls as if he is simply enjoying the day. The crowd seem to like that. I want to run to him and throw my arms around him, grateful that he has made it through safely, but I know I can't. Whatever our relationship back at Ironhold, here it is important that I do not show too much of a connection to him. There is too much of a risk that the organizers of the games might try to use it against us. It is better to keep apart for now and simply be grateful that he appears unharmed.
I am grateful for that. I know the nature of the arena is that either of us might be hurt or killed at any moment, but I still feel as though it would tear out my heart if something were to happen to Alaric.
There are two figures near him I am much less happy to see. Vex stands there as if it is only natural that he has succeeded in the trial. He doesn't play up to the crowd the way Alaric does, but instead merely absorbs the adulation as if it is his right.
Ravenna stands not far from Alaric, deliberately close enough to him that I suspect that it is to worry me. She appears unscathed, although she is cleaning blood off her knife. She looks at me while she does it and smiles. There is a promise of pain there in that smile.
Malira is the next to emerge from the maze. The wound on her side is bleeding, but she seems to have suffered no other injuries. She glares at me and takes a step forward, before seeming to realize that out here such an attack would not be tolerated. She thrusts her weapon into the dirt instead, walking over to where Vex stands while the crowd cheers. There is no jeering when it comes to her. She has given them what they want. She has given them blood and violence.
One by one, the other gladiators emerge, or most of them at least. I have already seen that at least one is dead in the maze, fallen for the entertainment of the crowd. It's hard to think about that, especially with how close to dying in some of the traps I came.
Time stretches on, and they come out, emerging into the sunlight, but one does not. At least not yet. Rowan is still in there, and the longer this goes on the more I'm worried for him. I'm surprised by how much worry I feel for him when he has been distant ever since we argued in the previous games. He doesn't like what I am and can do. He looks at me like an outsider.
But I still can't help feeling a thread of fear running through me at the thought that something might have happened to him. There are so many dangers in the maze, and while he is a skilled gladiator, able to manipulate the earth and sense every movement upon it near him, that doesn't make him invulnerable.
Having to stand here and wait like this is killing me. Ordinarily, in the colosseum, we fight and then we return to the spaces beneath it, but in this case we are made to wait out in full view of the watching crowds. They are still roaring their appreciation for everything that takes place within the maze, and I know I need to see what's going on. I borrow the vision of a bird again, looking down into the maze from above, trying to find Rowan.
I see him fighting the shadow cats. He is the last gladiator still standing within the maze. The others left in there are all dead or dying, creatures already feasting on their flesh. But Rowan is not dead. He is using his shield to hold the shadow cats off, attacking them with his sword, trying to clear a path through them.
One of them jumps out of his shadow at him, but it seems Rowan is ready for the move. Clearly, he has seen them fight before, perhaps when he has watched some of my bouts. He is able to reverse his sword and strike the beast down, creating enough room for him to run for the exit. Another of the cats slashes at him with its claws as he passes, making Rowan stumble, as blood opens up on his side, but he keeps going. He does not stop.
The shadow cats are chasing him now, and the worst part is that I can hear the crowd cheering for the action. Some of them are urging him on, but I'm sure others are hoping they get to see him brought down by the pack of ravenous beasts. I will him forward, hoping against hope that he will make it. He dares a slash back at the shadow cats and that buys him a second in which to run again. He makes it to the gate at the maze and he throws himself through it.
Guards slam the iron gate behind him, closing it so the shadow cats do not get through. There must be some magic at play here because it would be easy for them to step from one shadow to another, otherwise appearing beyond the confines of the maze. Instead, they snap, snarl, and then slink back into the maze to feast on the dead.
The crowd cheers Rowan’s victory in surviving. Even the ones who might have been urging the shadow cats on seem happy enough that he has escaped, although I do see a couple of people here and there in the crowd throwing down their wooden betting tokens in frustration.
Rowan stands there, blood on his torso, breathing hard. It's hard not to feel relief that he has survived, and in spite of myself, a part of me wants to go to him to make sure he's all right. I don't, the same way I didn't with Alaric. Each of us must be seen to stand alone here.
Eventually, the noise of the crowd calms down. We are all standing beneath the emperor's box, and he stands at the edge of it, looking down at us. His eyes seem to meet mine for a moment or two before passing on to the others. I don't know what to make of his interest in me, although I know that the interest of anyone that powerful is far from safe.
He starts to speak. “Citizens of Aetheria, behold! The victors in the first trial! They have survived when most would have fallen. They have shown you their power, but this is just a taste of things to come. Tomorrow they will face a new trial, even more deadly.”
He looks down at us again. “Gladiators, you have earned your rest. You have shown the twin virtues of martial prowess and magical might that Aetheria rests upon. For now, retire to the receiving rooms. There, you will be treated with honor. You have more than earned it. I'm sure there are those amongst the nobles who will wish to show you their favor for having done so well.”
He's telling us that even for these trials, we must make ourselves available to mingle with nobles. I can't understand what his intentions are with all this unless it is simply to entertain.
For now, we have survived this trial but if we're going to spend time with the nobles that is almost as perilous in its way. These are people who can do almost anything they wish with us.
What will they choose with me?