CHAPTER ELEVEN
I keep working in the grounds of Marcus’ villa, striking one of the wooden posts there with a spear, because I assume any foes I face will be preparing just as hard, assuming that I’ll be using the same trident I’ve employed in my last two bouts.
Mixing up my weapons like this might provide me exactly the advantage I need.
“Don’t forget that your shield can be a weapon as well,” Alaric says, watching from the sidelines.
There’s a small buckler strapped to my left forearm, taking the place of the net I’ve used before.
I saw it as a purely defensive choice, but now I start to explore the ways in which it might be possible to strike with the metal boss or the reinforced edge, using it as a close range bludgeoning tool as much as a way to protect myself from sword blows.
Marcus steps in as my training partner now, stripped to the waist and holding a blunted iron sword.
We circle one another, and he attacks me with the weapon while sending sparks of lightning from his free hand.
It's an approximation of the way Selene fights in the arena, but it's also uncomfortably close to the illusions Karabus sent against me.
I yelp as some of the lightning gets through, arcing along the metal of my shield and into my arm.
“I’m sorry,” Marcus says, pulling back from me.
“I’m fine,” I tell him, but I’m not fine. What I experienced with Karabus has left fear rising inside me as Marcus uses lightning against me. I can’t fight him like this, even as part of our training.
It’s clear Marcus didn’t see the details of the illusions Karabus used against me, but he can obviously sense my discomfort at training with him like this. He steps back and sets the sword aside.
“Well, I think we’ve done enough for now,” Marcus says. “We need to get ready in any case.”
“For what?” I ask, frowning. I’m not aware of anything we need to do today. The Grand Tournament is sprawling, spread out over multiple days, and I don’t have another fight today or tomorrow.
“We’ve arranged for you to speak in the forum,” Alaric says.
We, rather than just Marcus. It’s rare for the two of them to work together like that.
“Do you want me to go like this?” I ask.
Marcus looks over at Alaric. “No. We’ve agreed...” and here there’s tension in his voice that suggests it’s an argument between them. “That people need to see you as more than just a gladiator.”
I wonder which of them wanted me to go in my gladiatorial gear. Was it Marcus, who has always loved the games and who sees them as a route to power? Or was it Alaric, who wants to connect with the common people and won’t want me dressed in the finery of a noble?
In the end, my clothes are a compromise.
I'm not dressed as a noble or a senator, even if I'm not wearing the armor of a gladiator.
My blue dress is simple and elegant, with a belt at the waist from which I can string a dagger.
My hair is braided by Marcus' servants, but not in one of the elaborate styles they used to produce for me, so I would look as spectacular as possible beside Marcus.
Once I’m ready, we head out into the city. Alaric uses illusions to shift his features and quickly disappears into the crowds around us. He might be watching for trouble, or he might be going to coordinate the resistance, trying to influence more of the people in the city.
I watch for danger. I don’t know if Olivia will be less inclined to send killers after us following my conversation with her, or more, but she isn’t Selene’s only follower, and there are plenty of people who might want to murder Marcus and me, given the chance.
Watching through the eyes of birds above, I see people already gathering around the forum, many of them wearing white and gold: the colors of the Republic.
There are guards around, too, and those make me wary. Far too many of them are controlled by Selene, these days.
When I reach the forum, the numbers are almost overwhelming, spilling out beyond the columns that denote its boundaries and into the streets beyond.
“How did you and Alaric get so many people here?” I ask Marcus.
He shrugs. “We simply let it be known that there would be a chance to see Lyra Thornwind here.”
A part of me doesn’t want to believe it could be that simple. I want to assume that Marcus must have offered bribes, or Alaric must have used rabble rousers in the slums. But no, maybe my fame really has reached the point where people will come in huge numbers, just for the opportunity to see me.
Certainly, everyone stares at me as I walk through the crowd, heading for a broken column that serves as a traditional spot for people to speak from. Even under the empire, Emperor Tiberius allowed people to speak freely here. Although he would often send spies to listen and identify troublemakers.
“Lyra, Lyra!” someone starts to chant. The other members of the crowd take up the cry, so that my name washes over me continuously as I move to stand on the column, looking out over the crowd.
I hold out my hands for quiet, and it’s almost a shock that people fall absolutely silent. They want to hear me speak.
Now, I just need to work out what I want to say to them.
“Citizens of Aetheria. My friends,” I begin, looking around at the faces there. “I can see people here from so many different parts of the city, and I’m glad you came here today.”
“Because of you!” someone calls out.
I smile. “I imagine many of you came because you like my wins in the colosseum. But I hope some of you came here because you believe in Aetheria, the way I do.”
I gesture to the city around me.
“Not the vision of it some would try to sell you.” My gesture takes in the colosseum, strung with imperial colors at Selene’s command. “A vision where the strong rule over the weak, or those with magic, or money, or the right family rule over the rest.”
“Selene’s vision,” someone calls out.
I nod. “But not just her. Domitian thought the same way, and Tiberius before him. Again and again, people try to take control of Aetheria. They try to persuade you that it’s right they should rule, because they have power and cruelty on their side.
We cannot let them tell us that it's right. We can’t let them persuade us that it’s the only way things can be done. ”
Now, I gesture to the palace, which has become the seat of Aetheria’s senate.
“We already know that it’s possible to do things another way. The Republic is built on different ideals.”
“The Republic is corrupt!” someone yells. I don’t know if these are members of the resistance, planted in the crowd, agitators paid to cause trouble, or just people who are so angry they can’t stop themselves.
“The senators are all in Selene’s pocket!”
“Even before then, they took bribes and didn’t do anything for the people!”
I hold up my hands, trying to contain the outpouring of anger.
“And we’ll change all those things,” I promise. “For now, you just need to show Selene and those who support her that you won’t stand by and let her take power. You need to show the people close to you that they aren’t alone when they stand up to her. We can stop her, together.”
“Lyra!” they start to chant again. “Lyra!”
Even as they do so, however, I see another group of people approaching. I watch them from above through the eyes of passing birds, a wave of humanity wearing flashes of purple and gold: the old imperial colors Selene has taken as her own symbol.
“Selene! Selene! Down with traitors!”
Their cries start to drift over the breeze, and I can see the people around me turning to face them. Thanks to my powers, I can feel the rising anger in the crowd, confronted by people they view as enemies.
I try to push back against some of that anger, try to soothe it, but what am I meant to do when Selene’s supporters are marching forward, many of them armed with clubs and daggers?
Their intentions are obvious: they’ve come here for a confrontation.
Or at least, some of them have. From above, I can spot the tightly packed knots of toughs armed and ready for a fight, while the others around them mostly just chant.
They charge like a phalanx of soldiers, slamming into the ranks of my supporters.
Screams and cries of anger fill the air, while I see many of my own supporters pulling out weapons, too.
Members of the resistance, hidden among the rest, are leaping into the fight with Alaric at their head.
What started life as a simple gathering has turned into a battle in a matter of seconds.
I dodge aside from a swinging club, catching the wielder’s arm and wrenching it to make him drop the weapon. I kick another attacker back into the mass of the rest, but I know that fighting like this isn’t going to help.
I reach for my powers, instead, trying to tap into the animal instincts of everyone there.
I can’t hope to calm so many at once, so I throw fear at them instead, hoping to make people scatter instead of standing and fighting.
Plenty do, but that just means the fight splits apart, becoming a series of running battles that I can only watch from overhead thanks to the birds.
Through their eyes, I also see the figures marching in proper formation, their spears held ready.
“The guards are coming!” I call out, pushing another wave of fear into anyone close. “Scatter!”
People do it, but Marcus is there then, grabbing my arm.
“We need to go, Lyra.”
“I can still help here,” I insist.
Marcus shakes his head. “And get arrested by the guards? They might throw you back in a cell. You might miss the rest of the games. You can’t save the city if you’re in chains, Lyra!”
He’s right, even if I hate that he’s right.
This situation has gotten out of hand, but I can’t stay and make sure everyone is safe.
Marcus and I set off through the crowd, heading for the side streets.
I lead the way, because the birds above let me see any threats ahead of us.
We take one turning after another, quickly leaving the sounds of violence behind us.
“I hadn’t expected it would be like this,” Marcus says.
I should have guessed that it would be. The city is a tinderbox at the moment.
Tensions are running high, with Selene and her supporters only stoking them further, hoping to use them as an excuse to seize power.
It’s a dangerous dilemma: we need the support of the people to stand against Selene’s attempts to take authority in Aetheria, but if we fuel conflict on the streets, we risk ordinary people being hurt.
“We need to be more careful,” I say. I look over at the colosseum. Influence on the streets will make a difference, but I’m more convinced than ever now that it’s in the games that this will be settled.
Ultimately, this conflict will come down to a fight between me and Selene, one we’ve both wanted from the start of this. Now, I have to make sure I win.