CHAPTER TWENTY ONE
I spend the time between the morning bout and the grand finale in the receiving rooms of the colosseum. I have Alaric by my side, using a disguise as a young nobleman rather than a trainer, this time. I can see him watching everything around me carefully, clearly looking out for any danger.
“I don’t like being here,” he whispers. “There are too many people around here who might want to hurt you, just to make it easier for Selene to win.”
He almost dashes a goblet of wine from the hand of a servant offering it to me. I manage to take it before he can, smiling an apology to the servant in question.
“We don’t know whether that’s poisoned or not,” he says.
I sniff the wine, borrowing something from the senses of the rats in the colosseum so that I can smell it more carefully. There’s no trace of anything that shouldn’t be there, no hint of poison or drugs that might slow me down.
“I think it’s fine,” I say.
"Oh, the wine is perfectly safe." Selene approaches, and I tense.
She raises her voice, looking around at the rest of the room.
"If any of my friends does anything to interfere with our contest, they will no longer be my friend. I will regard them as a traitor, undermining the fundamental principles of Aetherian law. They will be punished as such, to the fullest extent of the law.”
I can see a few figures looking nervously at Selene, then at me. How many of them were planning to find a way to sabotage me? Were they planning to tamper with my armor or drug me, make it so my weapons would break, or quietly stab me before the bout so that I might bleed to death during it?
There are so many possible ways that someone might rig this final contest against me, but it seems like Selene doesn't want to win that way. She truly believes what she says about those with the most magic deserving to rule, and Selene won’t be happy taking the throne unless she can prove her superiority in the arena.
“I want a fair fight,” Selene says. “No tricks, no games. Just you and me, facing one another. You can’t beat me like that, Lyra.”
“You sound very certain of that,” I say.
“I am,” Selene replies. “I know what you can do, and you’ve seen what I can do in return.
You aren’t strong enough to beat me.” She turns on her heel, getting ready to walk away, but then pauses.
“Oh, and Alaric, you can drop your disguise. No one is going to take you and throw you in a cell. At least... not until this is done.”
Alaric looks briefly shocked. Clearly, he thought, as I did, that his illusions were fooling everyone. His features shimmer, returning to their usual form. He glares at Selene. I get the feeling that he might attack her if he thinks he might get away with it.
“Enjoy the rest of the day here,” Selene says. “Say goodbye to one another. I’ll be killing Lyra soon enough.”
She walks away, heading through the receiving rooms, pausing to talk to one figure, then another.
“I could end all this,” Alaric says. “I could simply put a knife in her back.”
“Even if you got close enough to do it, that wouldn’t stop what’s happening,” I say. “It’s not just about killing Selene; it’s about stopping the momentum of the movement she’s built up. For that, I need to win.”
Winning is the only thing that will put me in a position to undo the changes she’s made. By arranging to give the winner of the bout absolute authority, Selene has created a mechanism to remake Aetheria in her own image, but she’s also given me a way to undo her efforts should I succeed.
I look around the receiving rooms and realize I no longer want to be in them, not when Selene is carefully making sure everyone there is on her side, and people are staring at Alaric, clearly recognizing him.
I take his hand, setting off through the colosseum instead, heading for one of the highest points.
There are stairs leading up to a niche in which a statue of some long-forgotten gladiator stands, looking out over the city.
Will Alaric and I be forgotten the same way, one day?
We both have statues down below. How long will it be before people forget the names attached to them?
In a way, there’s something comforting about the way the world moves on, regardless of what people achieve. It suggests that, however badly things turn out today, eventually, the sweep of history will undo Selene’s efforts.
But that won’t be any comfort to everyone she hurts along the way. It won’t do anything to save the nulls she enslaves, or the people she conquers in the name of her empire. It won’t protect any of the people I care about. I need to do that, out on the sands.
Alaric and I look out over the city. There are more and more people starting to gather around the colosseum.
There’s no room for any of them within, but still, they keep coming, as if they know that the fate of the city is going to be determined soon.
The light is starting to fade across Aetheria, but that won’t make any difference in the colosseum, where magical light will illuminate my bout with Selene.
There are plenty of other magical lights below, in a glittering network of glow stones that looks like a glimmering string of jewelry spread out across the city.
It’s a reminder of the ways in which Selene is right: magic is at the heart of the city.
It influences every aspect of life, and many of the people have small magical talents.
But that doesn't mean those of us with magic have any right to rule. Not Selene. Not even me.
The magical glow stones aren’t the only sources of light below. I can see fires here and there, suggesting spots where buildings have been set ablaze. From this height, I can’t see violence in the streets, but I know it will be there.
“Selene will have her people move against her enemies tonight,” I say. “She’ll want to kill or capture as many as possible so that there isn’t serious opposition as she takes the throne.”
“I know,” Alaric says. “The resistance is protecting everyone we can. Rowan has rallied whatever loyal guards he can. Lorik, Jor’s grandfather, has promised his people will help. There are even some noble bodyguards joining us. We won’t let Selene simply take the city by force.”
That’s good. I don’t want to risk my life, only to find that Selene has taken power anyway.
“Come on,” Alaric says. “It’s time.”
I nod, and we both make our way down through the colosseum to the preparation rooms. I gather my weapons, checking them for any signs of tampering, but they look intact. Beyond, I can hear the rumble of the crowd as they grow impatient, waiting for the fight.
Alaric kisses me. “For luck.”
I’m about to say that I won’t need luck, but that would be a lie. This is a fight that will take every scrap of luck and hope, skill and power, I can find. I move to the gates to the colosseum. There’s no announcement, just a blare of trumpets, and Selene steps out onto the arena floor.
It's been remade again. Shimmering images of the city cover the floor from it, so that the whole of the colosseum looks like some smaller map of Aetheria.
Selene strides among the buildings, passing through what are clearly illusions with ease.
She's dressed for battle in her scale armor and holds her curved blade.
“People of Aetheria,” she calls out, holding her blade aloft. “Welcome to the final battle of the Grand Tournament. Today is the day when I prove to you the power of magic above all else, and claim my right to the imperial throne.”
She points with her blade and, following the line of it, I can see that someone has brought a grand throne out into one corner of the colosseum. A golden circlet in the shape of laurel leaves sits waiting on the arm. Selene clearly intends to crown herself when this is done.
“I am the embodiment of everything Aetheria stands for,” Selene says. “My magic is stronger than anyone else’s here. Soon, I will use that magic to make life better for all of you.”
I know I can’t just let her talk unopposed, so I push open the gate and walk out into the middle of the colosseum. There’s no grand fanfare for me, but that doesn't matter. I look around at the people in the stands, holding my spear aloft.
“Selene calls herself the strongest, the most powerful, the person who deserves to rule,” I call out. “She forgets about the people who matter most. All of you. She wants to win only so she can have more power. Should I win, I promise I will find ways to give that power back to the people.”
“Lyra, Lyra!” some of those in the crowd begin to chant.
Cries of “Selene!” and “For the empire!” rise to counter the chanting, so that now, it feels as though Selene and I are floating in a sea of noise, the tension in the colosseum building as people anticipate what’s going to come.
Selene and I stand opposite one another, both moving our weapons into ready positions, preparing for the fight ahead. All the hardship I’ve suffered, all the fights I’ve had, have come down to this.
The chanting fades, and just for a moment, silence grips the colosseum. Then a single voice rings out from the senate box.
“Begin!”