The trident wielder continues to scramble back, and I feel horror at the thought of what’s about to happen.I start to reach out for every animal I can feel around the pit, hoping I might be able to create a distraction, to stop this, to dosomething.But it’s far too late.
The woman with the sword steps over to her opponent, pinning her in place with a foot on her chest.She sets the tip of her sword to her opponent’s throat.
“Kill!Kill!Kill!”
She lifts the sword up, and then slams it down into her opponent.Blood sprays.The crowd roars as a wave of anger and disgust flows over me.Thalia is pulling on my arm, but it takes her several seconds to drag me away from the scene of the violence.
“Alaric believes that there are more fights like this all around the city,” Thalia says.“As you can see, some of the disgruntled priests oversee them, and selected crowds attend.”
Of course, the priests would oversee these fights.The games started as an outgrowth of sacrifices to the stones of the city, bleeding magic back into them in the name of the gods.They promoted the emperor almost as another god.Ostensibly, they're neutral figures, but it's no wonder that many of them don't agree with the Republic, which seeks to overturn so many of the traditions of the old empire.
“And people die,” I say.Thalia nods.
It explains why fighters are leaving Ironhold and not coming back.They’re going to these fights.They’re dying.Someone is using them as fodder for pit fights.
We need to stop them, but I'm all too aware that tomorrow, I will be attending a fight that could go just like this.Selene Ravenscroft will fight for her life in the Colosseum, and if she falls, she could be slain exactly the way one young gladiator has been killed here tonight.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Even for games like this, there's a procession down into the city.I watch it coming through the eyes of birds, winding its way down from the granite fortress of Ironhold.There are only a few gladiators in this procession, but their numbers are bolstered by guards and trainers.
I'm watching for trouble, for any sign that Selene is about to escape.For all that she seems undisturbed by the prospect of having to fight for her life, she might be planning to flee.Indeed, that might be thereasonwhy she doesn't seem bothered by any of it.Maybe she isn’t worried about dying in the fight because she doesn’t plan to be there for it.I'm convinced that there's some bigger scheme here, so I watch closely through the eyes of birds even as I make my way to the Colosseum from the palace, with Marcus by my side.
“You look worried,” he says, smiling and waving at the crowds who've gathered before the Colosseum, determined to find seats before there's no more space.The ordinary people push and shove to try to get in, while the nobles and the senators proceed at a more leisurely pace, knowing that there are private boxes waiting for them.
“I'm keeping watch on Selene,” I explain.
“You're worried she might try to break free?”Marcus asks.“If she does, that's agoodthing.Even if she escapes, she looks like a coward.And if she just tries to fight?With that dampener in place, she's no match for the guards, and the penalty for her trying to run would be immediate execution.”
“You really want her dead badly,” I observe.
“She's a danger to the city, and she's shown that she won't keep away,” Marcus says.“Honestly, Lyra, this would have been easier if you and Rowan had killed her along with the emperor.”
I can't understand how easy he finds it to talk about killing someone like that.Is it just the ultimate expression of a politician’s pragmatism?The willingness to do whatever it takes to keep Aetheria safe?
“I couldn't kill her in cold blood after she’d helped,” I say.“I thought it would be enough for her to leave and not come back.”
“And now sheisback,” Marcus points out.“And we don’t know what harm might come from that.”
“Which is why I'm watching her,” I say, keeping half my attention on Selene through the birds.Even most beast whisperers couldn't do what I'm doing for so long and at such distance.It would hurt the animals or risk transforming the beast whisperer into something more animal and less human.
Marcus takes my arm to lead me and make sure that my divided attention doesn't cause me to walk into anyone.I don't tell him that I could probably manage without him doing it, because I like his presence so close to me, like the touch of his skin against mine.
It means we walk into the colosseum arm in arm, looking like nothing so much as some loving couple out for a stroll.In a lot of ways, that's exactly what we are, but it also presents a nice image for the crowd, and I'm sure Marcus knows that.The people already in the stadium roar their approval as they see us, and Marcus stands there for a moment with me, the two of us waving, enjoying the moment.We're as much a part of the spectacle as the fights to follow are going to be.
We make our way to the interior of the Colosseum, and I can see Selene making her way through the city.Crowds line the route, many of them booing and hissing at her as a threat to the Republic.But some of them are cheering and throwing flowers, treating Selene exactly the way they would if it were some popular gladiator, rather than a prisoner on her way to her execution.
“I’m going to check the final preparations,” Marcus says.“I want everything to be perfect today.”
I nod.“I’ll look around to make sure there aren’t going to be any problems, and keep watching Selene.”
“Just make sure you’re ready in time for the contests,” Marcus says.“You need to be seen in the senate’s box.We need to put on a show of unity among the senators against this threat to Aetheria.”
In other words, I need to be a part of the spectacle again.I need the crowds to see me as Selene is slain, if she is.I wonder if it's just about presenting a united front or if it's more than that.There are days when I think Marcus promotes himself and me so much that we’re seen as the faces of the senate, ahead of everyone else.I wonder if he plans to try to become the first senator at some point, or perhaps even more than that.
I make my way through the Colosseum, hearing the people arriving, the crowds taking their place in the seats around the sands, the bookmakers calling out odds, the vendors offering food and drink.I wander down to the beast pits, but they're empty today.There are no plans to use creatures in any of the fights.We use fewer of them than before because it's hard to control them.I could intervene to stop them killing people, but there are risks even to that.The animals could be hurt, even if people aren’t.It's better not to use them.
My aerial view shows me that Selene and the other gladiators have arrived.I know the routines they’ll be going through now, heading to the preparation areas, warming up, maybe getting a massage.They’ll be nervous, and not just Selene and Sorrel, who are fighting in a death bout.Every gladiator here knows there are risks to fighting, even with semi-sharpened blades and plenty of healers on hand.I can imagine them pacing and can remember the build-up of adrenaline that always came to me with the sounds of the crowd.
