“Do you?”I ask.“You're suggesting things that no senator should ever be putting forward, Marcus.”
I still don't understand why he's pushing so hard for this.It's too much, and Marcus must see that.
“Lyra’s right, Marcus,” Rowan says.“We're not the emperor, or even Domitian.We do things the right way.If I hear that you've been trying to arrange some accident for Selene… I'll have you brought before the senate to answer charges.”
Marcus looks angry but nods."Then what's your plan, Rowan?Keep ignoring this?Pay no attention to whatever support she's building?”
“The law is the law,” Rowan says.“We accepted her plea to fight for her freedom in the games.Now we have to go with that, wherever it leads.”
“It leads to disaster,” Marcus says.“For all of us and for the city.Can't you see that?”
Rowan turns to me.“Lyra, would you take Marcus home, please?It's obvious he's just going to keep arguing for this, and I don't want to hear it.Marcus, you need to remember that you're a senator, and there are limits to what you can do.”
“And you need to remember that we represent the most powerful city in the world,” Marcus retorts.“There are fewer limits on any of us than you imagine, Rowan.”
I take Marcus's arm.I can feel the tension in him.Is it just because he's lost this argument?
“Come on,” I say.“Rowan’s right.There's nothing useful that we can do here.We should head back.”
Reluctantly, Marcus nods, finally accepting that he's not going to change anyone's mind here.Maybe when I get him back to his villa, I can learn more about why he's so determined to see Selene dead.At the very least, I hope I can draw some of the anger out of him.The city needs him, needs all of us.Selene is indeed a threat, but that just means we need to work harder and show the people a better way.We can't do that if we're consumed with the desire to kill our opponents.
I hope I can show Marcus that because his obsession with Selene could prove almost as dangerous as she is.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
I lie in Marcus’ bed with his arm around me as he stares into my eyes.Some of the pain and anger that he felt before seemed to have fled from him in the time since we returned to his villa.We chased it away together, his lips finding mine almost the moment we crossed the threshold.He carried me to his bed, and then…
“I can always tell when you're thinking about me,” he says.“There's this faint smile you have.There are moments when I wish I could spend the rest of my life just here in my bed with you, Lyra.”
I laugh.“Somehow, I don't think either of us would get very much done like that.And I think, after a couple of days of us ignoring our duties as senators, Rowan would send people round to look for us.”
“We could ignore them," Marcus says with a smile."Bar the doors, hold off a whole battalion of city guards.”
“When did this dream scenario start to involve us fighting the guards?”I ask.
“Do you think I wouldn't fight anyone who tried to come between us?”Marcus counters, sounding suddenly serious.
In moments like this, moments when we can just forget the differences we have when it comes to our view of the city, things can be so good between us.It's so natural sometimes just to melt into Marcus’s arms, and I wonder, if neither of us were senators, life would be simpler.
I stand and dress, knowing that Marcus is watching me and not caring.I go over to the window while he puts his own clothes back on, seeing that it's now early evening.
“We should get some food,” Marcus says, joining me.“We've been in here for a while.”
We head out into his villa, and it seems his servants have anticipated our needs, setting up food on a low table between two couches.Marcus reclines on one while I take the other, slowly nibbling on cheese, bread and grapes.It sometimes still feels strange to me to have others serving me like this, whereas Marcus seems to take it as his natural right.Probably that's in part because he's spent far longer being wealthy and important than I ever have.Even now, I don't have wealth of my own; most of the fine things I own are gifts from him, Alaric or Rowan, while my fine accommodation is just a function of being a senator here in Aetheria, where I could claim rooms in the palace for my own.
If I were not a senator, I would be a poor villager.If Marcus were not, he would still be a wealthy merchant with a fleet of ships.
“Are you ready to talk to me yet?”I ask him, as we sip wine.
“Talk to you?”Marcus echoes, tilting his head to one side.Even now, he's very distracting, but I'm determined not to let him deflect me too much from what I want to know.
“When you kissed me as soon as we got in, I got the feeling that was because you didn't want to talk about anything,” I say.
“And you think I do now?”Marcus asks.
“I just want to know why you're so angry about all this,” I say.“Why you're so determined to kill Selene.”
“You think I shouldn't be?”he replies.“I know that you're not happy with the idea of killing at all, and I even understand why after the time you spent as a gladiator.”
