“My friends, in this place we see the true virtues of Aetheria.We gather, and we grow in strength.Please enjoy your evenings.Let the first bouts commence.”
I pull back into the crowd of people, heading for the spot where Thalia sits.Rather than sitting next to her where Marcus might be able to spot my features, I kneel beside her like some obedient servant waiting for instructions.
“Someone's getting a little too much into her role,” Thalia says.
“Because Marcus is here,” I whisper to her.
“I saw him.I heard him.”
Thalia says it as though it's nothing she didn't expect, whereas it tears my world apart.Marcus… he was involved in pit fights before, but that was just to get close to Domitian.Now, it seems clear that he's the main organizer and that everything I thought I knew about him was a lie.
Except… in some ways, he's been remarkably honest with me.He's never made a secret of his enthusiasm for the games or for many of the old ways of the city.What he's failed to mention is just how far he's prepared to go with it.
And that hurts.This is a man who knows how I feel about the games and about the old ways of the empire, but he's still prepared to do this while being in a relationship with me.More than that, he proposed marriage to me.Was that just to distract me and keep me occupied with thoughts of him rather than the illegal fights he's running?
Why is he doing all this when he's already a senator and a respected merchant?That's hard to answer with any certainty unless I confront him, but the moment I start to rise to do that, Thalia put her hand on my shoulder.To anyone watching, it probably looks like a wealthy employer chastising a servant for moving out of place, but I can feel the tension in her and see the fear.
“Don't do anything stupid,” she whispers sharply to me.“I get that this is all some shock to you, that you've been naive enough to believe that a man like him can be good.But if you blow our cover now, we're both dead.There are too many people here to take on, even with everything I've heard about you as a fighter.”
I push against her, restraining her hand for a moment, but I know Thalia is correct.I can't give away our disguises like that.
“Then I don't confront him,” I say.“I find proof of his involvement.I show Rowan and the other senators exactly what he's doing.”
Thalia hesitates, but nods.“If you think it will make any difference.I don't have a lot of trust in them doing anything about this.”
“With the right proof, they will,” I insist.I hope it's true.
I still don't know why Marcus is doing this as I stand and move into the crowd, mingling carefully.I play the part of an awestruck fan as I move up to one of the servants.
“Who's that?”I ask, pointing to Marcus.
“You don't know Marcus Larius?”the servant says.
“That's him?”I feign a note of surprise.“Heorganizes all this?”
“You didn’t know that already?”the servant asks, sounding a little suspicious.I guess the only people invited to this place are the ones who are already in the know.Thankfully, I have an excuse ready.
“The woman who brought me here, a merchant, didn't tell me much about it at all.She isn't really interested in talking to me.”
The servant looks me up and down, then shrugs, obviously realizing what I'm meant to be.“I suppose she wouldn’t tell you much.You understand it would be dangerous for you to talk about this place?”
It sounds less like a threat and more like she's trying to help me by warning me of the dangers.
I nod, making myself look excited.“I'm not interested in causing trouble.I just… it's really him?Really Senator Marcus?”
It's hard to make myself act as if I'm excited and breathless and awestruck when inside, I'm mostly just hurt.Marcus has betrayed me with this, and I don't know if I'll ever be able to forgive him for it.My heart feels as though it's breaking, and I can'tshowany of that heartbreak because it would get me and Thalia killed.
“Are you looking to trade up?”the servant says.“I wouldn't bother trying.He has a lover already, and from what I hear, he talks about her standing beside him, holding power next to him so much it's obvious he's not interested in anyone else.”
So he hasn't betrayed me that way, but in some ways, it doesn't make it better because of the rest of what the servant said.Marcus wants someone to stand beside him as he gains power.I can start to see some of the pieces fitting together.I can see what he gains from these illegal fights now.Money obviously, but also influence and respect with large groups of those connected to the old empire, and who long for a return to aspects of it.Marcus makes sure that he's seen during the normal games.He's the most visible member of the senate.And he wants me by his side because it's a good alliance.
Is Marcus contemplating making himself into an emperor?At least turning himself into the first senator in place of Rowan?
I have no time to ask more questions because the servant wanders off to take food to a noble.I set off back into the crowd, hoping I can learn more, but the first of the fights is about to begin.
Two men walk out, both blindfolded, both holding staffs with a blade at either end.Marcus speaks up.
“We're lucky today to have two fighters who are evenly matched in their talents.Tressus has hearing so acute that he can pick out the world around him without sight.Marcellus can feel the pressures of the air so that the whole world is a map around him.Both have the skills to fight like this, blindfolded, but we will see who is best.Begin!”
