I spread it out on the desk in my rooms, reading carefully. There are names there, and beside each name there are details of their involvement in the death matches, but also in other things. There's a note about a money lender who employs thugs to hurt and kill those who do not pay. There are details of bribes to different officials. There are careful notes about smuggling, about which priests still sacrifice people to the stones of the city, about those individuals who make slaves of people in all but name.
I understand what this scroll is now, but I want Marcus to be the one to say it.
“What am I reading, Marcus?” I ask him.
“These are the details I've been getting by continuing to run the bouts,” Marcus says. “You can see how much I've gotten already, but there's a chance for more the longer I keep going. Consider these names a gift, Lyra, to do with as you will.”
“A gift?” I echo.
Marcus shrugs. “Well, I know you're not really someone who would appreciate a piece of jewelry or a fine wine, so this was the next best thing.” He grins briefly, looking boyish and handsome, but then his expression turns serious once again. “And I wanted to prove to you that I'm serious about what I'm doing with the matches. Someone like Alaric might talk about rooting out corruption, but I'mactuallydoing it. I'm the one identifying the dark dealings of the city, the people involved in every criminal activity.”
“By being a part of it all,” I point out.
Marcus nods. “Because it's necessary. If my life has shown me anything, it's that you should never shy away from doing what's necessary. Things only get worse if you do.”
I can't imagine what it took him to rebuild his family's fortunes and their trading fleets. I worry that not everything will have been right or ethical. Marcus is quick to justify what he's doing, but can I deny what he's just given me? If I bring this evidence to the guards or a judge, I could bring down large portions of the corruption within the city at a stroke.
Of course doing that will expose what Marcus is doing. It will make him a target to everyone he's currently working alongside in the underground matches, and it might see him punished for his involvement in those matches. Do I really want to destroy corruption in the city like that? Do I really want to hurt him like that?
What he's done with this scroll is to put his safety and freedom in my hands. He's shown me what he's doing but he's also shown me that he trusts me with his life. It’s a gesture, but it’s a powerful one.
“How should I use this scroll?” I ask him.
“Maybe don't use all the names at once but you could start to leak pieces of information. I am, some people I think I can trust.”
“It's hard to know who to trust when Selene is using mind magic to get her way in the city,” I say.
Marcus nods his agreement. “But I hope we won't have to worry about her much longer.”
I frown. “What do you mean?”
“I mean that she'll have another match tomorrow, and I intend for this one to be her last.”
It’s what I was thinking about but Marcus seems to have simply done it. In his way, he's far more pragmatic than I am. I don't know whether to be impressed by that or worried by the ease with which he can talk about killing someone.
“How do you intend to make sure of that?” I ask. Do I really want to know the details?
“I've hand-picked this opponent,” Marcus says. “It's one of the other things I've been doing in the death matches. By observing them I've been able to establish who the strongest fighters are when it matters. And by sparing the right people at the right times, I've been able to make sure that there are now several gladiators who owe me their lives.”
I sigh. “You know how all this sounds don't you, Marcus? All this manipulation and double-dealing?”
He moves closer to me, taking me in his arms. “Like I'm prepared to do whatever it takes to protect you, us, and the city?”
There's no denying his strength as he holds me, the kind of strength that would take on anyone to keep me safe. Only I wonder if Marcus would do that if he felt that I was an obstacleto the things he wants to achieve. His lips brush mine, but I pull back from the kiss.
“It's too soon, Marcus,” I say. “Your scroll tells me there's more going on with your involvement in the death matches than I assumed at first, but you've still spent a long time lying to me. I can't help feeling every time I'm with you that you have some game going on in the background.”
He touches my face. “I have so many games in the city, but none of them are designed to hurt you, Lyra. I wish I could make you believe that. I hope that once you go through the scroll, and start to use it to remove some of the corruption in the city, you'll see that I'm sincere. Soon, Selene Ravenscroft will be gone, the corruption in the city will be gone, and we can work together to make Aetheria everything it should be.”
I can almost see the vision of the life together he's offering me. I can imagine us both standing together in the senate box of the colosseum, while the crowd cheers for us. Only I find myself wondering whether it will be cheering for us or for the death of some gladiator far below, while Marcus stands as something close to an emperor.
I have so many feelings for him, but I don't know if I can go along with everything he wants for the city.
“I should leave,” Marcus says. He heads for the door, and a part of me wants to call him back. But I don't. I have a lot of thinking to do.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Isit in the gardens of the palace as the sun starts to rise over the horizon. I've been out here all night, trying to think. There are so many things I need to work out, even as I feel relatively helpless.
