All I can do is keep playing my role as a senator.Alaric, Marcus, Domitian… their schemes will play out in time.Until then, I need to keep working for the people of the city.
CHAPTER TWENTY TWO
BecauseI’m a senator, I have duties I can’t avoid.
I walk down from Ironhold, caught up in a procession that seems to stretch into the distance.It’s something I never thought I’d be a part of again, but it seems that the Anniversary Games have changed the rules for everyone.
I'm not dressed as a gladiator this time.Instead, I wear the pure white toga of a senator, walking with the others as a part of the procession, presumably to represent the honor and seriousness of the Republic.Personally, I think we look like a gaggle of geese being driven to market.
Or slaughter.We're accompanied by guards in shining white and gold armor, after all.Nominally, they're there to protect us, so why do I feel surrounded, hemmed in, watched?Each time I look at one of them, I wonder which of my rivals on the Senate might have bought their loyalty, and whether they might thrust a sword through my back given the chance.
Rowan isn't a part of the procession.As usual, he seems determined to avoid the games, even the Anniversary Games, celebrating the anniversary of the Republic's foundation.I can understand why he doesn't want to watch the fighting but I wonder if, in doing so, he isn't just giving Marcus and the others a free hand.They're the ones who are seen by the crowds.They're the ones who get to exercise authority within the Colosseum, being seen as crucial leaders within the city.It wouldn't take them much from there to push Rowan out.
Marcus seems to be enjoying himself, smiling and waving as we make our way down into the slums.Someone throws rose petals at his feet.Another woman rushes up to him, kissing him on the cheek.Despite my arguments with Marcus, despite my split from him, I feel a small flicker of jealousy, even now.
It isn’t just the senators in the procession, of course, and we certainly aren’t the reason the streets throng with people, citizens leaning out of the windows of their houses just to catch a glimpse of us.The gladiators are the main attraction, already dressed in armor that seems far too insubstantial to offer true protection.Cesca walks near the front of them, blowing kisses to the crowd, obviously enjoying the moment.
She walks over to me.“How does it feel, not being the center of attention anymore?”
“Just be careful,” I say.“The games are becoming more dangerous by the day.”
“You think they’d kill me?”Cesca asks, with a laugh.
“In a heartbeat,” I reply.“You know as well as I do that the crowd loves it when fighters are built up, only to be torn down later.”
She laughs again, but there's a brittle edge to it."You're just jealous that I'm a revered, beautiful gladiator, while you're just a dried-up old senator now."
Cesca moves away from me, picking out a young man from the crowd and teasing him with the prospect of a kiss before jolting him with a flicker of lightning and spinning away.In the old days, using magic against a citizen would have seen her executed, but now it draws a roar of approval from the watching citizens.
The procession is a grand affair, with acrobats and entertainers drawing the eyes of the crowd around as we went our way through the city, making our way to the Colosseum.The streets are as full as I've ever seen them, people pouring into the arena into a tide.
The group of senators makes it inside, heading up through the Colosseum to the emperor's old box and to their own boxes, in the case of the wealthiest of them.Some are waiting in the receiving rooms, probably making the kind of clandestine deals I'll hate.
I watch the proceedings through the eyes of as many animals as possible, knowing that Alaric is planning to try something, waiting for the moment when he’s going to do… whatever he’s planning to do.
I haven't warned the guards, haven't told anyone in the Senate.I hope Alaric won't be foolish enough to risk himself, but if he is, I won't try to stop him.
Marcus stands up in front of everyone, at the front of the emperor’s box, standing alone now rather than with me by his side.It’s all too easy to imagine him as an emperor, using the games to gain authority for himself, unchecked by the limits of the Republic.
"My friends!People of Aetheria.Just two short years ago, the emperor fell, brought down by the heroes of the city.Heroes who rose from within this very Colosseum to fight back and found the Republic you live within now!"
Shouts and applause ripple around the Colosseum.
"So today, we will celebrate them and the place that produced them.Today, we'll have games that show the bravery and honor of the gladiators who fight within this Colosseum.They will risk themselves for your entertainment, and for the honor of Aetheria!"
The shouting of the crowd intensifies, but another voice sounds in it.A single figure leaps down from the stands, moving to stand in the middle of the sands.My heart almost freezes in my chest as I recognize Alaric there.
He's really doing it.He's really being foolish enough to challenge the Senate here and now.I feel sick with the thought of what's about to happen.Does Alaric really believe that he can bring down the corruption within Aetheria here and now?
"People of Aetheria!"he calls out."You're being lied to."
Silence falls briefly around the Colosseum, and I guess that magic must play a part in that, because I can't imagine the crowd being quiet enough that Alaric's voice would carry so well without it.I can feel the faint push of mind magic spilling out over the spectators, pushing their emotions.
Alaric points towards the emperor's box."The Senate has been captured by a small group who don't care about Aetheria, who only want power for themselves.They give you more and more violence so they can present themselves as the people giving you what you want.They make deals behind your backs to bring death back to this place, to force people to fight whether they want to or not.They use the games to distract you, so they can enact criminal schemes without you noticing!"
“Be silent, traitor!”Domitian calls out.
“You call me a traitor, even as you work with those who would overthrow our republic!”Alaric calls out.“Citizens of Aetheria, these senators have their positions because of you, but what have they done for you?How have they improved lives for the ordinary people?What have they done for you other than take from you?Rise up!Take control of the games!Show them you won’t be controlled!”
