“Will we see you back in the arena, Lyra?”Acteon says, in a hopeful tone.“Another fight from you would be a most popular event.”
I shake my head sharply.“That’s not something I’m going to do.”
“That’s a pity,” Acteon says.“You were one of my favorite fighters.You and Alaric.I understand he’s somewhere in the city?”
I smile tightly.“I think so.I don’t know exactly where he is.”
Alaric and I aren’t together anymore.He comes and goes as he pleases.I’ll see him occasionally, but days, even weeks, can pass between visits from him.He told me he was planning to help the people of the city, but he hasn’t told me how.I hope he isn’t planning anything drastic, but with Alaric, it’s hard to tell.He’s always been a man of extreme emotions, and once he’s decided to do something, he doesn’t hold back.
Around me, the nobles are laughing at some joke I've only caught half of.I know I need to be here, but it's hard to force myself to do it.I might be a senator, but I don't believe I fit here.I prefer the ordinary people of the city.I prefer the fighters who train and risk themselves in the Colosseum.I can't help feeling that these nobles and merchants hardly give them a thought at all.
I stand, getting ready to leave.Marcus puts a hand on my arm.
“Is everything all right, Lyra?”
“I just… it’s difficult being here.”
Marcus stands, helping me from the room.“I’m sorry, if I’d known about that room and Lady Elara, I’d have picked somewhere else.”
It isn’t just the room, though.It’s the people in it.“Are we doing the right thing, Marcus?”I ask him as we reach the door.“Bringing back the games like this, getting wealthy sponsors, letting people get hurt?It feels as though we’re slipping backwards, little by little, towards the old empire.”
“Trust me,” Marcus says.“There’s a bigger scheme at play here.It will helpallthe people of Aetheria, given enough time, I promise you.”
It’s easy to believe Marcus.He always sounds so sincere when he talks about helping Aetheria.One day, though, I’d like to hear exactly how he plans to do it.As with Alaric, I seem to need to take it on trust that he has the city’s best interests in mind.For now though, I’m just glad to get away from the receiving room, leaving the arena.I’ve seen enough of the games for one day.
When the games are done and I get back to the senate, I’m determined that I’ll dosomethingto stop them sliding back towards their former “glory”.I will not allow them to become a place of blood and death once again.I’ll do anything it takes to stop that from happening.
CHAPTER THREE
“You want to dowhat?”Domitian Blacksteel demands, his voice booming across the side chamber of the palace where close to a dozen members of the senate are meeting to discuss the games.
I look at him steadily across the great marble table where we’re seated.
“I want to re-examine all the safety measures of the games,” I say.“They’ve slipped, and people are being hurt as a result.”
“Slipped in what way?”a noble senator named Olivia asks, in a bored tone.She’s young and beautiful, dark hair twined with jeweled pins.“You’re being too fastidious, Lyra.”
“People get hurt in every set of games,” I say.“I’m convinced the weapons aren’t as blunt as they were for the first matches.”
“Well, I’m sure the armorers have learned what’s best,” Olivia says, as if that answers everything.
“They’ve certainly learned to take away more plates from the armor,” I shoot back.“It started out protective, but now it’s back to being a bare minimum to keep people from being killed immediately, and to show off as much skin as possible.”
“You say those things as if they’rebadthings,” Domitian says.He makes no secret of not sharing my view of the games.He might have trained gladiators, but he sees nothing wrong with spending their lives.
“You don’t think it’s bad that things are becoming more dangerous for the gladiators with every set of bouts?”I demand.Of course, I know he’d rather have the games back the way they were, with fights to the death and only a few gladiators surviving more than a couple of seasons.But I’m not sure even he can say that openly in front of other senators in the palace.
Theformerpalace.Aetheria’s senate is housed in what was once the home of the emperor, complete with its vast gardens filled with spectacular creatures.Now, it’s the heart of the Republic, a place where all the main decisions affecting the city and the lands beyond are made.
"I think it's normal that we would start out by being overprotective," Domitian says."But slowly, we can refine things to find the spot where the people are given the most excitement without compromising the safety of the fighters too much."
“Compromising their safety?”I repeat.“A young man died in the first games.”
“But that hasn’t been repeated since,” Olivia points out in a more level tone.“The games have shown themselves to be safe.”
Is she even watching the same games as me?Did she see the blood on the sand today?“There are wounds in every bout now.”
“Which is why we have healers on hand,” Domitian points out.“At great expense.Do we really need somanyof them?Couldn't we have a few non-magical healers rather than relying on those with the magical talent for it?"
