“I imagine it also helped having my people swarming through the streets, fighting them where they found them,” Alaric says.
“They helped,” Marcus admits.I guess that's about as much as he's going to admit.
From what I heard, they more than helped.The freed prisoners were a force Domitian’s soldiers weren't expecting to face, a group with Sorrel at its heart and plenty of reason to be angry with anyone affiliated with the man who imprisoned them.
They weren't the only ones fighting, though.
“Do we have a final tally of the losses?”I ask, feeling a note of sorrow at the need for such violence in the city.It was the only way to protect Aetheria, though.
“Not yet,” Marcus says.“We lost a few in the guards I was able to rally, but we don't know the numbers for forces raised by the nobles, or for the gangs.Alaric would not better than I do how many of his people he lost.”
“Too many,” Alaric says.He shoots Marcus an angry look.“Too many people lost in the fighting.Too many hurt before that, too, trying to warn you all about what the city was becoming.Too many good people locked away and labeled traitors.”
“You were actively disrupting the games,” Marcus points out."You advocated overthrowing the Senate.You chose to ignore the Senate and try to do things your own way.”
“The games aren't the most important thing in Aetheria,” Alaric snaps.
Marcus shakes his head.“But they do matter.I still believe they make a difference to the city.The Republic is fragile, Alaric.You might want to remember that before you start trying to disrupt it.”
“And you might like to remember just how close a senator was to stealing power and returning Aetheria to empire,” Alaric replies.
I sigh.It's obvious the two of them will never get on.They have very different views of what Aetheria should be, and neither is prepared to back down.Yet both of them have proved crucial in trying to protect the city and its people.
“Do we know how many civilians were hurt in the fighting?”I ask.In a battle within a city, it's inevitable that ordinary people will have been hurt.
“Not that many,” Marcus says.“And our healers are doing what they can for them.Domitian’s troops were trying to seize key locations, rather than ravaging through the city.A couple of noble houses were damaged when the soldiers worked out that they were standing for the city, and a couple of people were killed down near the docks.Beyond that, I think we were quite lucky.”
It does sound lucky, given the scale of the violence that has just taken place.I wonder how much worse it would have been if Domitian hadn't failed quickly.If we hadn't taken him down before, he could seize power.
I have no doubt that he would have executed anyone who stood against him, would have had me killed, and Rowan, and Alaric.Marcus might have survived a little longer because Domitian believed him to be an ally but even his life would have been in danger in the long run.
But Domitian has not been executed for his crimes.Instead, he has a cell within the same prison tower where he was keeping Alaric and the rest.We have evidence of his links to Selene now, too, because that lockbox in his quarters turned out to contain letters between the two of them.
“Rowan wants to see us inside,” Marcus says.He looks over to Alaric.“I'll give the two of you a moment.”
“Alaric can't join us?”I say.
Alaric answers that question.“I am still the leader of a rebellious protest movement.I can't imagine Rowan wants to bring me onto the senate floor right now, even if I am vindicated.And the truth is I still have work to do.How many corrupt senators have been arrested?”
“A couple,” I say.“And some nobles.Lucius and Arin have both been put in cells for their collusion with Domitian.”
“That's not the full extent of the corruption,” Alaric says, as Marcus walks away.“There's more work still to do, and I can't do it if I'm in the open.”His hands take mine.“I want to make up for everything that I've done.I want to bridge all the differences between us, but I can't do it now like this.Aetheria still needs you as a senator, but it also still needs me working underground.”
He kisses me then, soft and swift, the moment a goodbye that brings tears to my eyes.I wish he didn't have to go.I wish we could be together, but I know he's right.An attack like this isn't the end of things; it's just the beginning.If we are to save Aetheria, not just the city but the whole Republic, then we each need to play our parts.
Alaric pulls back from me, heading across the grounds of the palace.In just a few moments, he uses his illusions to make himself shimmer and fade, disappearing from view.I know he will be out there somewhere but even so it feels as though I've lost him once again.
I force myself to head back inside, wishing I could spend more time thinking about Alaric, or even just looking out over the city, but the truth is there's too much to do after the Republic almost fell to Domitian’s efforts.
I go to Rowan's offices.He's waiting there behind the desk, although a few bruises on his face suggest that he hasn't just been sitting inside while the rest of us have been fighting.He's been engaged directly in the defense of the palace, and given that he was one of the deadliest fighters in the arena, I pity anyone who came up against him.
“You did well in the colosseum, Lyra,” Rowan says, as I come in.“Without you, Domitian would have been able to bring his reserves to bear, and we would have been overwhelmed.He would hold the city now if it weren't for you.”
“What's going to happen to him?”I ask.
“That's up to the senate as a whole,” Rowan replies.“But he's a traitor who tried to overthrow the Republic.He's going to pay for that.”
“I'm more worried about what happens after that,” I say.
