I move through the empty spaces of the colosseum.Without people, it’s merely a shell, a hollow thing that can neither help nor hurt anyone.As I told the citizens just last night, they’re the part of Aetheria that matters the most.I can still feel the pulsing of the stones that amplify magic in the colosseum.Good.That will make the next part easier.
I walk out onto the grand boulevard beyond the colosseum, lined with statues of those who've fought.There are people waiting.Rowan is there, and Alaric, along with a group of men and women, the other two have found, ones whose magical talents will help with what we must do.There must be at least a hundred of them.
There are more people watching beyond them, obviously having guessed that something is happening.Maybe a few have even gotten hints of what we’re going to do here.
“Will they be enough?”I ask Rowan.
He nods.“If we use our magic correctly.”
“And you’re ready?”
He nods again.“I think I’ve been hoping for this moment almost since the senate forced me to help with the rebuilding.”
I can still remember my first sight of Rowan as I returned to Aetheria, dressed in his senator’s toga and using his control over stone to help reconstruct the colosseum.Now, it’s time to do the opposite.
“Then let’s begin,” I say.
There isn’t much I can do to help with this part.I’ve already done what I can, summoning beetles to eat the wooden supports of the stadium, then sending them away.This part is for Rowan and the others.
I feel them starting to use their magic, each of them working in a different way.Some conjure planes of force or summon wisp like constructs.Some use telekinetic abilities to tear at beams, while Rowan just uses his control over stone.The magic builds and builds between them, into something thatdemandsthe world change.
The colosseum collapses slowly, seeming to fold in on itself.It’s important that we destroy it that way, rather than blowing it up in a conflagration of power.It’s at the heart of the city, after all, and the destruction such an approach might wreak would be incalculable.
As it is, the noise and dust as the colosseum collapses is enough to make me feel blind and deaf, losing sight of the tumbling walls and the sections of building that drop one after another, stone pouring into the center of the arena to make a mound that’s still higher than all the buildings around us.
It feels like an age before the dust settles, and I can see the aftermath.
The colosseum isn’t there anymore.There’s rubble, somuchrubble that I’m sure it will take weeks of digging to clear it all.But there are no walls standing high over the city anymore, set with niches to hold statues.There are no stands for people to sit in while they watch the fights.There’s no stadium at all.
It feels...strange, seeing that absence.So much of my life in the last couple of years has been spent around the colosseum that I can feel its loss like a physical wound, but it also feels like a relief.
Alaric steps forward now, spreading his hands wide as he calls on his illusions to show people what might be there, given time.He depicts gardens filled with sculptures and monuments, places for people to meet, and crucially, for them to remember.He only holds it for a few seconds, but even that is crucial.This is a moment not just about the destruction of a cruel past, but about moving into a brighter future.
Now, we just have to work out how to get there.
EPILOGUE
Alaric wakes me with a kiss.I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of waking up next to my beautiful, rebellious, former noble.Normally, such a kiss would be a prelude to both of us staying in bed as long as possible, but today, Alaric is the one pulling me from my slumber, passing me the dress of grey and gold I’m going to wear today.
“Come on,” he says.“We can’t be late for the grand opening.”
He's already dressed in the dark clothes of a noble, his hair tied back, leaving him looking elegant and eager to get going.I'm almost as eager, since this is the moment when we get to see our efforts come to fruition, at least in one area.
We’ve had to do so many things in the months since we brought down Selene and destroyed the colosseum.The new senate is very different to the old version, the most corrupt elements weeded out.The guards serve the city, not the interests of whichever nobles can pay them the most.The forum has been turned into a useful element of government, with ideas picked up there and brought before the senate for discussion.
In a lot of ways, we’re making progress, but there always seems to be more to do.There are always those who profit too much from their corruption to give in easily.The gangs don’t control whole areas of the city anymore, but they still exist in the shadows.Olivia might have retired from politics to focus on throwing lavish parties, but I’d be a fool to believe no one is being influenced in them.
“You’re brooding,” Alaric says.
“I am not,” I shoot back.
“Staring into space while you think about all the horrible things that might happen if you stop even for a moment?”Alaric guesses.“What would you call it?”
He has a point, so I give in and let him whisk me away down the corridors of the palace.As a senator, I get rooms once again, along with all the others who've been voted onto Aetheria's ruling body.
We hurry out through the grounds, past people who call out to us, probably wanting to stop and talk, or maybe seeking help with some problem.On another day, I would have stopped to speak with each one, but today, there’s only one thing that matters.
We make our way through the city to the spot where the colosseum used to stand.There's no trace of it now.Instead, gardens stretch out in every direction, filled with statues and hidden spots.The stones that amplified magic have been set in the gardens, letting them help anyone who needs the extra power, rather than hiding them away in Aetheria's temples.The gardens are designed to show off that magic for the entertainment of the people, but without killing.I see birds that shimmer into whole flocks of illusory copies and a small cat that seems to disappear even as I watch, changing color to match the landscape.
