“I hope I’m not interrupting anything.”
Marcus gets up quickly, maybe too quickly, turning to face the newcomer.I stand to see a brawny gladiator standing there, a wooden sword in either hand.His head is closely shaven and his face looks as though he’s been punched too many times to count.If he hadn’t spoken, maybe the disguise would even be effective.
“I know it’s you, Alaric,” I say with a smile.
Alaric curses and lets the illusion fall for a moment.“I thought I might get halfway through a practice bout before you guessed.”
“What is this?”I ask, as Alaric puts his disguise back in place once again.
“Marcus sent me a message,” Alaric says.“He explained that you were going to start training again, and he wanted me to come down to help.”
That’s a surprise, Marcus actively asking Alaric to help.I would have thought he’d want this to be just for the two of us.
“Alaric and I can give you different things in this,” Marcus says.“I can mimic opponents who are stronger, while he’s faster.”
“And while clearlyno onecan match my magic,” Alaric says, with a gesture to his illusory disguise, “it hardly prepares you for anyone who might throw magic at you more offensively.”
Marcus nods.“As far as the city is concerned, I’m getting in a series of different trainers to help distract you by letting you train to fight.”
“All of whom will move with surprising grace and speak with far more wit than the average gladiator,” Alaric assures me.He’s probably enjoying the opportunity to be a different gladiator every day.“Now, let’s see just how out of practice you are, Lyra.”
The answer is very, after so long confined in the city’s underground prison and then as a different kind of prisoner in Marcus’ home.I’m no longer half-starved and beaten, but I’ve clearly lost an edge of speed and strength.My body remembers the moves I need to make but, as Alaric comes in with his twin blades, I’m not quite fast enough to keep them at bay.In our first practice bout, those wooden swords connect with me a dozen times or more.
“You’ll get there, Lyra,” he assures me.“The dampener is more of a worry.IthinkI can find someone who might be able to alter it subtly, but doing that without attracting attention will take time.”
Time in which I’ll be vulnerable.Time in which all I’ll have to protect myself is my own speed and strength.I’m determined to get those back to where they should be, because the alternative is to be helpless, and I’m sick of being helpless.
“Let’s go again,” I say, and Marcus steps forward to take his turn.
“Step,” Alaric calls out from the sidelines.“Pivot.Now duck.”
I barely duck the sweep of Marcus’ sword in time.With Alaric watching from the sidelines, I have a trainer watching me who won’t let me get away with poor technique, while I have an opponent in front of me whose magic and strength make him a threat whenever I’m not careful.
They swap around twice more before Marcus finally calls a halt to it.
“Enough,” he says, holding up his hands as I knock the sword from his grasp.“I have to change and then head to the senate.You’re welcome to keep working here, though.”
Alaric shakes his head.“I wish I could, but I’m still working to locate some of the missing members of the resistance.Rowan is helping with that, but I still need to be there.”
While I’ll be stuck here, doing what I can to coordinate the messages that come in but ultimately just waiting and trying to get stronger.Particularly with the dampener in place, I need to turn my body into a finely honed weapon once again.
I just hope I’ll be able to do it before the time comes for us to fight for Aetheria.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
I sleep deeply, days of training sending me into unbroken slumber.I find myself dreaming of Marcus, and of Alaric, the two of them dancing around me in something that starts off as a fight, then becomes a true dance, each of them snatching me from the other as we whirl through the dark.One set of lips finds me, then the other, so I can’t tell who is who after a second or two.I can feel hands on me and I lean into that touch…
…only to find that someone is shaking me awake.
“Wake up, Lyra,” Marcus whispers sharply in the dark.I open my mouth to ask what’s going on, but he puts a hand over my mouth to stop me, putting a finger to his own lips as he shakes his head.Marcus points to the window of my room and I understand, rising in silence, throwing on a simple tunic and moving to look.
I see figures moving quietly through the near darkness, avoiding the patches of light thrown out by magical globes.They’re keeping low, obviously trying to avoid being seen.
If it had been just one figure, I might have assumed it was Alaric, but this is far more than that.There must be almost a dozen people out there.
“Your guards?”I whisper, keeping my voice as low as possible.Like most nobles, Marcus has a few guards to prevent exactly this kind of attack.
Marcus shrugs and shakes his head.Clearly there hasn’t been any outcry from the guards, which might mean these figures simply slipped past them, or it might mean his guards are already dead.Marcus’ servants might be able to help us, but do I really want him to pit them against these sneaking figures in the dark?
