“We have to go to the receiving rooms?”I ask.Marcus nods and I don’t argue.
We go up through the colosseum, to the familiar rooms where servants wait to serve wine and food has been set out for patrons of the gladiators.There are several nobles there as I walk in on Marcus’ arm.Some of them look at me with worry, as if they think I might upset their careful plans, while others look at me with consideration, even admiration.
“Do you think one victory is going to save her?”Olivia asks, coming over to us.
“I think you should be more worried about yourself,” I reply.“Selene isn’t happy that you tried to have me and Marcus killed.She isn’t going to let that rest when this is done, Olivia.”
Olivia looks momentarily horrified, as if realizing just how much danger she’s put herself in through her actions.Then her expression hardens.
“She’ll understand I’m only working for her benefit,” Olivia says, after a second.“And you’ll still end up dead, soon enough.That was the easiest fight you’re going to have.”
I consider her levelly, but it’s Marcus who speaks.
“Have you thought about what happens if Selene doesn’t win, the way you hope?”he says.“Have you considered all the bridges you’ve burned getting to this point, Olivia?Do you really need more enemies?”
“I know I’m more of a friend to her than you ever will be,” Olivia says.
There’s no point talking to someone so completely in Selene’s pocket.I can feel the tinge of psychomancy on her, but even without it, Olivia was never my friend.It’s easy to turn and walk away, heading out from the receiving rooms, into the main areas of the colosseum.
“The nobles will wish to speak with you,” Marcus says.
I shake my head.“They’re not the ones I need to speak with.”
I see that now.The colosseum is set up so that those with power and influence can gain access to the gladiators, but the whole system misunderstands something about the nature of power in Aetheria.The receiving rooms and the noble boxes assume power comes from wealth and political importance.It’s something even Marcus believes, coming from a wealthy family and having made himself into a senator.
But the people I really want to talk to aren’t in those refined and separate spaces, so instead, I head down to the spaces where the bookmakers have their stalls and the hawkers sell cheap food from trays and stands.There are ordinary people there, many times more than in the receiving rooms.Some are gathered around the bookmakers’ stalls, trying to collect winnings or place bets on the upcoming bouts.Others are buying cheap wine or bread studded with olives and cheese.
I don’t know whether they see me first in my gladiatorial gear, or Marcus in his senator’s toga.Either way, it feels as though every eye in the place is on us as we walk into their midst.Hands reach out, wanting to touch me as if doing even that much is some kind of blessing.People walk up, wanting to clasp my hand, or Marcus’.
“That was a great fight,” one man says.“Although I doubt the bookmakers are happy with you for taking off your dampener.”
Over his shoulder, I can see the boards proclaiming the odds for the various fighters.Those on me are shortening rapidly, either as a result of my victory, or because I have my full magic back.
But this isn’t just about the odds, isn’t just about winning my fights.It’s about the hope I can give people by doing it.I can see the people watching us, and I know they’re waiting for me to say something.So I do.
“Today was just the beginning,” I say.“I plan to fight my way through the whole tournament.I want to fight my way to face Selene Ravenscroft herself.”
That’s exactly the kind of thing they’re probably expecting from me, a fighter who wants to win everything, but the next part probably isn’t.
“I don’t want to do it because she’s a formidable opponent.I certainly don’t want to do it because of some twisted idea that those with the most magic should fight for power and status.”I can see the people around me looking at me with renewed intensity, but I need to say everything now.“Selene Ravenscroft is trying to steal this city from you, its people.She wants to establish herself as a new empress, and she’s telling you that because she has more magic than you, it’s only natural.I’mhere to tell you that she’s wrong, and that Selene has only ever thought about herself, not the people of this city.I’m not fighting for my own status, but to protect Aetheria from her.If necessary, I’ll do it out there on the sands.Out there, she can’t manipulate people, can’t gain votes with bribes or threats.”
People are looking at me in shock, as though they can’t believe I’m saying all this.I can barely believe I’m doing it either, but I don’t stop.
“I will stand up to her, fight her with everything I have, but this isn’t just about me,” I say.“This is about all of you, and what you want Aetheria to be.I’m not asking you to decide now, but tonight, when you return to your homes, I want you to consider whether you truly want Selene’s vision for the city, or whether you want a place where everyone, whether they have magic or not, can be free.”
“Lyra!”someone in the crowd chants.“Lyra.”
Even as other people start to take up the chant, I think I recognize the first voice.I look around to see Alaric standing in the crowd, but his face is quickly disguised behind illusions once again and he slips into the mass of humanity.
“It’s time for us to go,” Marcus says, putting an arm around me.I go with him.I’ve done what I need to do, for now.I’ll rest and prepare in his home, ready for the next round of the tournament.When it comes, I’ll fight with everything I have.
But the sands of the colosseum aren’t my only battlefield.I recognize now that they’re most important because of the platform they give me to persuade Aetheria’s people.Maybe, if I persuade enough of them, I might be able to stop Selene’s plans.Maybe I’ll find a way to do it without leaving Aetheria so weak its neighbors immediately invade.And maybe, just maybe, I can turn the tide that’s been pushing the city towards corruption and violence for too long.
But I’ll still have to fight.I still have a long way to go before the Grand Tournament is done and even with my magic, I doubt my path will be easy.Olivia and others like her have done everything they can to give Selene an easy path through the tournament.With me, they’ll do the opposite, giving me the strongest foes and most deadly situations they can find.
And at the end of it, if I survive, Selene Ravenscroft will be waiting for me on the sands.We’ll finish this, and I wish I could say I knew which of us will win.
EPILOGUE: SELENE
