As usual, I end up bruised and battered, hitting the mat again and again. But Lucius heavily favors his right side, and I wait for my chance.
Finally, I strike, distracting him with my left knee to his gut. When he shakes his head, slapping out at me, I dodge, sweeping my left leg behind his right ankle and twisting, shoving his shoulder with my closed fist.
Lucius hits the mat with a thump.
“Yesses,” I crow.
He climbs to his feet, a hint of amusement entering his eyes. “Taking your wins where you can find them, are you?”
“That’s exactly right.”
I catch a glimpse of several pairs of rolled eyes, but a few other imperiums are hiding grins.
“You must be getting slow in your old age,” one of them calls to Lucius, who shakes his head.
“Go cool down,” he tells me.
I stretch out my muscles as the imperius continue their training. If I’m quick, I’ll have just enough time to grab my mirror and speak to Evren and Gerith before my training with Leon.
The corridor is quiet as I walk back toward the gladian quarters.
“Arvelle.”
My heart leaps into my throat and stays there as Bran appears to my right. He’s wearing white today, and it may be small of me, but I enjoy the way the color gives his skin an almost yellow tinge.
I make a show of glancing around the corridor, waving toward the gladian quarters. “I thought you weren’t allowed down here.”
“Special permission,” he says. “Are you ready for tomorrow?”
“Yes.”
Bran seems to be waiting for me to give him some assurances. When I don’t, he shakes his head. “It will be different tomorrow. Your power will not be restrained.” His gaze flicks up to my sigil. “What little there is of it.”
Great. I can maybe turn out an aether lamp in the arena. Perhaps I can use my power to flick some sand in my opponent’s face.
Meanwhile, if my opponent is also unrestrained, I’m dead.
I would rather have not known about this.
“What else can you tell me?”
His mouth twists. “The emperor is keeping his plans quiet. But I have some information about the third challenge if you live that long.”
“And?”
“I’ll give you that information if you survive the second challenge.”
I lower my voice to the barest whisper. “One would think someone who wanted me to kill the emperor would do everything they could to make sure I survive.”
He waves me off. “The Primus. You’ve been close to him.”
“As you planned.”
Bran just smiles. A silent admission that he knew who Tiernon was to me. “Have you seen him meeting with anyone?”
“He meets with people all the time.”
Bran leans closer. “Has he been talking to Rorrik?”
