Only a short time passed before Drusilla entered the courtyard. Kallias flanked her, and a jolt went through Lea at the sight of him. She hadn’t expected to see him today. Maybe she’d hoped shewouldn’tsee him, so she wouldn’t have to reckon with the strange feelings that filled her as her eyes ran over his lean figure.
She had spent far too much time thinking about him since their kiss…especially at night, when she was alone. She despised feeling so out of control of her thoughts, no matter how delicious they were. Thinking about him was one thing, but she had resolved to keep her distance. She and Kallias came from different worlds. For as long as she was a gladiator, she could never allow herself to get close to someone in that way.
Furthermore, she had no business getting involved with someone like Kallias, someone who lived in a palace steps away from the emperor. There was no future in it, especially not as long as she was enslaved, and the closer she allowed herself to get, the more it would hurt when it inevitably ended.
She tore her gaze away from Kallias to greet Drusilla. Lea was pleased to see that the young woman was clothed similarly to herself, in a shortened tunic that left her legs unencumbered below the knee.
“When is your next fight to be?” Drusilla asked excitedly after they exchanged greetings. “I want to make sure I won’t miss it.”
“Next week,” Lea replied. “Wednesday.” Lucullus had asked if she was fit to fight with her injury, and she’d assured him she was. Her arm was healing well, though it still ached. She hadn’t so much as picked up a sword, and the idleness gnawed at her. Today’s light exercise would be a good test of her fitness.
Kallias drew closer, a frown pulling at his mouth. “You can’t fight. It will have been barely two weeks since your injury.”
He was probably right, but Lea wouldn’t give up the chance at another win—and another gift of prize money. “It’s not your concern.”
His eyebrows rose in haughty indignation. “It unequivocally is, as your physician. Is your manager forcing you?” he pressed. “I could have a word with him.”
The last thing she needed was Kallias interfering, convincing Lucullus to pull her from the match. “I’ll figure it out,” she lied, ignoring the itchy feeling that came over her at the deception. “Why are you even here?”
His mouth twitched, and she realized the question might have come out sounding much ruder than it did in her head. “Gaius Caesar asked me to supervise. To keep an eye out for any injury that might befall his sister at the hands of a bloodthirsty gladiator.”
Drusilla rolled her eyes. “Do you have a brother, Penthesilea? They’re very tiresome.”
Lea shook her head.
“Be thankful,” Drusilla muttered.
Kallias retreated to sit on a bench in the shade of a slender tree. Lea glanced over at him as she showed Drusilla some warm-up stretches. He affected an easy posture, legs stretched out in front of him, but there was a tension to his shoulders and a tightness to his mouth. Likely he was imagining all the better things he could be doing with his time than supervising two women’s exercise.
Well, his annoyance wasn’t her problem. As Lea finished leading Drusilla through a short series of exercises, she tried to decide the best place to start. Drusilla had mentioned wanting to learn wrestling and archery. Lea had not brought bows and arrows, as drawing a bow took strength that Drusilla would have to build, so that left wrestling as their first lesson.
An idea occurred, something she could teach Drusilla that might actually be useful to her. Most wrestling consisted of bouts between evenly matched opponents, but it was useful for a woman to know how to take down an opponent larger than herself. Lea had sparred enough against much bigger men that she’dfigured out several strategies to vanquish them. These techniques were fairly basic, relying on simple, decisive action to level an assailant. Well-suited for a first lesson, Lea thought.
She turned to Drusilla, who was already wiping sweat from her brow after that light exertion. “Has anyone ever taught you how to defend yourself?”
Drusilla tilted her head. “Whyever would I need to do that? I’m surrounded by guards everywhere I go.”
Lea shrugged. “It can be a useful skill to know how to deal with someone much larger and stronger than yourself.”
Interest sparked in Drusilla’s hazel eyes. “You mean I could beat a man?”
Lea nodded. “With the proper training, and under the proper circumstances.”
“Oh, yes!” Drusilla crowed. “I want to learn that.”
“Perhaps I should demonstrate first. So you can see what it looks like before I teach you.” Lea’s gaze swept toward Kallias. She required a man, and he was the closest one at hand. She waved him over. “We have need of you, medicus.”
He made his way over with a cautious stride. “Please tell me you’re not about to ask what I think you’re going to ask.”
“I want you to grab me from behind,” Lea announced. “Pretend you’re trying to drag me over to that column to have your depraved way with me.” She couldn’t hide the smirk that took hold of her lips as she spoke. Honestly, she wouldn’t mind being ravished by Kallias against a column, but she was also going to enjoy flattening him.
“Oh, how sordid!” Drusilla exclaimed with a delighted flutter of her fingers.
Kallias glowered at Lea. “I hardly think this is seemly.”
“Afraid you’ll hurt me? How gallant.”
“No,” he muttered. “I’m afraid I’ll never walk again.”
