Drusilla laid a hand on her brother’s arm. “Surely you have more important things to do than join our silly pursuits,” she said with a light laugh. “One of the guards will suffice, as Penthesilea suggested.”
“I find myself with no more compelling occupation at the moment,” Gaius replied.
Lea carefully avoided meeting his gaze, instead fixing her eyes on the bubbling fountain behind them. She wasn’t afraid of facing him, but the prospect of toppling an emperor felt rather dangerous.
“I won’t go easy on you, Penthesilea,” the emperor warned. “And I don’t wish to be responsible for injuring one of our best female gladiators.”
He seemed to be giving her the opportunity to gracefully back out. For a moment, she considered it. But this was the man who had nearly caused Ferox’s death, and suddenly all she wanted was to see the emperor on his back in the grass, vanquished and gasping for breath.
“I think it will be instructive for Drusilla to show that my techniques work on any man,” Lea said.Even an emperor.
Her eyes flicked to Kallias. His handsome face bore its usual calm, composed expression, but a touch of panic heated his dark eyes. Likely he didn’t believe she could truly hold her own against the stronger and more ruthless emperor, and feared she’d aggravate her injury or acquire a new one. She gave him a slight smile, hoping to reassure him.
“Very well.” Gaius removed the golden bangles that decorated his wrists, along with a collection of jeweled rings, and handed the bounty to Drusilla for safekeeping.
“This technique works best to counter an attacker at your back.” Lea turned around. “Perhaps you wish to pretend that you’ve come upon me from behind, sir?”
“As you wish.” A moment later, he was on her. He took a different approach than Kallias, raking one strong hand throughher hair and holding tight, jerking her head back, while his other arm coiled around her waist.
Ironically, his instinct to pull her in close was helpful, as both his hands were occupied and he couldn’t strike her. Instead of trying to pull away from his hold on her hair, she thrust her head back, slamming into his nose, then snaked her arm over the one holding her hair, pressing down on his elbow to break his grip. Then she drove her own elbow back into his stomach, dropped her weight to pull him off balance, and swept his legs out from under him. He hit the ground just as Kallias had done.
A satisfied smile spread across her face. She was breathing hard; toppling him had taken significantly more effort than Kallias, and her arm did ache a bit, but the exertion felt good after so much forced inactivity. She’d missed the thrill of a fight, even a short and bloodless one.
Lea opened her mouth to explain what she’d done to Drusilla, but before she could get a word out, she was seized in a tight, painful grip by the two Praetorians closest to her.
Lea thrashed, but there were two of them, and they’d caught her unawares. “Let me go!” she hissed. “It was just a demonstration.”
The third Praetorian was helping the emperor to his feet. Lea waited for Gaius to brush it off, order them to release her, but he only leveled a murderous glare at her. Drusilla’s easy smile had vanished, and Lea could no longer see Kallias from this angle.
Panic welled as she realized she’d grievously miscalculated.
She’d been so stupid. She wasn’t supposed to win this little play-fight. She was supposed to put up a good fight, give hima chance to show off his strength and skill in front of his guards and his sister.
She was supposed to lose.
A more intelligent person might have been able to figure out that when pitted against an emperor, a graceful defeat was one’s best option. Lea had never felt like more of a fool.
Thiswas what Kallias had feared, she realized: he hadn’t been concerned about an injury. He’d been afraid she’d win.
13
“Medicus!”theemperorsnapped.“You need to ascertain if that bitch injured me. My nose—I think she broke it!”
Kallias leaped to the emperor’s side. These next few moments were vital; they’d determine whether the emperor’s rage would sputter out or blaze into a destructive inferno. “You’re not bleeding, sir.”
“I barely touched him,” Lea hissed from behind him.
Shut up, you idiot, he shouted internally, then went rigid at the unmistakable sound of a fist smashing into a face. He didn’t dare turn around. If he saw her hurt, he would lose the composure he needed to ease the emperor’s anger.
Why, by the gods, had Lea thought it a good idea to indulge in such a display with the emperor, of all people?
Kallias clung to every ounce of his self-possession. “Sir, of course it’s impossible that a woman could have injured you. Even a gladiator.” His voice shook slightly, and he strove to steady it, hoping he had chosen the right angle to alleviate the emperor’s anger. “I know you were only allowing Penthesilea to show off her skills for your sister’s benefit.”
Drusilla, still carrying her brother’s golden adornments, stepped forward. Her face was white, but she spoke calmly. “Yes, it was most educational.”
Gaius’s gaze slid from Kallias to Drusilla and then to the Praetorians. It was the guards he was worried about, Kallias realized—the Praetorians were Rome’s most elite soldiers, and Gaius didn’t want to look weak in front of them.
Kallias’s palms began to sweat. There was nothing the emperor couldn’t do to punish Lea, no one who would dare stop him. What if he took it into his head to hurt her? Or exile her? Or even kill her?
