Lea’s hot, dark gaze slid from Velia to Achilles. Finally, she took a step back. “If I discover that so much as one whisker on Nyx has been harmed…”
“No one is going to touch Nyx,” Velia insisted.
With one last glare, Lea seemed to accept this, and returned to her perch atop the table. Nyx had been watching the proceedings with his vivid yellow eyes, and he gave Lea’s hand a bump with his head, as if to reward her for defending him.
Velia faced Achilles. “Did you hear that? You’re to leave the cat alone. Just like the rest of us.”
He glowered at her. She hoped he recognized that she’d saved him from certain humiliation and probable injury by putting a stop to this brawl. “Fine,” he grunted. A muscle in his jaw pulsed. As he turned away, he muttered something under his breath that Velia could only just make out. “Suppose one sow will defend another.”
She tensed. “What did you just—”
Before she could finish the sentence, a hand seized Achilles’s throat. Ferox barreled past Velia and shoved the sputtering novice against the nearest column. “Say that again,” Ferox demanded, his voice a raspy growl.
He’d come out of nowhere; he must have entered while she’d been occupied with Achilles and Lea.
Achilles’s panicked eyes flicked from Ferox to Velia and back again. He wheezed incoherently.
“Ferox! Stop it!” Velia shouted. First Lea, now this. Achilles might not have to worry about losing in the arena if the gladiators of his own ludus got to him first.
Ferox loosened his grasp on Achilles’s throat just a little, but didn’t release him. “Apologize.”
Achilles swallowed hard, his throat bobbing against Ferox’s grip. “S-s-sorry,” he croaked.
“To them.” Ferox jerked his head toward Velia and Lea, still with Nyx on the table.
Achilles’s face was nearly as red as his hair. His gaze passed from Velia to Lea, and he choked out another apology. Lea acknowledged it with a roll of her eyes.
Velia didn’t want an apology; she wanted Ferox to stop throttling her novice. “Let him go, Ferox,” she said through gritted teeth.
Ferox narrowed his eyes at Achilles. “If I ever hear you say something like that again, you’ll be sleeping on a pillow filled with pig shit. Understand?”
Achilles nodded. Finally, Ferox released the novice, who sprang away from him, rubbing his throat. Ferox jerked his head toward the door. “Five laps.”
“I haven’t even eaten breakfast yet!” Achilles protested.
“Now,” Ferox said. “Or it’ll be ten.”
Achilles shot them both a glare laden with pique, but turned and trudged toward the door.
Velia exhaled, but she couldn’t fully relax just yet. She grabbed Ferox’s arm and towed him a short distance from the others so they could speak in private. “You shouldn’t have interfered,” she snapped.
He looked down at her, his gaze stony and unrepentant. “You can’t let him speak to you—or Lea—that way.”
“Who said I was going to let him? You didn’t give me the chance to handle it.” Irritation simmered over her. She’d spent the last year earning the respect of her uncle’s gladiators. She knew how to deal with rude comments.
“You made me his trainer,” he shot back. “I’m entitled to discipline him for poor behavior.”
She folded her arms across her chest. “And I’m his manager. Andyouremployer, when it comes to Achilles.” She took a small step closer to him, lowering her voice just in case others couldhear. “This isn’t like yesterday, with the thief. I don’t need you to protect me from my own novice.”
His eyes darkened at the memory.
“And if you think just because we…because we kissed”—the words tangled themselves in her mouth for a moment—“that entitles you to any claim on defending my honor—”
“No,” he snapped. The word was sharp as a knife point. “That’s not what I think.”
“Good.” She gazed at him. This was the first time she’d seen him since yesterday, and the memory of that fiery kiss stole over her…not to mention her fantasies about doingmorethan kissing. A rush of longing stoppered her breath for a moment.
He stepped away from her. “That idiot will short his laps if I don’t count them.” Without waiting for her to reply, he turned and headed after Achilles.
