I give them a speech, tell them Deathball was the greatest thrill of my life. That I’m honored to have represented the strength and bravery of Victoran citizens in their arena.
I shake hands, drink their wine, bask in the glory they bestow upon me, their champion.
But the second I walk through the gates, those same guards who helped me bring Jason to the sand surround me. Two of them take my arms, careless of my wounds. The other four flank me, front and back, and we march, all of us, along the dark halls of the arena, up and up, until we finally spill into the Emperor’s own richly decorated chamber.
They bring me forward, shove me to my knees at his feet, and he stands there, glaring down at me. The game architects walk back and forth whispering anxiously, and even Julius is present, scowling over his father’s shoulder at me while he pretends to be busy picking something to eat from the buffet.
“Well?” asks the Emperor. “What do you have to say for yourself?”
Nothing. Not a word.
I only lean my head back to look up at him and smile.
Chapter thirty-seven
Robin: Lifeblood
Evander’s words echo in my skull like hammer blows.“Marco played Jason. Marco won.”
I lie motionless on Evander’s bed, staring at the ceiling. My ribs scream with every breath, but all I can think about is whether Marco walked out of that arena whole. Whether he’s bleeding somewhere. Whether—
“Stop squirming,” Evander mutters to Cas. “You’re making this worse.”
Cas hisses through his teeth, knuckles white against the bed frame.
“Do you think he’s hurt?” The words scrape out of my throat. “The guard didn’t say if—”
“I don’t know.” Evander’s voice is clipped. “I can only treat one patient at a time, so please shut up and let me work.”
“But what happened?” I press. “How did Marco play against Jason? How was that allowed?”
“All I know is what I just heard from that guard, Robin. But… I doubt it wasallowed.”
From the other bed, Cas lets out a sharp sound of pain. “Ouch! Doc—”
“Stop moving.” Evander doesn’t look up from cleaning Cas’s thigh wound. “It’s infected, remember? This needs to be thorough.”
“Fuck your thorough,” Cas grits out, tendons standing out in his neck.
“If you’d only let me give yousome—”
“You know I don’t want that shit in my body!”
“I swear you have a death wish.”
Cas grunts. “You’re enjoying this, you sadistic bastard. I can tell by that little smile.”
“What smile?” But there’s definitely amusement in Evander’s voice now.
“The one you’re trying to hide. You get off on torturing us, don’t you?”
“Only you, Caspian. Only you.”
Cas glares at him. “Keep it up, Doc. When I’m healed, I’m gonna remember every—”
Heavy footsteps thunder through the dungeon corridors. Multiple sets. Moving fast.
Evander freezes.
