by S. E. Green
“When you’re ready for a real opponent,” the male twin stupidly taunts, “I’ll take you on.”
Slowly, Sera turns from the wooden post, and a grin creeps into her face. Other than that, his statement is met by silence.
He straightens a little bit, like he’s surprised by Sera’s response, or lack thereof, and glances over to Alexior.
Alexior nods. “Begin then.”
Sera lifts her sword and shield and crouches into a fighting stance. The twin lifts his, too. He waits for a confused second, like he thinks Sera should move first, and then with a yell, he charges.
She sword plays with him—under, over, down, block—barely expending any energy. He grunts and jabs and curses, flings an ineffective fist, and she catches his wrist and spins him to the ground.
All the warriors laugh. Me, Camille, and Gem exchange an amused look. The twins haven’t been here long enough to know what Sera is capable of. Sometimes bravery makes people do stupid things.
Narrowing his eyes, the twin jumps back up and lunges. Sera shoulders her shield straight into his sword and he falls right back down. With a chuckle, Sera turns and walks away.
He grits his teeth and climbs to his feet. “I’m not done with you yet.”
Sera turns back around. He throws a handful of sand right into her face and runs at her. Their shields collide. Sera head butts him, uppercuts her fist straight into his jaw, and sends him flying backward.
“Stay. Down,” she commands and starts to walk away again.
With a yell, he gets back up and charges. Sera knees him in the groin and punches him hard, twice, in the side of the head. Blood slings from his mouth and he whirls face down into the dirt.
“Stay down,” his twin sister whispers.
Unsteadily, he lifts up on all fours, spits a string of blood, and then shakily gets the rest of the way to his feet. He turns, barely able to stand up now, and looks Sera straight in the eyes. “I’m not staying down unless you make me.”
Sera stalks over, yanks his shield from his grip, slings it in a wide circle, and rams it directly into his lower gut. The twin gags and buckles forward and Sera flings his shield on top of him.
“Enough!” Alexior snaps.
No one says anything for a few seconds as Sera brushes dirt from her tunic, and the twin rolls over onto his side and grabs his stomach.
Alexior nods to two of the warriors. “Take him to Talme.”
One single applause fills the air and we all glance up to the terrace to see Dominus staring down. “Sera, you are in fine form.”
“Thank you, Dominus,” she says.
He looks to Alexior. “I want to see Sera and Valoria in my office. Now.”
Alexior puts Ignatius in charge of training and we follow him through the tunnel toward the gate.
“You won’t be champion much longer,” Sera says to me as we’re heading up the stairs that lead into the villa.
I tamp down the urge to provoke her and say simply, “Hm.”
~42~
Dominus is sitting behind his desk when we enter the office. Joseph stands off to the right and behind him. I give him a small smile that he returns.
Alexior takes his usual spot in the corner and me and Sera come to stand right in front of Dominus. I train my eyes on the papers that he’s studying and make out the word shipment before he shuffles them around and looks up at us.
From where Joseph stands he could probably read those papers.
“We’ve got some very special guests coming to visit. One of them is the original mastermind behind the creation of Saligia. He’s my… boss, for lack of a better phrase. Mr. Vasquez.”
My entire body goes numb. Vasquez…
“It’s very important that he’s happy while he’s here. I want him to see what a fantastic job I’ve done of running this ludus and Saligia. I’m throwing a welcome party, the biggest yet, and I would like you two,” Dominus looks between me and Sera, “to put on a demonstration right here in the villa.”
Beside me Sera straightens even more than she already is and her words come back to me. You won’t be champion much longer. I’m tempted to remind her this is just a “demonstration”.
“Nothing too bloody—okay, maybe a little blood—but more clanking of swords and Valoria, definitely do a couple of those back flips.” He looks beyond us to Alexior. “You can work with them on a good show?”
“Yes, Dominus,” he responds.
“Good. Now,” he claps his hands, “Sera, Alexior, you may go. Valoria stay.” When they are gone, Dominus indicates the chair in front of his desk. “Sit.”
Hesitantly, I do. I’ve never been in here without Alexior’s escort and I’ve never been allowed to sit.
Dominus looks over his shoulder to Joseph. “Wine, boy.”
Joseph moves, carefully and efficiently pouring us each a goblet. Dominus lifts his for a toast and I cautiously lean forward to tap.
He laughs. “Relax. Drink. You are in here as my guest.”
I smile a little and take a sip and try to settle back into my chair.
He sucks in air through his nose and exhales it slowly through his open mouth, sending his rancid breath to taint the air surrounding us. His gaze traces over to the terrace where the sounds of training filter up.
I chance a quick look at Joseph to see his gaze fastened at a spot above my head.
“You and Camille and Gem put on quite a show today,” Dominus says, bringing his eyes back to mine. “What do you think of Camille? Have you noticed a difference?”
“Yes.” Ever since your wife and her friends tortured her.
He nods. “Me, too.” Another sip of wine. “And Sera?”
“She’s healing well. Since I’ve been paying her expenses, I expect to profit in her comeback earnings,” I joke and hope I don’t get in trouble for it.
Dominus laughs. “Ha!” He toasts me again. “Touché.”
I settle back a little more, acting like I’m comfortable with this weird camaraderie, and take another sip.
“Well, don’t embarrass her during the demonstration. She is the former champion.”
“I’ll play nice,” I joke again, and he laughs.
“Oh, Valoria, you and I are going to accomplish great things together.” Another sip. “Just look at us sitting here as almost equals, laughing. Who would’ve thought I’d feel such a connection to a slave?”
Who would’ve thought I’d feel such a desire to slice your neck wide open?
Dominus downs the rest of his wine and holds his empty goblet out to Joseph. “What can I do for you, my champion? I want to keep you happy.”
I glance to Joseph again. “When it is convenient, may I have him and Hedian for another night?”
Dominus chuckles deep and low and dark. “Oh, Valoria, that I can do.”
Cold crawls along my spine.
His wife glides into the office and comes to a surprised stop. She looks at me sitting and drinking wine.
“What are you doing?” she snaps at her husband and points at me. “She is a slave and she’s sitting there like she’s one of us. Drinking our wine. Have you lost your wits?” She rips the goblet from my hand and wine sloshes out as she slams it down on the desk. “Get out,” she commands me.
I look over to Dominus to see his teeth clench, and he gives me a brusque nod.
Quietly, I get up and just as quietly leave the office. I expect to hear them yelling when I get in the hall, but I do not. Somehow it didn’t occur to me that Dominus and his wife would ever argue. I like that they are. Especially if it is about me.
But I hate that Joseph is still in there. I hope they don’t take this out on him.
“Move,” the hallway soldier commands and I keep heading toward the stairs and the tunnel.
As I round the corner a soft cry has me glancing over to the right where a different soldier has Hedian pressed up against the wall.
“Hey!” I call out. “What are you doing?”
The soldi
er glances over his shoulder and its then I see Hedian’s torn tunic and her face streaked with tears. Her eyes widen in fear and she shakes her head.
Screw that. She’s been through enough. Some horny soldier isn’t going to rape her, too. “Dominus!” I yell, and the soldier immediately releases her.
Hedian sniffs and lifts her tunic up to cover her bared breasts. She looks straight into my eyes and her lips tremble as she shakes her head again.
I take an intimidating step toward the soldier. “You want to rape someone. Try raping me.”
The soldier returns my intimidating step. “Get out of here,” he snarls and I notice one of his front teeth is unusually larger than the rest. If I threw a punch, I could easily knock that one single tooth out.
Feet shuffle down the hall behind me, and Dominus comes around the corner. “What the hell is going on?”
I nod to the soldier. “I thought you’d like to know this soldier is trying to rape your house slave. Surely, you don’t allow that, Dominus. She’s your property, not his.” I honestly don’t know if it’s allowed or not, but I suspect not.
Dominus hikes his chin. “Of course it’s not allowed.” He points to Hedian. “You, go get cleaned up.” Then he points to the soldier. “You want to fuck, you go to one of the whorehouses in the marketplace.”
The soldier nods before shooting me a glare and stalking off. It’s not a good idea to have a soldier mad at me, but I could care less. He’s just another one I’ll kill if I have to.
Dominus turns to me. “And you, do not ever challenge a soldier again. That’s grounds for a lashing. My wife reminded me that you are just a slave. I made a mistake inviting you into my office, drinking wine with you, laughing. Remember your station here or I will gladly remind you of it.”
~43~
The next couple of days go as usual. Training, eating, sleeping. All I can think about is the upcoming party and Vasquez’s arrival. Will he remember me? I hope so. Oh, I hope so.
Bareket, Vasquez, Dominus, and many more elite all in one room. If ever there was a perfect time for revenge…
Joseph and Hedian are not sent to me as I requested and I doubt now that they will be, especially after Domina reminded her husband of my station. Camille takes to training with Ignatius. Gem and Razo steal intimate moments alone. Alexior only speaks to me when he’s commanding something. And me and Sera practice for the demonstration.
Or I should say I practice. She goes about it as if it’s a real fight. As if she’s planning on more than just a show. It does concern me, but I highly doubt she’ll do anything questionable in front of all the elite who are expected at the upcoming gathering.
In front of Vasquez… I cannot wait to lay eyes on him.
On the night of the party, we are instructed to bathe, shave, and dust ourselves with bronze powder. We are given gold leather bikinis to wear and our wrist shackles are polished and gleaming.
Those of us who have hair use scented wax to style it in spikes. We are tattooed with the image of a sword that stretches the length of our left forearm. It’s henna and should wear off in a week or so.
We stand in the tunnel as before, lined up according to height. I am in the front and Alexior towers before me, ready to lead us up the stairs and into the villa.
I stare at his broad, bronze-dusted back. He’s never without his leather vest and if I look beyond the powder, I can make out his tan line. Such a normal simple thing. It calms me. Until this moment I didn’t realize I needed calming. I close my eyes and slowly blow out, relaxing my muscles one at a time, and then open and refocus on the man in front of me.
To signify his station above us, Alexior wears gold pants. His tattooed sword spans his entire bare chest. I wish he would turn around so I could see it closer.
I lean in a fraction and surreptitiously inhale. The men use the same soap as the women, but mixed with his pheromones, it’s an entirely different alluring scent.
He shifts a fragment and looks over his shoulder, but not at me, at the door where the weapons are. Where I spent my night with Hedian and Joseph. Like he’s reminding me he’s repulsed.
The door at the top of the stairs finally opens. Talking, laughing, and the spicy scent of cooked meat flow down the steps to surround us. Despite the fact I’ve already eaten, my salivary glands still water.
A soldier unlocks the gate at the bottom of the stairs and a different soldier opens the gate at the top. Alexior leads the way and we quietly follow.
The villa is packed, and I immediately begin searching their faces for Vasquez. There is easily a hundred more here now than the party before. People glance our way as we enter, but the talking, laughing, eating, and drinking continue on. Half of them are already tipsy.
We pass by a row of live statues—men and women painted white and moving in fragments every few seconds.
Like before we come to stand in a line in the room with the shallow pool. The same pool Hedian and some other young girl had rolled around in naked. That was the night I first saw Joseph standing in the corner in a see-through gown.
I glance over my shoulder to that same corner but he is not there this time. Instead there is a naked girl on a table with chunks of fruit laid out all over her. I watch as a couple of the rich and elite pass by, pick a pineapple spear, and continue on.
Wide, dark wood planks have been laid over the pool in the shape of a cross, allowing people to walk back and forth over the water.
A clump of erotic dancers come through the room, suggestively slinking in and around us warriors and doing the same to the elite. One of them runs a finger down Alexior’s chest and he looks right into her eyes.
Suggestively she licks her lips and gently traces his belly button before twirling away to follow the pack into the next room.
“Enjoy that, did you?” I snark.
“Yes,” he simply replies.
I try to imagine myself suggestively licking my lips and almost snort.
The scent of pot and jasmine burns my nostrils and I know without looking that Bareket is nearby.
As if on cue her disgusting giggle floats past and I glance down the line to see her strolling arm-and-arm with a woman I don’t recognize. She must be one of these visiting elite we’re celebrating.
They stroll right past me, and Bareket slices me a sideways smirk. Then they continue on across the pool to the other side where they stand and drink, their heads together as they whisper and study us.
She’s planning something. I know it. Or if she’s trying to intimidate me, to make me think she’s conspiring, it’s working.
I glance around the packed villa and still don’t see Vasquez. Perhaps he is in one of those back rooms making slaves do God knows what. I wonder if he’ll even recognize me or if I am just one face of many.
Hedian silently walks down our line, carrying a tray of food. I’m happy to see her dressed in an actual tunic and not something transparent.
“Hi,” she shyly says to me.
I smile. “Hi, Hedian. Where’s Joseph?”
“He’s helping the cook tonight.”
“Good.” That means he’s safe.
She glances around to make sure no one is watching her linger and leans in. “I just wanted to say thank you for the other night with the soldier.”
“You are very welcome.” I nod her away. “Now keep going. You don’t want to get in trouble.”
She grants me a sweet smile that warms her eyes before continuing on.
“Soldier?” Alexior asks.
I shrug. “A tiny disagreement.”
Dominus strolls into the room and straight across the pool to the center. “Greetings!” He holds his arms out wide. “Come. Gather. I have something very special planned.”
Slowly, those from the other rooms begin to crowd in and Dominus continues. “Tonight I give you a demonstration of my finest warriors up close and personal here in my villa.” He points at me. “We have Valoria, the defiant one.”
I step out of l
ine as several people begin politely applauding and do my signature backflip.
Dominus points both hands down the line. “And we have Sera, the Serpent of Saligia.”
Proudly, she comes forward and waggles her tongue and several of the elite step back like they think her tongue is a lethal weapon.
“Actually,” a scratchy woman’s voice interrupts and everyone turns to see who’s speaking. It’s one of the new elite. The one who had been strolling with Bareket. The one who still stands beside Bareket.
“I would like to see the blonde,” the woman points down the line, “fight that one. The Asian looking woman.”
I glance over my shoulder. She wants to see Camille and Gem fight. They exchange a curious look and I turn back to Dominus. Is he going to allow this?
Nervously, he laughs. “Yes, but they are not prepped.”
“Are they not slaves?” the woman challenges. “Aren’t they supposed to do as I command? I paid good money to be here. I want to see the two of them fight.”
I move my eyes from the woman to Bareket who is trying to hide a smile behind her goblet. This is her doing. She coached that woman into making this request.
Dominus bows. “You are very right.” He nods to our line. Me and Sera step back, and Camille and Gem come forward. Dominus stretches his arms wide again. “Who would like to see these two fight?”
All the elite yell and applaud. The scratchy-voiced woman grins, and her overly white teeth seemingly glow.
The decision is made.
Alexior unlocks Gem and Camille’s wrist shackles. “I know you didn’t practice for this, but you’ve sparred against each other plenty. Put on a good show. A little bit of blood. And it will all be over and the party will go on.”
The two of them nod and step up to the wooden planks crossing the pool. Dominus leaves, and they take their place in the middle. A soldier brings them both a polished ornamental sword and they crouch into a starting stance.
“Begin!” Dominus calls out.
Their swords collide, and the metal on metal rings through the air. They rotate their swords in a wide arc, holding the other’s block, until Gem slices free, spins and comes down on one knee, then nicks Camille in the side.
