“Champion,” a lenasti called softly. He walked closer and pointed to Rain then Matesh. “Care to explain?”
“They were jumped, sir. They will be healed by the games - sooner if they get rest at night.” She answered professionally, like an expert.
“Good. Keep them out of trouble any way you can. The Empress expects them to do well.”
“Yes, sir.”
When the lenasti was gone, Mave turned to the other gladiators over the training field. Something snaked through Rainev at her stare. It wasn’t blank. Mave’s silver-blue eyes were darker than ever. Angry.
No, not angry. Furious.
Other gladiators began to notice, and no one said anything. No taunts or jeers. Rainev still didn’t understand exactly how she commanded such silence in the pits when she needed it. Maybe they weren’t used to the pure acidic hate in her expression. He sure as the skies wasn’t.
Then again, no one could be used to the pure threat that was also in the expression. Death to those who tried again, and she wouldn’t fail.
“You hit the dummies. Stretch and see how things work.” She pointed a wooden sword at Matesh. She wouldn’t use their names in training. He nodded in return. Rainev knew it was what he would have wanted anyway. “You and I will spar slowly. You had bouts of dizziness. We need to make sure that has not lasted.”
“Yes, Champion,” Rain agreed, bowing his head to her.
She approached him slowly, only using one wooden gladius. He used one as well, paired with his shield. He liked the defensive option. It was the best, in his mind, but then, he wasn’t trained to fight for blood sport, to kill quickly and gruesomely. He was trained by soldiers who had fought in the war. Shields were a way to make it home after a bad day on the killing field, or as they were called here, the sands.
They met and the wood smacked together. He was stiff but not broken. He could see why the other gladiators jumped him when they did. If he had been required to go to training in the hot sun, then it would have gone poorly.
“You’re learning,” she said softly.
Praise from her made him feel proud of himself, in the same way as if it had come from any of his male family of the Company.
“So are you,” he pointed out. “Form is better. You watch me with the gladius enough. Now you’re putting it into use.” It was impressive that she was so willing to adapt and learn even though he wasn’t actively teaching her.
“You’re learning to fight dirtier. He might not like it, but it’ll keep you alive.” She nodded her head to the silent Mat.
“Yeah, well. Everyone needs to make it through their fights on the sands, right?” He didn’t like the compliment, but he was picking up some tricks from her for his own safety. Mat hated it and Rain was uncomfortable with it. Granted, they had to fight much bigger males than themselves. Matesh equaled many of them in size and didn’t understand that. Rainev, even with his misgivings, knew it was necessary to live.
I can’t die and leave them to this. I’ll do whatever is necessary to live in the pits for as long as possible.
Training was quick that night. They ended up not staying late, getting away from the other gladiators as fast as they could.
As they returned to the hall for the prized gladiators, a guard looked over them with concern. The night guard from the night Mave was beaten. The night she had been forced to whore.
“Bad evening training?” he asked, his Elliar accent thick. He was a pure Elvasi, and a pure Sun Elvasi at that. His auburn hair, pale gold eyes, and tanned skin marked him as a Sun Elvasi, the more southern of the two. Moon Elvasi were from further north, paler, with dark hair and eyes. They had long bred into the same race, bringing more diversity to their people, but this one - he was all Sun. It was actually rare to see an Elvasi that was one pure subrace.
“Jumped,” Rain told him. “During lunch.”
“Ah…” He nodded slowly. “I hope you are well for the games.”
“Thanks?” Rain replied as Mave grabbed him and pulled. Even Mat grabbed him, helping her.
When they tossed him into her room, Mave slammed the door shut. “You do not ever speak to the guards. If they speak to you, do not offer them more information than necessary. They do not care if you were jumped or-”
“He’s the one who let us help you,” Rain said quickly.
“I don’t care. He could have you beaten for it,” she snapped. She immediately calmed, visibly reeling herself in. “I’m sorry. I don’t want to see you get hurt more. Get some rest, both of you. We all should. You need to be healing and today has been tiresome.”
She stormed into her bathing room, leaving them to silence.
“I’ll sleep on the floor with you,” Mat whispered.
“Yeah, she might kill you for taking the cot with the mood she’s in now.”
“It’s been a long and bad day,” Mat reminded him. “Now I’m in pain. I’m going to sleep.”
“Hard to forget,” Rain mumbled, pointing at the broken horn as Matesh laid down. He wondered who had kept the piece as a trophy.
12
Trevan
Trevan nearly smiled at the sight of the mutt being pulled away by the Champion and the other one, Twenty-Three. Like an errant little one, they yanked him along, exasperated.
He knew better than to talk to the Andinna gladiators. They didn’t trust the guards and he didn’t blame them. His people were not good to them, not in the slightest.
The urge to smile passed quickly. He heard the Champion’s angry voice but not what was said. She was probably warning them off talking to him.
Another thing he could not blame her for.
Six hundred years, he’d been a night guard for this door, at his own choosing. He saw what the prized gladiators went through on a regular basis. Furthermore, he saw what she went though.
Maevana Lorren was her real name, but he knew that no one except the Empress would use the name. Some called her Mave. Most called her Champion, as if it were a curse. Some just called her whore.
He called her Champion, but not as a curse. He had respect for her. He’d seen six hundred years of what she’d gone through. How does someone not respect that?
He waited out his night in silence after that. He had an important meeting once his shift was over and needed to be mentally prepared for it. He opened the door when needed, but that was all. He had never spoken to any of the gladiators before - but something about seeing those two males she had taken in, as injured as they were, brought the words from him. He had assumed they’d been jumped, but he needed to know. Being her friend was a dangerous place in the pits. They were courageous males for sticking by her side, even with the threat of being hurt for it.
It had been like the night they had waited at the door. They hadn’t bothered him, only waited when he’d informed them that she wasn’t back. Then she came back and he couldn’t resist letting them in to help her. She’d been so badly hurt that night. In six hundred years, he’d never seen it so bad.
It reminded him why he was a guard, though. Why he’d asked for this post all those years ago. While other guards had always wanted to get out of the pits, he’d been asking to go in them.
His relief showed up and tapped his shoulder, then signaled he could go. They didn’t speak, ever. Technically, there were always two guards on duty for a post if someone needed a break to stretch their legs, but Trevan never used his partner, even if he could have left earlier. They instead exchanged full nights. They shared six days on the schedule and divided those days evenly, unless one of them got seriously ill and needed to leave the pits for his own safety.
He walked out of the pits, ignoring the guard house completely. He didn’t need to stop since he didn’t live there. He had a small apartment a few alleyways from the Colosseum. Time served in the pits had given him the right to live away from them.
He headed straight home. He had a meeting, and now he had important information for that meeting. Not good information, but imp
ortant. His contact would be waiting for him there.
He entered his sitting room and saw the hooded figure standing in the center. The wings gave away the visitor as an Andinna, and Trevan could see the tail moving around anxiously. “The two males, they are friends with the Champion-”
“You told me this last time,” the gruff, angry voice growled out.
“You need to let me finish, then. They got jumped for it yesterday. I saw them last night. The big one? A bit of his horn got broken. Nothing serious, it seems. They went to her room for the night and never left. I’m assuming she’s keeping them close now for their safety. She’s never done that for anyone before, so they are in well with her.”
“Hm…” The hooded figure pulled down the hood and sighed. Trevan saw the blind right eye first, white and foggy set in the black Andinna eye. His left eye was a pale green, as if he were losing his vision in that one as well. His horns went up and back from his hairline, making them easy to hide in an oversized cloak, like the young blue mutt’s horns. Not that it changed anything with the wings, which couldn’t be hidden. “Thank you, Trevan. I know this puts you in a difficult position.”
“I said six hundred years ago that I wanted to help. I’ve finally had a chance.”
“Well, we had never hoped a guard in the pits could be helpful,” the Andinna male replied, sitting down. “But you are one of our only contacts in that place, and you’re a good one. You know about the games, right?”
“Of course. They will all be fighting every day. The city is already becoming crowded. I wish I could say before but…”
“It’s too risky,” the male agreed. “They’ll survive the games, that I’m certain of.”
“I know what you intend to do, but I need to ask…about her.”
“You’ve said this before.”
“She’s had a hard life. She’s been in the pits longer than most.”
“We’re considering it.”
“That’s all I ask.” Trevan sighed. “You can stay here until nightfall. It will be safer to move after the sun falls.”
“Of course. I will try not to disturb your rest.”
“Thank you.” He left the Andinna standing in his sitting room and went to his bedroom. He stripped his armor off as fast as he could and fell into his bed to sleep. The Andinna in his sitting room was smart enough not to get caught doing whatever he needed to do in Elliar.
He woke up in the afternoon and groaned as he pushed himself up. A knock at his door had him jumping from his bed. The Andinna was still there. He had to hurry before anyone saw his guest.
The Andinna male darted into the bedroom and Trevan nodded to him as he slid into the closet. They had done this before.
The knock was louder the next time.
“Trevan, wake up! We’re going out tonight! It’s your night off!”
Trevan groaned as he left his room. He pulled his apartment door open to reveal two other guards from the pits. Gentry and Maran.
“No,” he told them, going to close the door. A hand stopped it.
“Come on! You’ve lived in the capital your entire life. You know all the good places!”
“I don’t drink. I don’t party. I work. I come home. I want to be left alone. Every time we get new kids like you guys, you all try to get me to go out. It never works. It won’t today. Leave.” Trevan was cold to them. Gentry had a problem with ‘accidentally’ hurting the Andinna gladiators when he needed to get them somewhere. Maran wasn’t as bad, but his comments, sly and crude, did Elvasi a disservice. They were supposed to be a civilized people, but Maran talked like the barbarians they all claimed the Andinna were.
“Stick in the mud!” Gentry laughed, teasing. He even threw a playful punch at Trevan, who dodged it. “Come on.”
“No,” he said again. “Leave. I’m getting back to sleep.”
“Fine, you prick. I’m amazed you’ve survived six hundred years in the pits with no friends.”
Trevan closed his door at that comment. He’d given up all his friends when he’d joined the guard duty in the pits. They had taken him to the Colosseum to see the rising Champion as her reputation grew. He’d thought she had been magnificent.
They had thought she was a whore who deserved to die on the sands.
He’d only found a few other Elvasi who believed like him in Elliar. It was treason to join an Andinna rights group, so he didn’t. It would have ruined his job and his ability to help who he could. They existed, though. They were never going to convince the Empress to free them - or her son, Prince Lothen. The Empress also had a daughter, but she didn’t make many public appearances. No one knew her stance on the Andinna.
“They are gone. You should have gone with them.”
“I never go with them. Drinking, whoring. None of those have been things I enjoyed.” He looked to the old Andinna, frowning. “You know that.”
“I do. But it would be good for you. What you are doing is not good for you.”
“And what’s that?”
“Pining.”
Trevan didn’t respond to that. He was not pining. He didn’t feel that way for anyone. He just felt that Andinna should be free. That was all, especially those who had the hardest time. They really called out to him.
The Champion just so happened to be one of those. Since the day he saw her for the first time, fighting in the Colosseum six hundred and fifty years ago.
13
Mave
She watched them sleeping as breakfast drew closer. There was no training today, only meals, which had to be quick.
The outside gladiators were coming. It was going to be a long week for all of them.
Her eyes fell on Rainev. He was healed, with only faint bruising left in certain areas, like spots on his ribs.
Her little brother. She could feel it in her heart now. Deep in her chest, she knew she would kill for the younger male. Three hundred years old - she had centuries on him. He was an adult, but he was easy and kind. He was patient with her. He gave her family. In only three weeks, he had weaseled his way into her heart, and now she didn’t know if she could be without him.
I can’t. I can’t be without them. Not after the jump. I have never been so fucking scared. Thought they were dead when I saw them. I can’t go through that again.
He had to survive this week, she promised herself. She looked up and for the first time in centuries, she promised it to the sky as well, even though she couldn’t see it inside her room.
He will survive the games.
She’d never had something to lose before. Now she did.
Her eyes fell to Matesh next. Aggravating male. Attractive male. Her body wanted, certainly, but it wasn’t safe or smart. She repeated that to herself every single time she was with him. Not smart or safe.
Very enticing, though. The broken horn bothered him, but she thought it fit. Made him even more of a warrior. She reached out to touch the end of the broken one.
If anyone makes it look good, it’s you, you damn arrogant male.
He grabbed her. Neither of them moved for a moment.
“Don’t touch it,” he growled nearly incoherently, pulling her closer after he spoke. She wouldn’t let him pull her from her cot, though. If he did, she would fall on him. That wasn’t a place she wanted to be, not if she wanted to keep telling herself how not smart or safe it was and believe it.
“You couldn’t feel it. Which means you’ve been awake and have been too lazy to open your eyes and get up.” She watched him sniff her wrist, an odd thing. She tried to pull her hand from him, half-heartedly. Maybe he would explain it, because she was confused. She didn’t want to ask him about it. If she had to ask, it would be a question for Rain.
He didn’t say anything, only tugged hard. She hadn’t expected it, lost in her confusion at his sniffing. She landed on him in the exact way she hadn’t wanted to, sprawled over his chest. He didn’t hold her there, but he did place his nose to her throat and sniffed again.
She p
ushed off him, glaring down when she stood up. “Damn the Skies, what was that?” she asked, snapping at him.
“You smell good,” he answered in a tired mumble. “Come back.”
“Absolutely not,” she growled.
“He’s half-asleep,” Rain groaned. “Ignore him.”
“Both of you should be getting up now,” she told them. Rain nodded and sat up, his black hair going everywhere. “He sniffed me.” She pointed at Matesh, who had pulled his blanket over his head.
“He did? Damn it.” Rain glared down at Mat, but she couldn’t see any real heat in the glare. “Hey, get up. Breakfast is soon.”
Mat snarled, looking out. He was awake now.
Rain growled back.
Mave just crossed her arms, waiting. Rain had not yet told her why Matesh had sniffed her. Well, come on. Hurry up, Mat, so I can get the answers I want.
As if knowing what she thought, Mat got off his cot and left the room, ignoring both of them. She took a look down the hall and saw him going into the room where he could take a shit.
“Why did he sniff me?” she asked Rain after she closed the door again.
“You smell good. Not to me, but then, you’re not my type,” Rain answered, pushing himself up and stretching when he stood. “Do I smell good to you?”
She leaned forward and sniffed him, getting close enough to him for her nose to brush his cheek. “No. You smell like sweat, earth, and whatever was on that cot before you.”
“Yeah, that’s gross,” Rain said, chuckling. “Does he smell good to you? It’s not an Andinna thing, though I know some of my family are pretty scent-oriented. People tend to be more attracted to people who smell better to us. Or maybe they smell better since we’re attracted to them? I don’t really know, but if he’s sniffing you, you smell good. That…well, you and him both know what’s going on there.”
Mave considered that. She had never sniffed another male, or any Andinna, to know much of their scent. She didn’t have a heightened sense of smell. She wasn’t willing to get close enough to sniff Matesh.
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