The Gladiator's Downfall

by Kristen Banet

  Rain had seen great warriors, but the calm intelligence with which she handled that fight had been of epic proportions. It would go down in history. He had heard of chimera tearing through the best of warriors without a second thought.

  She had defeated it.

  She was limping, though, as she made her way to the gate. When she entered, she sank to her knees.

  “Champion,” the guard gasped, kneeling next to her. “Champion?”

  She was breathing hard. Rain drew closer and knelt next to her as well, Mat following closely behind him.

  “Shit,” Matesh whispered. “It got you.”

  “Yes,” she said, looking at him. Rainev looked at what Mat had seen on her side. A hole. “Tooth. Snake fang. Dry bite. I’m positive it didn’t inject but…”

  “You need to rest. We need to stop the bleeding.” Rain quickly placed a hand over it.

  “You need to…Stay here. Your fight,” she reminded him. Rain didn’t like how pale she was.

  “I’ve got her,” Mat promised. “You win, then get back to the room, okay? I’m going to clean her off and make sure she gets into a healing sleep.”

  “And if it got its venom in her?” Rain glared at Mat, who shook his head.

  “She would already be dead,” he said, helping her stand. Rain wished he would carry her, but he also knew that would be too much of a scene in the pits. To just help a friend walk to their cot was one thing, but carry? That was too much.

  “Damn…” Rain watched them walk away, Matesh being the pillar on which Mave leaned, staggering and stumbling with each step. Other gladiators watched, and Rainev didn’t like the cunning in their eyes. Mave was down, and if she wanted to survive tomorrow, she needed to sleep, deeply. While everyone wanted her dead.

  When they were out of his line of sight, Rainev turned back to the gate. Leaning against the earth wall, he ignored the whispers of the Champion being vulnerable. It was up to Matesh to keep her safe, since he had a fight against a gryphon he couldn’t miss.

  My uncle won’t let anything happen to her. I pity any fools who try to go through Matesh to get to her.

  The fights on the sands continued, after the body of the chimera was dragged away by over a dozen human slaves. Rain watched Andinna clash on the sands versus beasts and each other. Some fought together to defeat a bigger foe, or fought against each other while beasts were loosed to escalate the drama of the fight. One man was in a duel when his opponent forced him into the range of a male lion, the big maned cat, which then tore him apart.

  The day was a bloody affair. The crowd above loved it.

  “Twenty-Two! You’re up.” The guard waved him closer. “Ready? Good.” Rainev hadn’t even been given a chance to confirm. The gates began to swing open and he walked out. He had hunted gryphon before, ones who had taken to eating a farmer’s cattle, but this was his first time doing it without a partner or group.

  He stopped in the center of the Colosseum and bowed to the Empress. He didn’t let his eyes linger on the cold Elvasi. He didn’t let his thoughts linger on her charming smile either.

  The crowd cheered as a pit was opened and out flew the gryphon, going as high as it could. Then the chain grew taut and the beast cried out, trying to break free.

  Rainev’s heart ached in sympathy.

  It circled and tried to reach the loud crowd making it upset, but it couldn’t fly close enough. As the pit where it was released closed, it noticed Rainev.

  He unsheathed his gladius and raised his shield. The fight was about to be right on top of him.

  The gryphon cried out and dove for him. He rolled out of its reach, grazed by the fearsome talons of its front feet. He ran over mentally what he knew about gryphons as it landed to prowl across the Colosseum from him. It was angry.

  The sharp beak had the ability to cut him open and tear his flesh. The bird talons of its front feet were capable of puncturing his skin and holding on, never letting go. If it got those in him, they could break bone, and he would be going for a ride, only getting away when it decided to let go. The back end of the gryphon wasn’t as dangerous as, say, the chimera - but the feline-looking back half wasn’t pleasant either. Strong legs helped propel the beast where it wanted to go and it would land on people with them, sinking claws in where it could.

  Rainev was lucky this was a beast he was experienced with, but he wasn’t happy he was alone for it.

  The gryphon screamed and ran for him. A lightning-fast swipe came at him, and he barely had time to react. It tried to bash in his shield, sending hot pain up to his shoulder. He slashed out, slicing its leg and driving it back. In a group, one person would play the bait, protect themselves while others speared the beast from the air. Rainev could only play the bait.

  The gryphon jumped up and began to circle, large eagle wings enabling it to climb and glide. Rainev watched it. When it was in the sun, it would dive. That was Mave’s advice for a one on one combat. He positioned himself so that it had very little opportunity to get in the sun’s dying rays and strike while he was blind. He hid in the shadow of the Colosseum itself, the sun behind the wall of spectators.

  Out of patience and angry with Rain, the gryphon dove anyway. This time he didn’t let it swoop past him. He latched on to its feathered neck and threw himself astride.

  For one moment, Rain remembered how angry his father had been the last time he did this.

  Once on its back, he stabbed downwards, but the bucking beast didn’t let him get a good hit. The gladius slid, gouging the gryphon’s shoulder then he was tossed from its back and slammed into the wall of the Colosseum. Something cracked in his shoulder and he knew his wing was dislocated from the hit.

  Rain staggered to his feet and went back into the deadly duel against the beast. It swiped out at him, breaking the shield with the force of its attack and clawing open his arm.

  The crowd screamed in delight.

  He cut the leg as it withdrew, opening it and giving the gryphon a limp. He’d broken bone, which would only work in his favor.

  The gryphon tried to pounce and Rainev remembered Mave’s move against the chimera, rolling into it and stabbing upward when its talons missed him. He struck true.

  Screaming, an awful call, the gryphon staggered away and Rain took the chance to get in another hit as it tried. It collapsed two yards from him. He walked slowly, looking up to the Empress as he did. She was watching intently.

  The beast was breathing hard, defeated. Too weak to lift its head, bleeding out as he approached, Rain felt for it. He put a hand on its head, listening to it cry out.

  “Sh,” he murmured.

  He lifted his blade, and stabbed downward, ending its suffering. At least one of them was being granted some sort of freedom.

  The crowd was ecstatic. Overjoyed by his victory, they cheered and rattled the entire Colosseum. Rain’s gaze went back to the Empress, who even granted a token clap to his victory. Her son, the Prince, looked more excited about Rain’s victory, gleeful even.

  He walked to his gate and left the sands, hurting as he made it back into the shade. He handed his blade and broken shield to the guard, ignoring words of congratulations. He needed to get back to Mave’s room and rest. This was one of those moments where he needed the healing sleep of the long-lived races. Other gladiators were roaming the tunnels on their way to dinner or just leaving it, ignoring him for the most part.

  Until a pair of hands reached out of a door he passed and dragged him into the dark. He was too weak to break the hold.

  16

  Mave

  “Arra! Arra, look, I can fly now!” She was so high, her wings flapping as hard as she could. When her arra drew close, they were looking eye to eye. Her arra pointed down and she landed in the dirt.

  “Yes, you can, Maevana. I’m very proud of you. Now come, my amara. Time for dinner.” With that order, her arra began to walk away.

  Maevana laughed as she ran for her arra, the pretty Andinna with sky blue eyes. She jumped
for her, fluttering her wings as best she could to stay in the air, proving she could really fly like her parents. Her arra caught her, laughing as well.

  She let her arra carry her into the little cabin that was home and sit her down at the table. Her baba always said to be good for her arra and he would visit. He would bring her illo bodyrs next time, he had promised. Maevana didn’t kick or whine about being forced to eat dinner and knew her bedtime was next.

  “Here. Now eat, then get ready for bed. Also, you know better than to go so far from the cabin, little amara.” Her arra looked down sternly and Maevana ducked her head.

  “I know, arra. But I can fly now! I can fly!” She grinned and her arra laughed, nodding.

  “Yes. You are a real Andinna. Your baba will be very proud, little Maevana. So will your bodyrs.”

  Maevana laughed, clapping her hands until her arra pointed at the plate. Maevana looked down to her dinner and began to eat like a good amara should.

  When her meal was done, she tried to fly to her bed but her wings felt sluggish and tired. She crawled into her bed, snuggling down into the pillows and blankets, all made of fur that her baba and bodyrs brought home for her and arra.

  Then the world changed.

  A crash had Maevana screaming. Her arra pointed under the bed, a blade in her hand. Maevana did as she was told, crawling to hide. Metal crashed together, voices yelled - male and not her baba.

  Maevana heard her mother’s battle cry, the horrifying scream of an Andinna warrior riding on their temper to fight to the death.

  Then it ended, cut off in a flurry of other sounds, the thumping of things hitting the furniture.

  Maevana cried out as she saw her mother fall to the floor of their cabin, wide-eyed and still. She screamed and screamed as hands reached under the bed to grab her, dragging her to them. She bit down and was shaken roughly for it.

  She didn’t understand the words being spoken around her, only that her arra wasn’t going to come with her. Even an Andinna child knew what death was when they saw it.

  Mave jerked awake, breathing hard.

  My last day of freedom. Why am I having that dream now? It’s been centuries.

  “Mave? Mave, why are you awake?” Matesh asked softly, sitting up from his cot.

  “A dream,” she answered, staggering to stand. Matesh was faster than her, grabbing her to stop the movement. Pain flared in her side and she looked down to see that the hole in her side was still there. “How long have I been asleep?”

  “Only for a short time, and you need to get back to sleep. If you move around, that won’t heal as much as it can by tomorrow.” Matesh applied some pressure to her shoulders and she didn’t fight, lying back down. She trusted him to look out for her. “The bleeding stopped while you slept, but I’m afraid it’ll tear open and slow the healing process. We need you closer to healed by tomorrow.”

  “Of course,” she sighed. She should have been faster, better. Taking the injury could have killed her. She’d been smart enough to lop its damn snake head off before it could inject its venom, which would have killed her in seconds, stopping her heart. “How deep is it?”

  “Deep, but there’s no tearing to it. Clean in and clean out. It didn’t hit your vitals either, from what I could tell. But you still need to rest.”

  “Fine,” she agreed.

  The aggravating and arrogant male know-it-all was right. He sat on her cot next to her, looking over her wound. His hands were warm and she was tired. He wandered into the other room with an extra cloth shirt of hers and came back to clean the wound gently.

  He’s touching me. I like that. I wish he touched me more often.

  Her eyelids began to droop, and she grabbed his hand to stop him from moving away. Don’t stop.

  “Why are you so attractive?” Her speech had slurred. She should have realized there was some blood loss, that her adrenaline from the dream had briefly pushed past.

  “My uncle blames it on my mother,” he answered, smiling at her. She pulled him, trying for force. He bent willingly until their faces were close together.

  “You’re too aggravating to be so nice-looking,” she whispered to him.

  “Says the one who refuses to sleep while she’s injured,” he reminded her. His green eyes had that hot glint she had seen before. She liked when his eyes grew hot and dark like that. “I think the same thing about you on a near constant basis.”

  “Just kiss me.” She shouldn’t have said it. She didn’t care. She could have died today without one thing she wanted. One thing she could steal, and no one would need to know.

  “Terrible idea,” he murmured. “Like I know you always want to tell me.”

  “I don’t care right now,” she retorted. He was close enough for her to smell, and he smelled good. It was a spicy, hot heaven of a smell in her dull and damp world. It was alive. All that from a smell. She wondered if she was just imagining it.

  Then his lips touched hers gently, giving her a taste of all the things her nose had told her. He tasted like he smelled, but he didn’t act like he smelled. He was dominant and she wanted it, the aggravating and fierce male. She growled and bit down on his bottom lip. She didn’t want gentle. She wanted his strength. He deepened the kiss, giving in for only a moment, then broke away, snarling as he turned from her. She tried to touch his face but he pulled back further, shaking his head.

  “Stop. Don’t…” He growled at nothing, running a hand over his face. “We can’t, Mave. You know it. I know it. Plus, your body isn’t up for it. Not this. Not us.”

  Her chest hurt, even though he was right. By the Skies, was he right.

  “You should get Rain when his fight ends,” she told him. She wanted to ignore the hurt in her chest, and changing the conversation was the best she could do.

  “It would mean leaving you alone in the healing sleep.” He didn’t look at her, sitting on her chest, far from her.

  “I’ve never been attacked in here, but he could be hurt out there. I don’t want my illi bodyr to be hurt.” She rolled onto her side so she couldn’t see him either.

  “Illi bodyr…We can’t share a family, Mave. He was mine first.” Something about it was teasing, but it was also possessive.

  “It’s not like he’s your real nephew or my little brother,” she retorted. It was obvious and always had been. She knew it was just how close they were, and Rainev had offered that closeness to her too, but not Matesh. He’d never offered it to her. “And we don’t see each other as family.”

  “No…no, we don’t,” he agreed. He sighed. “Amanra is how I want to see you. That’s the place I wish you filled in my life.”

  “What does it mean?”

  “Lover,” he whispered.

  Yes. I like that. That sounds like something I want. Permanent. The ability to have him and keep him. To own him. Like no one else I’ve ever had. Her heart squeezed. “And what would I call you?”

  What will I never be able to say out loud? What will I never call any male? Only you and Rain like me, and I can’t have you. Not here. Not in this world.

  “Bodanra,” he told her. “In Andena, female-specific words begin with ‘am’, like amyr for sister. Male-specific words are ‘bod’. Bodyr. There are two exceptions, informal for children to use. The difference is comparable to Common. Mommy to mother, daddy to father.”

  “Arra for mommy and baba for daddy,” she said softly. Her dream was her mother dying. She had wanted her father to visit if she was a good daughter.

  “Yes. The proper terms are amra and bodra. They serve as a basis for all other words, since we all come from our parents. Sister, niece, and aunt are similar, though, thanks to their similarities in familial position. Same with brother, nephew, and uncle. Uncle is bodrya. Nephew is bodyra.”

  He continued to softly explain the differences of male and female terms in Andena. Her eyes slowly closed again, missing much of what he was saying, just listening to the full tone of his voice. He had a deep voice, rich like
a fine wine she’d once been allowed to sip. She figured he could sing even better than Rainev.

  Bodanra. Lover. She wished she could see him as that as well. She wished he could fill that spot in her life. Finally, they had some commonality. Wanting something they couldn’t have.

  It wasn’t safe or smart. It didn’t help her survive or him. It wouldn’t help their Rainev, but how she wanted and wished it could be. Just for a moment.

  “Sleep well, amanra,” he whispered.

  She was too tired to make a response, but she took that word with her into the healing sleep. It warmed and cracked her tough heart.

  He called me lover.

  17

  Matesh

  Matesh rubbed his eyes, trying to stop watching her while she slept. Damn, he’d nearly done it. He’d nearly fallen for those sleepy silver-blue eyes, the soft skin only marred by the scars of a warrior.

  He knew better. He wanted so much, and this was one of the very few times they had ever been alone. Neither of them liked to leave Rainev anywhere. Before this, it had only ever been for him to leave and bathe or do his business. This had been their first extended period, just the two of them, since the day they met.

  And he’d nearly fallen onto her cot, wanting to slide between her legs, listen to her mewl in pleasure. Wanting to give her exactly what she wanted.

  Damn it. Curse being an Andinna male right now. I can’t resist her.

  He knew it was a moment of weakness for them both. She was injured and he’d been…captivated by her ability to fight during the games. She had just needed to crook her finger a little, tell him what to do, and he’d been a good Andinna male, ready to please a female who wanted him back.

  Then she bit him, wanting to get rougher with it. Her injury had flashed through his mind. His thought? He couldn’t be too rough without hurting her further.