Page 49 of Ironhold, Trial One

“The colosseum is brutal,” Lady Elara says. “But that is because of the system there, not because of what you can do. If anything, it is all the more reason why you should learn to deal with your powers. You could be one of the strongest beast whisperers I have seen, Lyra.”

“What do you get from helping me?” I ask.

“Has the violence and the death made you that suspicious already?” Lady Elara asks.

“Someone told me earlier that people would try to use me for their own ends,” I say.

She sighs. "It is natural not to be trusting here, but what I seek is to preserve those of us with a rare talent. With the right training, we can be powerful, and we can achieve great things. My hope is that you will survive your time in the Colosseum and go on to more. Far more."

“What did you have in mind?” I ask.

Lady Elara shakes her head. “That is for you to decide, not me. I am merely offering to help you on your journey. Although I must warn you again that there are risks.”

“Because we’re hated,” I say. “Because of the emperor’s vision?”

“And… this is an unpredictable talent. We are connecting to other living, thinking beings. There are those who say that something comes back along that connection. That a beast whisperer who is not careful can start to lose themselves, can become more beast than person.”

That catches me by surprise, and it's a frightening thought. “You didn't tell me that before.”

“No,” Lady Elara admits. “I suspected that if I told you it too soon you would refuse my help. And that help is vital now that it is clear you will use your powers. You need to learn to use them without losing yourself. Without giving yourself over completely to the bestial side that seeks to take over. Will you do it, Lyra? Will you let me train you?”

She has already held back information. It makes me wonder if I can trust her. For all her talk of wanting to help her kind, I get the feeling that Lady Elara has her own agenda. She sees a useful tool in me, and she is hoping that I will be able to do things that she cannot for whatever cause she represents.

But I must trust her, at least for now. I need to know more about controlling the powers I possess, more about what I can do. It might make the difference between living and dying in the arena.

“I accept.”

CHAPTER TWENTY NINE

The next morning is quiet.A few people are starting to train again, but many more are taking the time to relax for one day, recovering from everything that has happened to them, making sure that they are in good shape to resume the constant grind of training to come.

I fall somewhere in between. I am not yet ready to resume training in earnest, but I work out in the practice yard, trying to get better with my net and trident, knowing that, as much as I hate the violence of the arena, I will need to be skilled with them if I am going to survive.

I see Naia running around from gladiator to gladiator, administering what healing she can. This is going to be an exhausting day for her as she tries to help everyone recover. I'm glad to see that she goes to Rowan early in the day. For all my work with needle and thread, I know that she will be able to heal him more completely.

There is at least one figure I am less happy to see healed. I'm sitting out in the practice yard between working on the practice posts when Vex approaches. He wears noble clothes today, rather than training gear, clearly determined to proclaim his status. Maybe it also hides whatever scars he has from my trident.

“That’s twice you’ve beaten me,” he says. “But it won't last. I am from a line of great gladiators, whereas you will never be more than a slave girl taken from a village.”

I can feel anger rising in me at those words. “Four more seasons, and I will be free. I will be a citizen of Aetheria, the same as you.”

“The same as me?” he says. “Beast whisperer scum like you will never be the same as me. Even if you somehow survive Iwill still be noble born, and you will be nobody. You will have to sell yourself in marriage to some minor noble just to avoid being penniless. If the emperor doesn’t have you killed.”

Is that really what he thinks will happen? Is that really the only way he can think of the world working?

“That's if you even survive,” he says. “Do you think they're really going to let something like you live? Maybe they’ll give me another chance against you.”

“I beat you,” I remind him. “The only reason you’re still alive is because I refused to finish you.”

“You beat me because of a trick,” he snaps back, as if he hadn't arranged for my own partner to betray me. “You won't have any tricks to save you next time.”

He turns his back, stalking away.

“He always did have a flair for the dramatic.” Ravenna approaches. She is back to wearing her usual elegant dresses, her dark hair spilling past her shoulders. “Although you should be a little careful around him. Vex tends to hold a grudge.”

“I’ve been told that before,” I say. “I’m not afraid of him.”

Ravenna shakes her head. “You should be. You should be wary of everyone. Remember, everyone here is fighting for their lives, even those of us who have chosen to be here. It makes people dangerous.”

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