Page 24 of Ironhold, Trial Two

“This place doesn't give us choices,” I say. “Half the time I still don't understand why you and the other free gladiators choose to be here.”

“Chose,” Alaric corrects me. “Once we commit to this, we must complete our five seasons the same as anyone else.”

“Unless your family buys you out,” I point out. “Don't tell me they don't have enough money for that.”

Alaric nods. “They do, but it's… complicated.”

He looks away, an expression of pain on his face. Momentarily, he touches his bruised cheek.

“Does this have something to do with the patron who hit you?” I ask.

“My mother would never-” Alaric stops short.

“Your mother is the patron you go to see?” I ask. “You’re going to see your family?”

“Not my whole family, just her,” Alaric replies. “It's… complicated.”

“Complicated how?” I ask.

He shakes his head. “I'd rather not talk about it. Some things are too painful. It's easier to bury them.”

“Beneath a facade of arrogance and brilliance?” I guess.

The familiar grin is back. “Who says that the brilliance is a façade?”

There seems to be so much more there to him, waiting somewhere beneath the surface, but he’s only allowing me the briefest of glimpses there. In any case, it seems that neither of us has the time to talk more, because I can see a couple of soldiers approaching with one of the trainers.

“You have been asked for up above, if you would wish to go when you have finished your healing here,” the trainer says to Alaric, then turns to me. “The noblesrequireyour presence.”

It’s a simple way to remind me of the differences between us. Alaric is free, even if he has committed to the games. I am not. I have been summoned, and now I have no choice but to go.

Chapter Fourteen

“You know that I could get you out of the Colosseum?” a drunken nobleman promises me, gesturing to a spot on his couch as if I’m to join him. He is overweight and balding, but seems to assume that I will do what he wants.

“How would you do that?” I ask.

“I would buy you out of Ironhold,” he says. “Just think about it. You could be in the household of nobility. You would never have to worry about violence again. Come here and we'll discuss it.”

“You’d tire of her in a month,” another noble nearby says. It seems that there's a cluster of them all in various stages of inebriation. They must have been drinking steadily as they've been watching the games.

We are in the area given over to mingling between the gladiators and the nobility of Aetheria. It is a large light airy space, hung with drapes and punctuated by statues of great gladiators of the past. There are couches set around it, and servants carry jugs of wine and plates of food. There are private rooms leading off from the central area, for more discreet conversations or for anything else that might happen between the nobles and the gladiators. It is no secret that there is something about the violence and the power of the Colosseum that raises desire in many of the nobles. I suspect some of them even make a game of it. This whole place is about being seen with the gladiators who embody the virtues Aetheria celebrates. A rumor that a noble is sleeping with a famed gladiator only increases their reputation.

I can see some of the other gladiators there. As usual, Ravenna is attracting a lot of attention, and seems happy to play up to it, taking a young nobleman into a side room. Before Ithought it was just her playing games because she could but now I suspect there might be some deeper purposes to it. She has already told me that she seeks to wield influence from within the games. Maybe this opportunity to get close to key nobles is a part of it, especially given what she can do with her powers over people's minds.

Alaric has finished his healing session with Stefano and is back to being his usual bright entertaining self, chatting to a group of noble women who look at him admiringly. At least one has already made an invitation to him, although I'm surprised to find that he hasn't accepted. I think I saw the young gladiator Cesca here as well, which means she must have survived her first match. I'm glad.

“Come on,” the nobleman says to me. “Don't you want to get out of the Colosseum?”

“If the price is having to spend the rest of her days in your bed, Marcus, I'm not sure that's a good trade.” Lady Elara’s voice rings out sharply, cutting through the nobles attempts to get me to spend time with him. She approaches. She is back to wearing noble clothes rather than a dark robe. “I believe it's also considered impolite to poach someone who already has a patron.”

The nobleman throws up his hands. “My apologies. I wasn't aware that your interest in her had persisted.”

“And now you're aware,” Lady Elara says. She holds out her hand to me, and I take it so that she can lead me away from them, heading for one of the side rooms. This one has silken hangings everywhere, in shades of blue and green, so that the light seems to shift as it passes through them, taking on their hues. There are couches there, as there are outside, but there are no servants. Instead, wine and small pastries are set out on a table between the couches.

“Please, sit,” Lady Elara says, gesturing to one of the couches.

I moved towards it but there is a question I need answered before we talk about anything else. “Is it true what he said? That a noble could get me out of here permanently?”

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