Page 32 of Ironhold, Trial Two

“And I didn't even do what he wanted,” Alaric says. “What they all wanted. I signed up for the Colosseum instead. I've always been good at fighting.”

“And it's a grand tradition among the nobles,” I say.

“Maybe for some of us. Vex and the like,” Alaric says. “Others do it because they think it will get them some advantage, or lead to greater position. My family has always seen itself as above all that. Until now.”

“I take it your family isn’t happy you’ve signed up for the Colosseum?” I say.

Alaric laughs, harshly. “My father actually thought he might be able to buy me out of it. I refused, of course. My mother is the only one who will speak to me, and she has to do it secretly so that my father doesn't find out. She plays the part of my mysterious patron.”

“And the bruising on your face when you came back the other night?” I ask.

“My father came home unexpectedly. He's the one who struck me. And I… it would have been so easy to fight back. I'm a trained gladiator and a free one, so I'm not even bound by the same constraints as the rest of you. I could have struck him back. But I didn’t, and I'm still not sure why.”

“Because he's your father,” I say. “And in spite of it all, I guess you still love him.”

“Love?” Alaric looks puzzled by the word. His usual mask of arrogance is sliding back into place. “You do have some strange ideas, Lyra.”

The more I see of highborn society, the more I'm convinced that it isn't any easier than the rest of Aetheria. Everyone seems to be striving for position, or consumed by the requirements of duty. If I survive my five seasons, if I marry and have children, those children will be highborn. Is that really a world I want for any of them? I think of Seatide, And how much simpler everything was there.

Even as I'm thinking of it, a couple of soldiers come for me.

“Your patron requires your presence,” they say.

I don't want to see her. She's the last person I want to talk to after what she's done. Right now, I feel as though if I see Elara, I will lash out. But the truth is I don't get a choice.

Chapter Nineteen

The strangest part is that Lady Elara takes me out of the Colosseum. I didn’t know she could do that, the way she can with Ironhold, but it seems that she can. We ride in her elegant palanquin without me saying a word to her.

“Really?” she says. “You're not going to talk to me?”

I hold up my wrist by way of an answer. “You're the reason I have to wear this.”

“I did that to save you,” she replies. “I know you might not believe it, but I'm doing my best for you.”

“I'm not sure I do believe it,” I say, as the palanquin jolts its way through the streets. “It's obvious you have your own agenda. And you just stood by while the wraith broke free. You could have helped.”

“Only by using my own power over beasts,” she says. “And I maintain my position because people believe I am just an illusionist. If I had helped you, I would probably have had to flee the city.”

“So you muted my powers instead,” I say. I claw at the bracelet wrapped around my wrist. It does not yield. “Can this even be removed?”

“You can't remove it, but another might be able to damage it enough to break the binding. And before you ask, I won't do that, not yet.”

“Why not?” I ask.

She raises her eyebrows. “For one thing, it would be a little obvious. You leave with me, and you come back without the bracelet I had them put on you? They would know I removed it, and trouble would follow for me.”

“What about the trouble that’s coming for me?” I demand. “I still have another fight and you've taken my powers from me.”

Lady Elara shakes her head then. “They have not been taken from you, merely limited. You will still be able to fight and win. I believe that. You must trust me on this.”

“Again, we're back to trust, but you haven't given me any reason to trust you.”

I hear her sigh. She leans out of the palanquin. “That's far enough.”

We get out, and she leads the way through the streets, grabbing two cloaks as she goes. She passes one to me, wrapping the other around herself. I know without being told where we're going.

We don't take the same route into the catacombs beneath the city, but it doesn't seem to make any difference to Lady Elara. She seems to know the way, leading me back to the temple of Deira.

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