Page 5 of Ironhold, Trial Two

I spin as he says it, seeing a version of him swinging towards me across the room. This time I extend my trident, butt first, and there's a satisfying impact as he swings into it. The illusions disappear and now we are sparring, me on the ground, himscrambling among the chains. Given how fast and deadly Alaric is, his disadvantage almost makes things even.

Even then, he somehow springs from one of the chains in a backflip that sends him over my head to land behind me, sword lightly touching my throat.

“You know, I should have thought to demand a forfeit for the loser,” he says. “There are so many delightful possibilities.”

“But thankfully, you tend to act first and think later,” I say. It’s all too easy to imagine the kind of forfeit he might have asked for, and I don’t want a part of his games. I’m almost certain of it.

He bows as if I have complimented him. “Always ready to puncture my ego, Lyra.”

“Someone has to.”

He shakes his head. “Strictly speaking, as a noble of Aetheria, mere commoners such as yourself are actively forbidden from doing it. I should be defending the honor of my noble family's name.”

“And why don't you?” I ask. Alaric seems happy for me to poke fun at him when I know he has fought duels over such things in the past.

“Perhaps some things are easier to hear from a beautiful woman than from others,” Alaric suggests. “Or perhaps I suspect that all of this may secretly be affection, a declaration of your need for me. In any case, I don't have time to teach you a proper lesson. I must get to the bathhouse to clean up. I am required down in the city, and I need to look my best.”

That catches me by surprise. “You get to leave Ironhold?”

There are rows of soldiers on the walls to prevent exactly that. I found out on my first day as a captive that those who try to run are killed. I saw a young man’s throat cut by the side of the road to prove it.

“Is it because you’re a free gladiator?” I ask. “I heard that some of them get to leave, but I wasn’t sure whether to believe it.”

Alaric shakes his head. “We are as committed to Ironhold as you, Lyra, until we serve out our seasons. But those who have successfully completed their first may find themselves… sponsored on visits to Aetheria by suitably high-born individuals."

“Sponsored?” I say. This is the first I have heard of gladiators being taken out of Ironhold, except to fight on the holy days of the city.

“They call it that,” Alaric says. “Mostly, it is similar to the time we spend with them after fighting. They wish to be seen with us, or they desire us. Occasionally, they want to build connections with us. It makes them feel more important to be seen next to a gladiator who has made a name for themselves.”

“Theyareimportant,” I point out. “They're nobles.”

Alaric smiles, as if he can't imagine most nobles being all that important. He comes from a very wealthy family, after all.

“So who's your sponsor?” I ask. “Some noble determined to bed you? Someone who wants to be seen next to the great Alaric Blackthorn?”

“One day you will call me that and sound as though you mean it,” Alaric says, with a sigh. “Maybe on that day, I might even let you know who my sponsor is. Probably not, though. Now, excuse me, Lyra. Unless you wanted to join me in the bathhouse?”

He already knows the answer to that. I let him go, thinking about this new thing I've learned. There is a way for me to leave Ironhold. But only if there is a noble who wants me to. And I know there is at least one noble who might be interested in that.

Chapter Three

“I made it!”

I'm delighted and surprised to find that Cesca makes it through the selection process. She hugs me in the great dining hall, dressed now in the brief skirt sandals and halter top that form the training gear for a new gladiator. She has the circle representing the Colosseum burned into her left shoulder, the same as all the rest of us.

“Thank you,” she says. “Without your encouragement, I would have given up. I wouldn't be here without you, Lyra. I wouldn't have a chance at freedom.”

I hope I have done the right thing by encouraging her. It means that she is now in a dangerous place and will need to fight for her life.

“What's your talent?” I ask. I hope she is not a null. She does not have the size or strength to survive without powers.

“I can conjure small sparks of lightning,” she says. “And I already know about you. Everyone talks about you. You can control beasts.”

She says it as if that is something exciting rather than something to be afraid of. Something the people of the city hate.

“I can talk to them,” I correct her. I know that's not the extent of my powers, but I also know I must be at least a little discreet. Beast whisperers are not loved in Aetheria.

The surprising thing is that people are talking about me. I know people were cheering for me in the Colosseum but those here in Ironhold know me. Surely I am not famous among them?

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