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Fuck.
Rhazien loved to host gladiator games every month with courtesans as prizes, and they always ended the same way. Him winning since none of the nobles would truly stand against him. On the few times I’d been forced to take part, I’d conceded without ever touching the sand, having no interest in giving Rhazien a chance to kill me with an audience. But those days didn’t have nearly as many concubines for him to claim or the emperor in attendance. I was going to have to fight today. No doubt all the potential heirs would, at least if they wanted to be noticed by Varzorn.
A few of the lords had already begun eyeing the courtesans hungrily, ready to take whatever they could get. Across the sands, a woman stood on the platform in stark contrast to the rest of them. She wore all white, the thin material revealing her lush body, her hair cascading down her back like spun silver, interwoven with lilies. Her eyes were a deep green, piercing in their intensity, and something about them seemed familiar. But mostly I noticed how she was looking around her with utter disdain for those gathered there, as if she hated them as much as I.
“The winner will get a first choice of which flower he’d like to... pluck.” He grinned as the audience laughed.
“Or she.” The eldest Sarro daughter called out, the one they nicknamed the ‘Young Bear,’ since she was just as hard headed as her grandfather.
The crowd parted as Caelia Sarro strode through them, her dark hair cropped short above her ears and armor clanking with every step. Her muscular frame was impressive and Raenisa tensed beside me in admiration of the woman before us. The Young Bear had been feared for years, not because she was cruel but because she refused to follow the traditions that bound us all and damned anyone in her way. I’d admire her more if she and her siblings hadn’t been grasping for the throne since before I was born.
“We’ll go first. Come on, Theodas.” She announced, her gaze never wavering from Rhazien’s smug face. He smirked back with a nod and gestured for her to join the crowd of fighters below.
The audience held their breath, eagerness filling the arena like a current of electricity as the oldest Sarro stepped onto the sand, Theodas quickly putting on armor on the edges of the coliseum. Gold, copper, and silver adorned him and I snickered.
“Someone needs a lot of help, it seems.”
Zerek chuckled, his sharp eyes following Theodas as the snake shouted at the servants below. “With that much silver and copper, he has to wear the gold just to walk.”
Caelia wore mostly gold, going for brute strength in her fighting style, unsurprising. Her face betrayed no emotion as she stepped forward and bowed.
I held my breath as they began to circle each other, both looking for an opening to strike. Caelia advanced first, sending a volley of blows towards Theodas’ chest plate.
She was graceful and powerful as she moved, every action economical and precise. Theodas followed suit, but with a much different grace; his movements were wild and untamed, combined with strength that only comes from battles fought time and time again—something I knew all too well.
I raised a brow and nodded to Zerek. “Black Theo has been training.”
The Young Bear seemed unconcerned by the ferocity of Theodas’ attacks, blocking them with her shield or dodging them completely. No matter how powerful his blows were, she always stayed one step ahead of him.
Until he managed a scratch.
Her movements slowed, and she shook her head as if trying to clear it, and he pressed his advantage. She tried to dodge his strikes but soon found herself backed against the wall of the arena, arms shaking with exhaustion. Theodas lifted his sword high and brought it down hard, slamming it onto her helmet and knocking her out. He stood, lifting his blade in the air in victory.
“Poison?” Raenisa murmured, and I nodded in agreement.
“Fucking snakes,” Zerek swore. “You expect that shit from a Lazan.”
“You forget who their mother is.” I pointed out, glancing to where Theodas’ mother lounged with the empress, a knowing smile curving her lips. “This clutch of vipers has fangs.”
Raenisa made a face as Caelia’s brother rushed out, pulling his sister to safety and shooting Black Theo a sinister look.
Rhazien clucked his tongue in mock surprise. “What a shame. Why don’t you teach him a lesson, Theron?”
I looked at Rhazien and Varzorn. Their faces were nearly mirror images of one another, both eager to see me fall to my rival. I sighed, feeling the weight of their combined gaze. There would be no bowing out this time. To do so would mark me as an easy target for the others vying for Varzorn’s attention.
I stood up and squared my shoulders. “As you wish, brother.”
The crowd erupted in cheers at the announcement as I followed Raenisa down to the arena, tightening the straps on my armor until it was snug.
“He feints left before he attacks. ‘Strike true,’ my ass.”
I grunted in response. I’d noticed the same.
“Make him pay,” Raenisa growled, her eyes locked on Theodas with a bloodthirsty look. The Taelyrs were fiercely loyal; I didn’t think Theodas understood just what kind of enemy he’d made in Raenisa when he’d stolen our assignment. He performed a show of stretching his sword arm, confident now as he strutted around the arena. His expression fell when he turned and saw it was me he faced.
“Theron? Why are you—?”
“Varzorn.” I shrugged. “And you know why.”
