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On the streets beside them, people rode horses or lumbering animals the color of sand with strange humps. Others were carried in boxes by strong men with slave collars or rode in sleek carriages.
The streets and buildings slowly began to change, becoming cleaner with people dressed more finely. The buildings changed from mud brick to stone. Gardens and trees lined the white stone streets instead of market stalls.
Even the air was different—hot, dry, and smelling of flowers and spices Fen couldn't name. She spotted a shining palace overlooking the city as they passed through a city square.
"Stop gaping and get moving," a guard snapped at her, and Fen put her head down and hurried to catch up with the others.
They entered a new district, and the cat-headed symbols seemed to be stamped into every building and on every flag. They passed pleasure houses with scantily clad men and women gesturing at the guards to come in.
Finally, they turned a steep corner, and Fen gasped. Before them was one of the biggest buildings she had ever seen. It was built of white stone, with blue columns and flags flying in the breeze. It had three levels, but most confusing of all, it had no roof.
What in Freya's name is this?
"We are all going to die," a man's gruff voice said from behind her.
"Why? What is it?" Fen asked. "Is it a temple?"
"No. That's an arena, woman. We are going to die bloody."
"Silence!" a guard shouted at them.
A tall wooden gate swung open, and they were led through training areas, with big men shooting arrows and throwing spears at dummies. Some were sparring and teasing each other. Some stopped and looked at the groups of slaves with open disgust.
The guards made them stop in front of a balcony overlooking the training yards. A tall man with a shaved head and dressed in shimmering blue robes looked down at them with critical eyes. Fen forced herself to stare back at him.
"I am Nektos of the House of Sekhmet, and you are now my property," he called down to them. "Serve me well, and you will find I am a gracious master. Disobey me, and you will die screaming. That is all." He waved a long hand at the guards to move them on. He leaned over to a woman with a board and said some words to her before disappearing from sight.
"Get moving!" the guard commanded, and they started walking again.
A high-pitched screech shook the training grounds, and pure terror streaked through Fen's veins. The slaves cried out, making the guards laugh.
"Ignorant barbarians," one guard complained.
They were herded around the corner of the building, and Fen's mouth fell open in awe. Massive creatures were being transported in cages and were unlike anything Fen had ever seen. They had wings, disfigured bird heads, and cat bodies.
"That's your fate if you don't prove yourself worthy. The chimeras love to eat disobedient slaves," the guard nearest her said and pushed her forward.
"Don't lie to them," another guard chided. "They will all be chimera food before the week is out."
Fen swallowed down her fear. She had seen falcons and ravens tear through their prey and the dead. She could only wonder what these creatures would do.
The woman she had seen with Nektos met the guards by an archway. The guards all bowed like she was someone important. She was beautifully dressed in the same blue as all the flags.
"Nektos wants the best and strongest to attend the Feast of Sacrifices tonight," she said primly. She looked Fen over. "This one too. He thinks the bidding on her will be good because of her unique coloring, and the men that sold her claimed she was a warrior."
"She looks too scrawny to be a warrior, Azra," the guard said, looking Fen over.
"Then she'll die in sacrifice to Sekhmet. Make sure they are all cleaned up and ready by sundown."
Fen's hands clenched at her sides, and she prayed to Freya. The goddess's rune mark on her thumb burned, and Fen managed a small smile. Freya hadn't abandoned her, not even in this place.
Freya was the goddess of war as well as magic, and Fen had battle songs in her veins. She had been blessed by the other war god, Týr, before being given to the seiðr. She knew his victory runes and how to call on him for aid. She would not be broken by the collar around her neck or the manacles on her arms.
If she died and Odin refused to welcome her to Valhalla, she would walk into the frozen halls of Niflheim with her head high.
If her blood was going to be used as a sacrifice, it sure as Hel wouldn't be in honor of Sekhmet. She would make sure of it.
Three
