Seduced by the Gladiator(31)

At the end of it all, we were both slaves. Nothing could be certain in our lives except for the fact that we would do anything we were told.

Anything at all.



Most often, when the dominus had an announcement to make, he stood on the balcony that overlooked the ludus, while we gladiators gathered beneath it. Today he had come right into the yard, walking slowly, not wanting the dust to stain the ornate toga that he had not worn earlier.

His face showed excitement, and perhaps I imagined it, but I thought that I saw a trace of distaste lying beneath it.

“Gather around, men.” The dominus lifted his arms up, urging us in. Sensing Christus’ presence directly behind me, I moved to the far side of the group, where Darius stood, his dark skin gleaming in the early evening sun. He patted me on the back firmly in greeting before his eyes darted across the way to Christus.

“What is happening?” I knew that my friend spoke not of the dominus’ announcement, but of me and Christus—he knew me far too well for me to be able to hide our involvement. I, however, had no interest whatsoever in talking about it, so I scowled and shook my head vehemently, gesturing instead to our owner.

“We have received exciting news today, men.” The dominus scanned the group of us, and I noticed that he did not meet my eyes—this was rare, as we all knew that I was his favorite.

Something heavy began to form in my stomach.

“Gaius, brother of the emperor, has announced that he intends to host the biggest arena games that Rome has ever seen.” A great roar rose up from the men, and I understood and shared in their feeling.

This was the life that we had been granted by the gods. All that we could do was make the most of it.

“Gaius has honored our ludus by issuing an invitation to participate.” Another cheer went around, and I took the momentary distraction to sneak a look at Christus, who still stood on the other side of the group.

His arms were folded across his chest. He did not look happy.

“Gaius himself will select those among you who are worthy of participating.” Here the cheers gave way to boasts. Who would be chosen? Who would deserve the honor, the potential riches to be gained?

My blood began to heat at the talk. Why was no one mentioning my name? If this announcement had been made only days earlier, my name would have been the one on everyone’s lips—Lilia the fiercest, Lilia the strong.

I knew that it was the appearance of Christus in the ludus that had diminished my importance. He had done nothing to bring this on, but the reality remained that he was stronger and far more dominant than I, a truth that had nothing to do with the fact that he was a man and I a woman.

My relationship with him was uncertain, and I knew that I needed to look out for myself. No matter my feelings for the man—and I had many, complex ones all—I knew then that I needed to participate in these games in order to restore my reputation.

A hand raised by the dominus commanded us all to cease our talk. His face was more serious than I had ever seen it.

“Be forewarned. If you are chosen, you will participate. This is your life, this is what you do. But these games are unlike any that I have ever heard of. Gaius is sparing no expense, and there are rumors of obstacles to be faced that you could not even dream of.”

I was strong. I could do it, whatever it was.

“Also . . . two men each from fifteen ludi will compete in one epic game. Only one will be permitted to survive.” I blinked, suddenly stunned, and from the drop in volume of the voices around me, I could tell that I was not the only one who was shocked.

Only one would be permitted to survive? If all of the best men from each of Rome’s ludi were selected to participate, then nearly all of the legends of the arena would fall to the sword of another.

The heat in my blood cooled rapidly, making me dizzy, and angry as well. Days earlier, even with the threat of probable death, I would have been eager to compete—would have expected to be chosen for a place in the munera—public events sponsored by the wealthy to appease the masses.

Now feelings that I could not quite identify worried at my insides. Perhaps I did not want to die in the arena, not in a bloodbath such as this one. Yet there was no point in thinking in such a fashion, for in the end I had no say in the matter.

Perhaps it was a happy occurrence that I was no longer seen as the strongest. But then . . .

I turned slowly, my eyes darting through the group to where Christus stood. If he was the strongest, the best, then he would be chosen.

He would be the one who would, in all likelihood, die.

The thought hit me like a fist in the face.

Christus looked no happier than I. I started to make my way toward him, finding at that moment that I did not care about much else. Dimly I was aware that the dominus had ended his speech and was answering questions from those who had them. The men were milling about, some with excitement, some with shock themselves.