In the end, he won the sparring match, able to get close to the other gladiator and give him a solid hit to the head. It hadn’t even felt like work.
It proceeded like this all morning, with Rainev also doing well against his opponent. He nearly broke the male’s knee with the hit he got.
“Well, that was interesting,” Rain said as they were done. The bell rang for lunch and they moved down into the chow hall.
“We were outed, and I don’t like that,” Mat muttered as he got his food.
“We’ll deal with it,” she said quietly.
He nodded, unable to find anything to say as they moved to their seats. As Mat sat down with her and Rainev, Seventy-Two walked over to them.
“Why don’t you males come sit with us and talk?” It sounded friendly and respectful. An olive branch.
Really?
“Why don’t you go shove that new attitude up your ass?” Mat answered, taking a bite of his slop.
Rainev laughed, snorting into his food, unable to control himself.
“You don’t need to hang with her just because the Empress owns you. You belong with other males who know right from wrong.”
Mat stood up slowly, and found he was just as tall as Seventy-Two. He looked over the male. He was standard, probably around Mat’s age, maybe older, nearing two thousand at the oldest. Definitely pre-War born, though. Definitely fought in the Hundred Year War.
“Right from wrong? I think you’re a worthless piece of shit, Seventy-Two. I think you’ve gone so far from our ways that there’s no fucking saving you. I’m sitting where I need to sit, doing what a good male Andinna does.” Matesh sneered as he looked over Seventy-Two. “I damn sure don’t condone the shit you all have been saying or doing since I got here. It sure isn’t what our people do. So I’m not really fucking sure I want to know what you think is right or wrong, but I’m sure it's not the same as I was taught.”
“If she were a different female, I would say you’re right.” Seventy-Two crossed his arms. “But she’s Maevana Lorren. She’s the reason we lost the damn war. She doesn’t deserve to be treated like an Andinna. She might as well be an Elvasi.”
“If she were an Elvasi, she wouldn’t be a slave,” he growled as he spoke, the deep rumble in his chest. He leaned into Seventy-Two’s face. “And as a heads-up? The Ivory Shadow Company’s leaders - and my friends - would see you as the blood traitor, not her.”
Seventy-Two just snarled and walked away. Matesh knew he had just drawn a line, made a real enemy. He didn’t fucking care. Seventy-Two had wanted the friendship of the Ivory Shadows, and he wasn’t going to find it. It would have been good for his ego, even if it didn’t get them anything more.
Matesh looked around the room.
“You all disgust me.” He said it loud enough for everyone to hear. He sat back down and looked at Rainev, who nodded in agreement. She just sat in silence, looking at him in a mix of confusion, anger, and if he was guessing right, respect. Gratitude. He had just declared himself to her, and made every other Andinna in the room hate him for it. It was no longer a quiet alliance. Now it was right on the surface. He was going to fight for her. He couldn’t do anything else without feeling like he dishonored himself.
None of them brought it up for the rest of the day. They only spoke about training, ignoring the hateful glares now being thrown at all of them. Not only did the gladiators know he and Rain were the good guys, they also knew they were considered the bad ones. To Mat, at least.
They survived another day’s training. They had sparred more against other gladiators, and it was angrier than it had been during the morning training. They looked at the group, him and Rain especially, with hate in their eyes he’d only seen reserved for Mave. By the end of the day, he was tired, but he still felt like he’d made the right decision.
When the evening training was called to end, Mave practically stormed back to her room and he had to work to keep up, Rain behind him. He stopped in her room, Rainev thumping into his back.
“Mave, I had to.”
“No, you damn well didn’t,” she snapped. He was glad to see her angry and not detached. That was good. Her glare was fierce and did awful things to him. He loved a woman with a temper. He wanted to see more of hers.
Yeah, yell at me. Get angry. Show me more. He wanted to kill himself for the thoughts, especially about her. This wasn’t the time, place, or female for that sort of thing.
“I did. Because they aren’t good Andinna men. They don’t get to come to me and Rainev, begging for our approval and friendship when they are all fucked in the head.”
“You didn’t need to do it,” she growled out, fury the only thing he could see in her eyes. Then she softened. “But I won’t lie and say I’m not thankful. I was worried that them offering you a place meant you would leave our alliance.”
“Nah, illo amyr. We won’t leave you for that trash. You’re stuck with us now, even if we are making mistakes that are going to get us killed!” Rainev laughed. “Matesh and I, we’ll die on the sands before giving up what is right, though. If that’s the way it's got to go, then that’s what we’re going to do.”
“Stupid,” she mumbled, shaking her head.
He had wanted her angry and gotten it. Now it was fading, and it had given him a look at her he hadn’t expected. She’d been scared to lose them to the other gladiators.
Silence fell over them, heavy with the words they had just said.
Finally, Rain broke the silence. “I’m going to bathe.” He walked into the other room, leaving Mat to look her over. She pulled off her armor, leaving on the underclothing. She practically fell, looking exhausted, onto her cot, leaving space for them to also sit down.
“How did the bruising feel today? And the nose?” He did the same, stripping his armor and sitting next to her on the cot. He kept a fair amount of distance between them, to keep her comfortable.
“The same as it always does. Slows me down a little, but I can ignore it.”
“That’s good.”
Silence fell. They both sat with clasped hands and waited for Rainev to finish. When his nephew walked out, nude and grinning, Mat quickly took the bath, closing himself in. He listened to them talk quietly about wing care, especially when they were injured. He was constantly reminded about how very little she knew. Rainev explained that their wings were fairly delicate, but not as delicate as butterflies. A tear could be sewn up and one could fly again, but it would scar.
He closed his eyes and just let their voices wash over him as he sank into the bath further. It could almost be normal, as if any minute his uncle would walk in and go off about something even more detailed and ridiculous about Andinna history and their wings.
He would get a perverse pleasure from meeting Mave, I know it. He’d find her a delight to teach, more than likely.
When he opened his eyes, he knew it was never going to happen. The Ivory Shadows had one rule. If you’re caught, don’t talk. Not so you can wait for rescue - just don’t talk. No one was coming to save them.
When he was done bathing, he got dressed before he walked back out. He had noticed how her eyes always drifted over him when he was nude. Not like he was a piece of meat, but rather, she was sizing him up and drinking him in. With what just happened, he felt wrong going out there and riling her up, having a bit of fun being nude and knowing she found him attractive.
He wasn’t Rain. He damn sure didn’t want her as a sister. The problem was, with everything else around them, he really shouldn’t be wanting her at all.
“Let’s go, Rain. She’ll need her rest. Will you be able to get up before the breakfast bell?” he asked, before grabbing Rain to get off her cot.
“Of course. I’ve never missed it.” She stood up to get her own bath. “Be safe. You pissed off a lot of people today.” There was a worry in her voice that touched him.
“Will do,” he promised.
“Good night, illo amyr,” Rain said before leaving. He followed h
is adopted nephew out, thinking about how she sounded just then.
Once they were further from her, Mat frowned down at the smaller male. “Why do you keep saying it in Andena?”
“It feels right. She doesn’t know our people so…” Rain shrugged. “Let’s just get to our room and get some sleep. It’s not that big of a deal.”
A gift, then. He was calling her that to make her feel more connected.
I love you, nephew. Don’t let this place take that good from you.
They did just as Rain suggested. There was even a door on the room they had found. They had some extra cots pushed together, old things, but it was more space. They could keep their wings and tails off the floor now.
10
Mave
Another week crawled by and Mave was feeling antsy with every passing day. Something had changed in the pits, and not for the better.
“Are those guys glaring at us again?” Rain asked softly, nodding to a group of scarred and rough males not many messed with. They were some that she always kept her eyes on, knowing it was their type that always broke first, always caused her the most problems.
“Yes,” she answered. She looked at Mat, who glared back at them, fire in his green eyes. The more she saw of his temper, the more she liked it. Free Andinna. True Andinna, he’d said. He said the way the other males acted was wrong, that the Andinna were a community. Throwing out one of their own wasn’t acceptable, not like they had her.
He was going to stick by their race’s principles even if it killed him.
She had a lot of respect for that, even though it aggravated her deeply sometimes. He was going to take her down with him and his nephew. There wasn’t much she could do about it unless she wanted to push them away and break the alliance. Impossible. They were in it now and there was no turning back.
I don’t think I could get rid of them even if I wanted to, even if it was possible. They’re too stubborn to leave me alone now.
And I’m thankful for it.
“Leave it, Mat. They will always glare,” she told him, hoping to see him calm.
He did, his eyes falling on her and the fire inside them dimming, only slightly. “We’ll meet them on the sands and that will be that?”
“Yes. If you meet them on the sands, you can show them, but not a moment sooner. I don’t pick fights, only defend myself. You need to do the same. The fights are normally blamed on the aggressor. Don’t be the aggressor.” She stood up as the bell for lunch’s end came. They followed her, and in unison, they held out their bowls for the dwarf. He glared at all of them, but said nothing. Just another day.
When they got to the training area, they moved to their circle. About ten gladiators took their spot as they walked to it.
“Find another one,” one gruffly said, grinning at them.
Mave raised her eyebrows and turned away. This is how it’s going to be? Petty, childish shit? I knew I lived with idiots, but I didn’t think they were babes. “They’ll quit that after you win a fight or two on the sands. Or they get slaughtered in a group fight. We haven’t had one of those in a few months. It’s about time.”
“I look forward to it,” Mat said calmly. She resisted the urge to smile. She didn’t smile, not out in the training area.
“I have some important news this afternoon!” a lenasti called out, holding a scroll above his head.
Mat and Rain both gave her curious looks, but she shook her head. She had no idea what this was about.
“This coming month is the one-thousand year anniversary of the Hundred Year War, or rather, the Final Battle. The Empress has declared not just a day of games, but a full week! Seven days of games until the grand finale on the very day.”
“Damn,” she mumbled. She had missed another birthday. One day she would stop forgetting the actual date, only that it was right before the Final Battle, right before she had been taken. One thousand and five years. Coming up was her one thousand year mark in slavery exactly. Rain kept his eyes on her, but she ignored the concern. She didn’t know what to say.
Sometimes it feels like a blink of an eye. Most of the time, it feels like the eternity it’s been. How do I describe the sensation of it? How do I help someone understand how it feels?
“You will fight beasts. You will fight each other. You will fight the other ludas here in the capital, who think they can lay claim to these sands and stand against you, the gladiators of the pits, the real gladiators of Colosseum! You will fight gladiators from the small hovels across the Empire, who think they can claim our capital! You will be expected to win and do these pits proud as the best gladiators in Elliar.” He waved with the scroll. “This is the tentative schedule. It tells me which beasts will be there to fight, which other ludas are given which days. I will be looking closely at you for the next week, deciding who will fight when and how. Perform your best, because fighting and surviving the week will give you not two days off, but a full week, with real meals, and even, maybe, some entertainment.”
Mave heard that last part. A full week. Real food. She didn’t care about the entertainment. That wasn’t a concern for her as long as she didn’t become the entertainment.
That will help me and the guys a lot. It would give us a chance to hide and lose the heat from the other gladiators.
With that, the lenasti left the balcony and went to get a group to start training. She looked around, hoping to find them a spot to train, but it seemed some of the bigger groups had broken up into smaller ones and did so purposefully. Every circle was claimed, and every training dummy was taken.
“Where are we going to train?” Rain asked softly. “We’ll talk more on the rest later?”
“We will. As for training…” She frowned and looked to an empty section. No real circle, but it would work. There weren’t circles in the sands and they didn’t need one to train. “Come.”
“Champion. Ivory Shadows, a moment. Now.” She stopped her step and looked to the lenasti.
“Yes, sir?” she asked carefully, forcing her eyes down.
“You’ll all be fighting every day, per orders of the Empress. Stay healthy, and by that I mean keep your skills sharp, but don’t overwork yourselves. She wants all of you to live through the damned week, too, which means I’m giving you free rein on how you want to do that.” He walked away from them.
That was the best thing she had heard all damn week.
“Let’s get out of here then,” she told her allies. “He’s given us free rein to practice other places, or take time off in the hottest hours. We can’t skip too much, but we can skip.”
“Is this a privilege of being owned by the Empress? I’m inclined to stay out here and work harder.” Mat grunted, crossing his arms.
“Seven days of fighting to the death. If you consider that a privilege, then you’ve lost your mind. Take the rest they’re offering or they won’t offer it again.” Mave glared to him. “Don’t get arrogant and stuck on this. The lenasti are nicer to me than them, and that’s a blessing.” She nodded her head to where one was cracking his whip near some of the other gladiators. It was just something that happened every training. She hadn’t heard the whip crack at her in centuries, since she didn’t cause the problems in the pits. She never really had, only ended trouble others gave her.
Please, Mat. Don’t argue. Not right now. We’ve got a hard week coming. We need this right now.
“Fine.” Mat nodded, then followed her down the stairs. No one called out to them or jeered as they left. They were all too busy being pushed further than their limits by the lenasti, who were in a mood now, knowing this week of games could make or break their careers.
She led them to her room and sighed in a little happiness at the cool air of the tunnels compared to the raging hot sun.
“I hate the tunnels,” she said softly. “But this, during the hottest point of the day, is nice.”
“Anden is a northern area, colder than this on average. It’s what we Andinna need. The humid heat doesn�
�t sit well with us.” Mat sat down on her cot, with Rain falling next to him. She sat on her chest, listening. “Now most free Andinna live in the Free Cities of Olost. Hot over there, since most of it is too far south, but it’s at least freedom. You like the cold and there’s nothing wrong with it. Normal. Enough about that, though. What’s with all of this? Other ludas? Games? Beasts? What’s this going to look like? I remember something similar being talked about five-hundred years ago? Same deal?”
“Yeah,” she sighed out. “So they’ll bring in chained wyverns, and gryphons, even a load of standard beasts like the maned cats, or the striped ones. Lions and tigers. Bears too. For a week, it’s just one fight after another. There’ll be small, fake reenactments of battles, and even several show fights. I promise you, at least once, I’ll be fighting three other gladiators at once. Their goal will be to kill me and mine will be to kill all of them.”
“Wyverns, huh? Thought those were extinct on this side of the mountains.” Rain tapped his chin. “Think I’ll go against one?”
She knew he was referring to the mountains that once served as Anden’s border. She knew about the Dragon’s Spine, thanks to being forced into so many meetings by the Empress.
“No. They aren’t so foolish to put a shifter with his animal. They know what you are, make no doubt about it.” She had learned only recently. Interesting, that the happy younger male was a fearsome wyvern shifter of the same color as his horns, wings, and tail. Apparently, all Andinna and Clan mutts became wyverns, of various colors. That had been something she didn’t know.
“Of course they know.” Rainev mumbled. “It was worth the idea.”
“The city will be packed, overcrowded. She probably sent word out to the furthest territories already to let people come from all over the Empire and experience her favorite thing. Gladiator fights.” Mave swished her tail around, annoyed with the reality of a week of games. “Fighting every day, we’re going to get tired and the other fighters will use the opportunity to cause problems. They will be wound up, angry, hot, and tired. It’s going to be a madhouse down here. Don’t mess with the other ludas, either. They run with different rules and could be even worse than the gladiators here. Also, we just don’t need any more enemies.”
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