Ironhold, Trial One (Ironhold #1)

CHAPTER TWELVE

“They think I did it deliberately,” I say to Naia as she heals the wounds Vex has inflicted on me, back in the space past the iron gates .

“Didn’t you?” she asks.

I shake my head. “ I wouldn't even know how to do something like that. I can talk to animals, but I can't force them to do anything. No one can, as far as I know.”

“There are stories about people who can,” Naia says. “Beast whisperers. But they… they’re forbidden.”

“I’m not one of them,” I insist. “When a bear came to my village, I had to distract it with fish. I couldn't just tell it to go. The shadow cat simply decided to help me.”

“ Well, I'm glad it did,” Naia says, as she finishes her work. She helps me out of my armor. “But you're going to have to work on your skills with weapons. All this means is that you're going to have to fight in the colosseum.”

That's a terrifying thought because I doubt there will be a shadow cat there to save me. I know the others will want me to improve my skills with weapons, but I'm not sure that physical skill is the problem. The problem is that even with someone like Vex, who chose to be a gladiator and who was clearly being as cruel as possible, I couldn't bring myself to kill him.

If I don't have that in me, how long will I really last in the games?

“Come on,” Naia says. “The others will want to see that you're all right. Let's go back to the barracks.”

I nod, trying not to think of the way some of those in the stands were baying for my blood. It doesn't matter that I'm training alongside them, or even that many of them are my friends. What matters is that this is a place of blood and death. There is every chance that I might be pitted against someone I like in the colosseum. Will someone like Rowan be able to kill me? Will he be given a choice?

We start to head back to the barracks, through the twists and turns of Ironhold. We are most of the way back when a woman steps into our path. She is in her early twenties, her dark hair falling in waves like a midnight sky, and it is a sky lit by stars, because silver ornaments glitter in her hair. Her eyes are so dark that they almost match her hair, while her features are angular and striking. She wears a long, crimson dress, which falls loose from one shoulder to display the mark of a fellow gladiator. Although it is obvious from the richness of her belongings and the lack of an iron collar around her neck that she is one of the group of free gladiators, there for honor and glory.

“Congratulations on your victory,” she says. She has a beautiful voice, rich and deep with honey notes. But then, everything about her is beautiful. “It’s Lyra, isn’t it?”

“Yes,” I say.

“And I am Ravenna.” She turns to Naia, offering her a sweet smile. “I would like to talk with Lyra alone. Please leave us.”

I start to say that Naia doesn't have to go anywhere, but Naia is already nodding along with the idea.

"Yes, yes, of course, Ravenna."

Naia leaves without even looking back at me. Is it just that this woman is powerful and rich? Is she that afraid of crossing her?

“What do you want to talk to me about?” I demand. “I should be getting back to see my friends.”

“I'd like to think we could be friends,” Ravenna says. She lays a hand on my arm, her touch delicate but also strangely strong. “But let's not talk here. My rooms are just a short way away. We can be more comfortable there.”

“I shouldn't…” I begin, but I can't remember exactly what I shouldn't be doing. It seems obvious that I should go along with what Ravenna wants. She just wants to talk with me, after all.

“I won't keep you for long,” she says, starting to lead me down the corridor. “Come along, Lyra, it’s just this way.”

I go with her, intrigued by her and what she might want. She has come out of nowhere to talk to me, and she is being friendly. Is that just because I have won a bout? Or is there something else to it? No, I have a hard time suspecting her of anything.

We reach a suite of rooms, located behind locked doors, and Ravenna sweeps inside, leading me into them. They are opulent, where the barracks is harsh. There are elegant couches, marble statues, and gold plates bearing bunches of grapes. Ravenna moves over to the one of the couches, lying on it as elegantly as if she were posing for some work of art. She gestures casually to another of the couches.

“Please, make yourself comfortable, Lyra. Help yourself to grapes.”

I take one, the simple, casual act of generosity surprising.

“I got the feeling that the free gladiators didn't like those of us who had been conscripted or enslaved,” I say.

Ravenna waves that idea away. “You're just judging us by Vex. He believes that he is the center of the games. That no one can live up to his honor or glory, because of everything his family has achieved in the past. Frankly, it is good to see him taken down a peg or two.”

I realize that she thinks I set the shadow cat on him deliberately.

“You make it sound like a game of prestige and influence rather than a fight to the death,” I say.

“Can a thing not be both?” Ravenna counters. She laughs softly. “Tell me, has anyone tried to explain to you what the games are?”

“They've told me that they are about displaying magical and martial power,” I say.

“Ah, the twin pillars of Aetheria. But has anyone explained the significance of that for the gladiators?”

I shake my head. As far as I'm concerned, it doesn't matter since so many of us are given no choice.

“Power matters so much in Aetheria,” Ravenna says. “Showing your power is kind of a rite of passage for nobles. At least for those of us who are not guaranteed to inherit our family’s wealth, who must gain positions in other ways. We demonstrate that we have the qualities that the city requires, and so we gain positions of honor and authority when we complete our time. Good marriages, honorable postings in the military, that kind of thing.”

“But you're risking your lives,” I point out.

She smiles. “Would you be sad to see me dead? How sweet. In any case, you got one thing wrong. Not all the fights are to the death. Mercy can be shown. But the danger is the point. The city wants people who are prepared to face any danger, prepared to do what is necessary. Who have the power to act. That is why nobles enter the games.”

“But then you force other people to take part, too,” I say.

“It wasn’t the case in the old days, I’m told. In the early days, they were a holy ritual, there for those with power to show off what the gods and the city had granted them. There to feed the gods with sacrifice.”

“But not now.”

She shrugs. “There are those who say that is purely about the bloodlust of the crowd, but if so, why bring in those who have powers? We could watch nulls be slaughtered in all manner of ways.”

She says it as if it is not a horrifying prospect. I get the feeling that the violence of the games does not touch her.

“No,” she says. “Those such as yourself are brought in because Aetheria wants to control those with power and feed its own power. It says it is the center of the world, the heart of all magic. It says that magic flows out from it. So when there are those with power beyond its walls, they must be made a part of it, or destroyed.”

I think I understand that. “You're saying that they throw us into these bouts, and if we die it doesn't matter because it gets rid of a magic user who would otherwise be outside the city. And if we succeed…”

“Then you get a position within Aetheria,” Ravenna says. “You are co-opted by it. It is really quite a neat arrangement. Especially when it comes to someone such as yourself with such obvious powers.”

I shake my head. “All I can do is talk to animals.”

“You didn't just talk to that shadow cat. You summoned it to your side. You gave it commands without speaking. That makes you something different, something… forbidden.”

That brings another shake of my head. “I didn't do anything.”

She looks me deep in the eyes. “I wonder, Lyra, do you really believe that?”

The question seems to seep into me. It's as if Ravenna can see deep into my soul, as if she can explore every depth I have. She's still staring at me when a figure bursts into the room. The noise is enough to snap me out of staring at her.

“Alaric,” Ravenna says. “Such a pleasant surprise. You hardly ever visit me these days.”

“Leave her alone, Ravenna,” Alaric snaps. “Using your powers on people like that is rude.”

“Of course. After all, I've discovered what I need. Lyra really doesn’t know how powerful she is. Which means she did all that without thinking. It makes her… even more interesting.”

“Not to you,” Alaric says in a firm tone. He holds out a hand to me. “Lyra, we're leaving.”

I take his hand. It feels as though my head is clearer. I realize that I haven't been thinking straight almost from the moment I met Ravenna. I look over to her.

“What did you do?”

Alaric answers that one. “Ravenna’s talent is for controlling minds. I've seen her make an opponent turn their own blade against themselves.”

“You do me too much credit, Alaric,” she says. “I merely found the part of Piero that wanted to die. And I do not mean Lyra here that kind of harm.”

“No, you just want to wrap her up in whatever your schemes are this time,” Alaric says. He pulls my arm and we both start to hurry from the room.

Ravenna gives him a sad smile. “I am not her enemy, or yours, Alaric. Lyra, thank you for coming here. If you ever wish to return, you're free to do so. And I will be keeping a careful eye on your progress.”