Page 26 of House of Serpents and Slaves

"Clearly you can't," I growled, gesturing to her face. "Look at you. One session with Cato and you're already battered. All you proved is that you're a foolish girl with delusions of grandeur."

She pushed off the wall, her fists clenching at her sides. "I am not a child, Septimus. I can make my own decisions and I held my own."

I barked out a harsh laugh. "Is that what you call it? Because from where I was standing, it looked like you were about to get your head caved in."

Livia's hand shot out, shoving me hard in the chest. I stumbled back a step, surprised by her strength.

"I don't need your protection, Septimus," she snarled. “I don’t even know why you care. Why are you even here?”

My fists clenched at my sides as I looked at her. Her dark eyes burned with shame and fury, and the sand and dirt of the arena covered her bare arms and legs. I was so furious I wanted to drag her inside, put her across my knee and punish her properly. The image crossed my mind of her bent over my legs, her dress pushed up, and her bare ass covered in my handprints. To my horror, my cock began to stiffen at the thought, and I shoved the thought away as quickly as it formed. Livia was practically my little sister. I’d made a vow to Tarus, seconds before he’d died, that I’d protect her with my life. I didn’t think my best friend would be happy if he thought I’d be imagining spanking Livia before slipping my fingers…

“Septimus!”

I blinked, focusing back on the face of the woman who looked like she might breathe fire so evident was her fury.

I gritted my teeth, forcing myself to focus. "I'm here because someone has to keep you from getting yourself killed, since you clearly lack the sense to do it yourself."

Livia's eyes flashed dangerously. "I don't need your concern. I'm not some helpless child to be coddled."

"No, you're worse," I snapped. "You're a reckless fool who's going to get herself killed."

A faint blush coloured her cheeks, but her glare didn't waver. "I just need more practice. I'll get better."

"You'll get dead," I said. "This isn't a game, Livia. The arena is no place for you."

“You never believed in me,” she spat. “Even when we were kids. Always putting me down. Tarus believed in me, and I’ll do anything to earn that.”

“Are you serious?” I asked. “This ridiculous game of yours is about Tarus? He was a kid, Livia. A kid who died to save your life, and you want to throw that life away in some twisted idea of repayment?”

Livia's eyes flashed with hurt before hardening again. "You don't understand," she hissed. "I owe him everything. I need to be worthy of his sacrifice."

"And getting yourself killed is the way to do that?" I growled, stepping closer. "You think Tarus would want you to throw your life away like this?"

"I'm not throwing my life away!" Livia shouted, her fists clenched at her sides. "I'm trying to make something of myself, to be strong like he was.”

Then suddenly, her voice broke. "I see him every night in my dreams. Dying over and over. And every time, I'm still that useless little girl who couldn't save him."

The vulnerability in her voice made something in my chest crack. Before I could stop myself, I reached out and gently touched the bruise on her cheek. She flinched, but didn't pull away.

"You were never useless," I said softly. "Tarus didn't die because you failed him. He died protecting you because you were the most precious thing in his world." My thumb brushed her cheekbone. You still are, I thought.

For a moment, the masks fell away. I saw the scared girl beneath the fierce warrior, and she saw... what? The brother-figure who'd watched over her? Or something more? Her eyes met mine, dark and questioning.

"Sometimes," she whispered, "I feel like you're the only one who really remembers him. The only one who understands."

"I remember everything," I admitted. "His laugh. His terrible jokes. The way he'd practice sword forms until his hands bled, just like you do."

A ghost of a smile touched her lips. "He used to say you thought too much."

"He was right." My hand was still on her cheek, and I knew I should pull away. But the warmth of her skin under my fingers made it impossible to move.

The tenderness of the moment hung between us, fragile as spun glass. Then Livia tilted her face into my touch, her eyes darkening, and that simple movement shattered my restraint. The grief and memory of Tarus twisted into something else entirely – something hungry and desperate that had nothing to do with protecting her.

"Septimus," she breathed, and my name on her lips was both a question and a challenge. Always challenging me, this woman who'd grown from that fierce little girl. My thumb traced the curve of her lower lip, and she shivered.

"You're impossible," I murmured, my face inches from hers. "The most stubborn, reckless woman I've ever known."

"And you're an arrogant, overbearing brute," she replied. "You don’t care about anyone except yourself. You don’t understand loyalty or vengeance or true sacrifice.”

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