Page 51 of Trial of Bronze and Blood
After knocking once, she opens it promptly, appearingunsurprised to find him there. She already changed out of her dress, which he finds truly disappointing. All throughout her Faithless training, she only wore practice tunics, a uniform meant to keep the initiates on equal ground and deter intermingling. She’s undoubtedly worn dresses like the one she put on for the ceremony today since taking her oaths, and he’s jealous of anyone and everyone who witnessed it.
The moment he saw her in that dress, he wanted to see heroutof it.
The way the silk clung to her curves, exposing skin she normally keeps covered for the sake of convenience… He wanted to take her in his arms the moment he laid eyes on her across the courtyard, tell her how beautiful and strong she looked. To tell her how much he wanted her.
But she wouldn’t have wanted to hear it, not from him. Besides, it would only serve to complicate things.
“Did he take my advice about spinning the rules in his favor?” she asks, bringing him back to the present.
Marcus glances behind him, worried they’ll be overheard.
“Don’t worry,” he assures her, stepping inside the room despite not being invited and closing the door behind him. She doesn’t tell him to leave. “Cato has it under control.”
“I believe you.”
Marcus cocks his head. “Do you? Even though I didn’t share them with you before?”
“I realized I’m not here to approve rules,” she admits. “I’m here to ensure Cato is ready for whatever he faces in the trials. To do everything I can to keep him alive.”
He keeps his surprise to himself. The old Dru would’ve held onto her pride for as long as possible. He’s not sure if he misses that about her or not.
“Be that as it may, I’d like to tell you about them all the same.”
She perches on the edge of her bed. He looks purposefully out the balcony door, trying not to think of her in it… with him.
“Go on.”
Once he has a grip on himself, he steps further into the room and regards her again. “For the first trial, he specified that the fighting style be scazzottata. I’ll be providing a tutorial for any competitors who don’t know it.”
Dru nods. “Good.”
“For the second task, he added an addendum that the riddles aren’t required to be Imperium-only.”
Confusion crosses her brow. “But you didn’t mention them being Durevolian-only?”
“In case they did ask for the specifics, he didn’t want to push our luck.”
Marcus continues when she doesn’t respond. “For the third task, Anziano won’t be providing any horses. The participants will have to procure their own or can buy one here.”
A mischievous grin tips up her lips. “I know it would be foolish, but a part of me wants to release the Imperium’s horses from all the stables so they’re forced to buy new ones.”
Marcus chuckles. “At that rate, there won’t be enough horses left in Anziano.”
She sighs. “True.”
“Now, for the Gladiator combat… There’s not much we could tweak there. All we mentioned is that the competitors cannot bring their own weapons. They’ll be provided spears and shields—that’s all.”
“It all sounds promising,” she admits, “but there’s something else you’re not telling me.”
There’s so much I’m not telling you.
“I need your help with something,” he says instead.
Concern pinches her brow. “What is it?”
Marcus doesn’t like asking for help, but he needs her. With her there, he’ll have the strength to do what he needs to.
He breathes in sharply. “I’d like you to come with me tomorrow to the lottery ceremony. The king has asked me to oversee it and Ineed someone to spy on the crowd, to gauge the unrest among his people.”
