Page 94 of Trial of Bronze and Blood
Valente’s home bears a similar resemblance to all the residences provided to Marcus’s guards by the crown: small and simple, with the living spaces downstairs and the sleeping quarters upstairs. Val’s wife has eclectic taste, with some of her own glasswork perched on the carved-out shelves, the walls still painted with drawings from his children when they were younger.
Marcus sits down at the table in their kitchen. “Did you find out anything useful after I left to follow Blaise the other day?”
Val joins him, pouring them both a cup of water from a pitcher. “About Blaise specifically? No. But some of those Phaedran soldiers seemed to know beforehand about the pairings we saw in the first trial and used that information to hedge their bets. They spoke about a specific one that I didn’t realize until the final match of the day was about the man who went up against King Cato.”
“But that man was Durevolian,” Marcus argues. “How would Phaedran soldiers know him?”
He shrugs. “I don’t know. But a few of them spoke about the man as ifhewere the sure thing, that he would have an edge over whoever the last competitor was.”
“How deep does the Imperium’s influence go?” Marcus mutters, more to himself than to Val. He gulps down the water and gets to his feet.
“There’s more,” Valente says. Marcus continues to stand, gesturing for him to continue. “A few of the other guards have heard whispers of secret meetings among the more restless citizens of Anziano. Based on the information I was able to gather, they might try something today or tomorrow, but I’m not sure what.”
Marcus recalls the act of rebellion during the lottery ceremony. He should’ve known that wouldn’t be the end of it. But without anysolid intel naming specific people or meeting places, he’ll have to wait until something happens to take action.
“Keep your eyes and ears open. I doubt I’ll have another chance to follow Blaise, but tell me if you notice anything else warranting suspicion.”
He nods. “I will.” Grinning sleepily, he says, “Dru looked good out there in the arena. Much more capable than you led me to believe.”
Marcus clears his throat. “I didn’t notice.”
Val watches him carefully. “Yes, you did. You can’t lie to me.”
Marcus snorts. “I’m going.”
“Good,” Val calls after him. “Leave me to sleep until after the sun rises for once.”
When Marcus returns, Cato and Dru haven’t come out of their chambers, despite breakfast waiting for them.They must still be asleep. Which isn’t odd for Cato, but it is for Dru.
Once he bathes and takes his time getting dressed, he finds both of them sitting at the breakfast table. They’ll likely spend most of the day strategizing the next trial: what the Durevolians call the labirinto di enigmi.
Cato appears to be in better spirits after the horrors he faced yesterday. Arm wrapped snuggly in a new bandage, he’s in the midst of explaining the second blood trial to Dru when Marcus takes a seat at the table. He can’t help noticing their bloodshot eyes, their faces long with lack of sleep.
“After the third or fourth blood trial—our scholars continue to argue which is more accurate—the queen introduced the labirinto di enigmi, or maze of riddles. She had the structure built beneath the floor of the arena over the course of the next few years.”
“How does that work?” Dru asks. Marcus nearly smiles at the concentration pinching her face.
With her thick hair braided over her shoulder today and a simple blue tunic hanging across her shoulders, she continues to be the most beautiful creature he’s ever seen.
He blinks, unsure what brought that particular thought to his mind.Perhaps I didn’t get as much sleep as I’d hoped either.
Cato cocks his head to the side. “Would you let me finish?”
Dru puts up her hands in silent acquiescence, then devours a hunk of salted bread, chasing it with an entire cup of water.
“Each participant enters the maze from a different vantage point, their task to answer the riddles in order to find their way out again. Around each corner, a new challenge faces them. It could be some sort of physical test, but more often than not, it’s a riddle. If the competitor gets it right, they move on. If not, something terrible comes for them.”
She swallows her bite. “How can we possibly prepare for something like this? There are an endless number of questions they could ask.”
Cato shakes his head. “They’ll all be riddles—riddles an educated person should have no problem solving.”
Marcus looks at Dru as she opens her mouth. “I know what you’re going to say.”
She huffs, and he realizes she’s going to say it anyway. “This is unfair, Cato. The slaves from the Imperium—even the servants from Anziano—won’t possess the education needed to properly think through these riddles. They’d have to know them outright, which is just as unlikely.”
Cato sighs. “I agree, but there’s nothing I can do about that. We can’t get rid of an entire trial because a number of people won’t succeed. That’s the whole point of it: to weed out the weak.”
“Besides,” Cato continues before she can argue the point, “getting it wrong doesn’t automatically mean they’re dead. It simply means they’ll have to get through the maze using their physical strength.”
