Page 99 of Trial of Bronze and Blood
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
DRUSILLA
The temple bell tolls eight times the next morning, waking all of Anziano for the second trial.
Dru, of course, has been awake for some time, tightening the ties on her sandals. Not that she could find much sleep in the first place—her mind refused to quiet. Fighting, she knows well. But solving riddles? The academic side of the Faithless training was never one of her strong points, mathematics especially.
Her only solace is that, if her history lessons serve her, the Durevolians have never been great mathematicians either. She can only hope their lot of riddles won’t feature it.
When Sabina came to her not long ago, Dru begged she be allowed to dress herself today. Though she did ask her to find a whip. She gave Dru a strange look but did as she asked, helping her secure it like a belt around her waist.
Two years after she took her oaths, one of her first marks was an animal trafficker. He cared more about his ego than anything else, so he kept very little from her when prodded. Including how the Imperium tames their lions. If the bard’s intel turns out to be true, she wants to be ready.
Lastly, she asked Sabina to relay the same message to Marcus and Cato, so they can prepare themselves as well.
As the last reverberations of the bell die out, she takes a moment to look outside her balcony. Today is one of the few mornings the fog hasn’t surrounded them like a clinging blanket, allowing the sun to turn the sky a light blue. The sounds of the waves crashing below set her on edge today rather than soothe her, the Multum Sea as tumultuous as her thoughts.
A lot can go wrong in a controlled environment like the maze, including extra traps the Phaedrans would’ve had time to set. They can’t know which entrance to the maze the king will choose, which means they’ll have made the entire maze a booby trap, biding their time until the king reaches the perfect snare and damn the rest of the competitors.
She shakes her head.I need not to be alone with these thoughts.
Heading out of her room, she finds food set out on the table. Moisture still clings to her exposed skin despite the lack of fog, and the lingering chill in the air pricks at her arms.
Although she hopes she won’t have to avoid any traps, she dressed for the occasion: she found a pair of shorts that fit her in the clothes chest, which she happily put on underneath a slightly shorter tunic to give herself more room to move. According to Cato, they’re allowed one small weapon, an easy choice for Dru. The sheathed dagger flush against her hip reassures her.
Sitting down, she finds Cato mid-conversation with Sabina.
“—tolls ten times, the participants will take their places outside the entrances to the maze hidden beneath the arena.”
Dru’s not sure how they plan to remove the arena floor to allow the spectators to view the trial, but she doesn’t want to spoil the spectacle for herself. Besides, knowing how it works won’t benefit her.
At the sound of the chair being pulled out, Sabina blinks, finally noticing Dru.
“I see we’re already strategizing for the trial this morning.”
Cato clears his throat while Sabina takes a steadying breath. Dru’s gaze shifts between them. She’s fairly certain she already knows what Sabina plans to say.
“I’m going to participate in this event.”
“No, you’re not.” Dru turns to Cato. “Don’t tell me you encouraged this.”
He throws his hands up. “She asked me how the maze trial normally goes. I merely provided her with the information, unaware of her true intentions.”
“Rat,” Sabina mutters.
Dru frowns. “What makes you want to participate? Don’t think I can live up to your name?”
Sabina shakes her head. “It’s not that. I want to dosomething, and this is the only trial I could manage. It’s nothing more than answering some riddles.”
“It’s not, though,” Dru argues, hoping she can convince Sabina not to compete. “Even if you manage to get every single one of them right, which is unlikely for anyone, even Cato, the gamemasters will still throw something your way for daring to best them at a game they know all the answers to. Can you defend yourself against whatever traps they might set?”
Sabina opens her mouth but nothing comes out.
“She’s right, Sabina,” Cato says. “Drusilla has trained extensively for situations like these. I’m sure you could hold your own long enough, but your guilt isn’t worth your life.”
The same could be said for you, Cato.
“Besides,” Dru adds instead, “if they realize I’m not you and that we’ve been fooling them into thinking I was, they’ll kill us both.”
