Page 65 of Gladiator's Captive
“You want me to die in the arena.” Rager didn’t show any sign of emotion as he stated the horrible, obvious truth.
“Oh, and just so you don’t think you have a choice,” Arenius spoke again, “know that if you refuse, you will die. Only you won’t die alone. Serena will be joining you.”
I blinked, my eyes locking with my father’s. There was no warmth in the old man’s eyes, no affection that betrayed our blood link. Only a cold, calculating assessment.
“You wouldn’t.” Rager shook his head, but I saw in his gaze that he understood the ugly truth. My father didn’t love me. “She is your daughter. Your only heir.”
“That she is.” Arenius shot a disdainful glance at me. “And believe me in this: it will give me no pleasure to forfeit her life, but I am afraid I am short of options. I seem to have accumulated quite a debt, you see. I put a lot of money on your last fight in my arena, winnings that should have gone to repay my debt to my dear friend, Rodrigo. Even with the losses, I still could sell him Serena’s hand in marriage. He was quite fond of her, you see. If you had kept your word and returned her to me, I would not have hunted you down, but you gave me no choice. He will not have her now, not when the whole of Valcan knows she ran away with a gladiator. She’s useless to me. Still, the debt must be paid.”
The words stunned and I hunched forward like I had received a punch in the guts, which felt exactly as painful. This was always my worth to him, but to hear it from his lips in such plain, emotionless words, it hurt anyway.
Still, I straightened, lifting my chin higher as I met his gaze.
“You can repay your debt.” I reached inside my dress, retrieving my mother’s necklace, passing it above my head, then held it high for both Arenius and Wylder to see. Wylder’s eyes widened and his mouth hung slightly open, greed and lust plain on his face. “Take it and forget you ever saw us. This will be more than enough to repay both our debts.”
Rager tilted his head to me, but he remained silent. I knew he didn’t want me to part with the necklace, but our lives were not too great a price to pay.
Arenius’ laughter was cruel and short-lived as I lowered the hand holding the necklace, confused and disappointed by his reaction. This was my greatest treasure, the one possession I had held on to all these years. The one possession that I had kept safe from my father’s greed.
“You really are your mother’s daughter.” Arenius shook his head and his eyes turned deadly. “This is nothing but a cheap imitation of your mother’s necklace. I took the real one from her as soon as we were married, and replaced it with a fake. She was always too naive to suspect anything. How do you think I built my empire? I needed it and I took it. She was my wife; she should not have had the right to refuse me anyway.”
I blinked as the horror of what Arenius told me registered.
“You’re a monster,” I whispered as my eyes landed on the necklace again like I saw it for the first time. Countless times, I’d rubbed it in the dark, whispering prayers to my mother’s spirit, hoping that this was my link to her. It had been all in vain.
Then I dropped the fake piece of jewelry to the ground and took a horrified step back.
“This is how you found us.” I lifted my gaze in time to see Arenius’ smile widen. “This is why you allowed Rager to kidnap me. This isn’t just a fake. It’s also a tracer.”
“Perhaps you truly are my daughter after all.” Arenius’ smirk widened until he truly looked every bit like the snake he was. “Of course I placed a tracer on you. How else would I have kept an eye on my most valuable possession?”
This can’t be happening.
All my life had been nothing but an elaborate illusion, a puppet show orchestrated by my father for his financial benefit. I was nothing more than a cog in his machine.
“What a waste to see you end like this, daughter.” Arenius shook his head, disappointment clear on his face. “I can’t bring you back to Valcan with me, not after you’ve been publicly dishonored. But do not worry too much; I’ve been assured that Wylder will treat you fairly, as long as you behave.”
Arenius made a dismissive gesture toward Wylder. I turned my attention to the chancellor of Tartarus. Washed blue, cold eyes were set on me with an unmistakable lust as I understood what my father meant.
He had given me away to Wylder.
Rager and I had lost on all accounts.
“Never.” I almost shivered with rage. “I will never accept this.”
“Oh, but you will, in time.” Wylder smiled and I stared into the ugliness of the man’s soul.
“As for you, Muharib.” Wylder turned his horrible, mirthless gaze to Rager. “You will obey my orders and give the good people of Tartarus a spectacle like they have never seen before, or I will make sure your mate here pays for the consequences of your acts long after you’re dead.”
The next moment, Wylder jerked his chin at his soldiers again. This time, when they took hold of Rager’s arms, he didn’t fight back. Rager turned to look at me as they dragged him away, and something broke inside my mind. The sound of fabric ripping echoed inside my brain and something high-pitched screeched, far above my head.
It took me a while to realize I was screaming.
I screamed and fought, but one of Wylder’s men held me close. He was too strong for me, there was no point in fighting and yet I fought. I fought until Rager disappeared from view, cursing at Wylder and my father.
Then after a long, long time, the world became darkness and I fell into oblivion, but even there, the nightmare followed.
