Page 67 of Gladiator's Captive
Sayk shook his head, the remnants of the fog leaving his features.
“What does he think he’s going to do to us? I’m the city’s commander and Rager is one of my enforcers. His reputation as a gladiator followed him, even here. Wylder can’t just kill us. People won’t accept it.”
The older man nodded, his lips pinched and his eyes sad.
“You’re going to confess to treachery in front of the council,” Marvin said. “Then he’s going to make you fight with Rager in the arena, and he’s going to exile whoever wins. The loser won’t need mercy.”
Sayk scoffed, his lips lifting fiercely, exposing his fangs. The younger man, Jakob, took a step back.
“And if we refuse?”
“We won’t,” I answered for the humans. “Wylder has Serena. If I refuse, he will hurt her.”
Sayk turned to me and understanding painted his features, soon followed by rage. “This means he has Janet, too.”
Marvin’s already pale features became even paler.
“Wylder has been selling the poor citizens of Tartarus to slave owners for years.” Sayk spoke with an even, fierce voice, nothing like a man who had just been struck with an electric prod. “He’s nothing but a tyrant, and tyrants have to be taken down before they devour everything in their wake.”
A long pause followed as the men looked between Sayk and me. I could smell their fear and indecision in the air, acrid and strong.
“Those are Wylder’s orders.” The younger man repeated the words of his elder, shaking his head as he did. “The reasons don’t matter.”
“And you always follow Wylder’s orders, do you?” I didn’t hide the scorn in my voice. “No matter how wrong they are.”
The man bristled, his mouth reducing to a thin, hard line. He didn’t give anything away, but I could see my words had reached him. What I didn’t know was if it was enough.
“You have no conscience,” I insisted despite the defiant, wounded look in the man’s eyes. I could lose him if I pushed too much, but then, I didn’t have time to cajole him. “You know this is wrong.”
“I have a family,” the man finally answered. “They matter more.”
The words fell between us and I knew I would get no help from him, or any other man that Wylder had under his thumb. This was the ruthless way he ruled and it was terrifyingly efficient. Threaten a man’s family and he was yours for life.
It was a coward’s way of ruling, but then, Wylder had never been honorable to begin with.
“They matter more now, but remember this as you watch him take my mate and kill your commander for daring to stand up to him. Wylder doesn’t care about your family. He cares about power and he cares about himself. If you ever need him to be more than that, he will not stand for you. Sayk would, but Wylder never will.”
The man held my gaze a long time while his younger, smaller companion shifted his weight from one foot to the other.
“That may be true, Muharib. That may be true, but it doesn’t matter now. This fight is going to happen, and the loser will lose his life.”
Then they walked away, leaving Sayk with me and the thunderous sound of the crowd above filled the cell with dread.
I had one more fight to the death to do, but this time, the man standing across from me was a friend.
And the men I fought for were my enemies.
