Page 16 of Stolen Fates
“Bruna’s arena. Castur and his guards brought you in the night. It’ll be morning soon.”
“The Giver’s tits…” He pushed himself to his feet, but the room spun around him, forcing him to lean against the wall for support.
When his vision focused once more, he headed straight for his cell door. The iron bars were firmly locked.
“Fuck!” he repeated, banging on the bars, not quite believing where he’d ended up.
He’d been a fool! A damn fool for letting his guard down around a woman. Although if what the slaver had said was true, his client had betrayed him long before then.
He never should have stayed in Bruna. He’d heard rumours of the arena master seeking out Gifted warriors, yet he hadn’t anticipated the extent of Aurelius’ influence, which allowed the Rasennan to snatch a free man without repercussions.
Nik held the bars of his cell in a firm grip and let his sore head dangle as he tried to come to terms with his new situation.
“Castur will return tomorrow for The First Trial,” the Amazon spoke again.
“The First Trial?”
“The arena master, Aurelius, will gather all the new warriors in the arena for a fight. Only the strong survive.” She waited for Nik to ask a question or protest but when he remained silent, she added, “Whichever of the Achaean Twelve Gifted you, I would start praying to them for protection and help.”
A dry laugh passed Nik’s lips. “If the gods answered my prayers, I wouldn’t be here in the first place. Face it, Bright Eyes, they’ve abandoned us.”
The Amazon bristled in response, her gaze narrowing. In the next beat, she retreated into the shadows of her cell.
Nik cursed himself. He’d already managed to alienate the only company he had.
Perhaps it was better this way. The Amazon still held hope in the gods, whereas Nik knew better. The Twelve wouldn’t help him, and his patron deity even less.
They were punishing him for his past mistakes, he was sure of it. After years of being left to his own devices, they’d made him a slave and trapped him in the worst place a Gifted warrior like him could be.
And now it was only a matter of time before death came for him.
CHAPTER FOUR
Leukos
The nightmares had returned, filled with flashes of blood stains, blank stares, and the quiet halls of the palace.
Too quiet.
Visions of a terrible morning that had haunted Leukos’ mind ever since he was a child.
Startled awake, Leukos jolted and cursed. Another rough encounter between the cartwheel and a stone on the road sent one of the sacks stuffed with wool tumbling over his legs. Pushing it aside, Leukos stretched and rolled his stiff shoulders. He’d been sitting against a wooden plank amid the sacks for two days now, rocking back and forth and with only his thoughts for company.
The shepherd he’d been fortunate to encounter on the road leading out of Thracia sat up front with his daughter, guiding the two mules that pulled the cart. They’d taken him with them in exchange for a few coins. With some luck, the stench of the mules and unwashed wool would be enough to throw the BloodWolf—a feared Rasennan tracker, one of the best, who used his Gift with wolves to capture his prey—off his scent.
He’d narrowly escaped the Thracian village where he and the other Megarian rebels had taken refuge after their presence had been reported to the Rasennan patrolling soldiers.
They’d lost two rebels in the scuffle—two Megarian warriors who’d followed Leukos from the beginning. Good men whose lands had been confiscated by Rasennan soldiers after the Empire had invaded Megara, and who’d sought to fight back ever since.
Leukos had been numb to it all. He’d known the two men for years, and yet he’d accepted their deaths with detached indifference.
Pain, grief… such strong emotions no longer registered with him. Not since that fateful morning ten years ago. His heart had frozen over then like a block of ice, and he’d grown into the hollow shell of a man.
A man haunted by ghosts and with only one thought in mind: revenge.
After the Rasennan attack, the rebels had scattered in the wild, promising to reunite at one of their hidden camps, but the fate of the Megarian rebellion seemed bleak against the might of the Empire.
Still, Leukos would not stop—hecould notstop until he’d fulfilled his vow.
