I lit incense at the shrine as an offering. The statue for the goddess of victory stood above me, looking down with eyes veiled in marble. It made it easy to think that the successes I prayed for would be just as certain—chiseled in stone.

  “Victoria, bright winged goddess, I seek your favor. To grant them strength of will and swiftness of step, to steady their hand…to lead them to triumph.”

  But, honestly, this probably wasn't needed. At least not for Quintus. While anything could happen, of course, he was skilled to the point that the omens would always tend to be favorable.

  Stepping out of the way, I bent to adjust the leather straps of my sandals wrapped around my leg. This time the blue silk draped around my hip and fastened together over the opposite shoulder in a mock toga. I figured that anything to help the moral for the Invictus gladiators—even if it was just wearing their colors in the crowd—couldn't hurt.

  I was able to slip in the hypogeum door this time, thanks to an extra key Felix had given me. The torches guided me through the corridors again until I finally arrived at the ludus's holding chamber. The opening procession hadn't begun yet so it was still filled with all the fighters. Some paced back and forth or practiced moves while others simply sat still, staring into the dirt or the wall before them.

  Quintus was standing in the opening that led to the arena. His gaze was locked on the shaft of light at the end. One hand gripped the charm hanging from his neck and the other pressed against the rough stone wall beside him. Everyone had their own way of preparing. Or holding themselves together against the nerves.

  I wondered who his partner was this time.

  "Ah, Maximilia. Here to lead us out?"

  I glanced up to see Tiberius's eyes crinkling. I always forgot just how tall this man was. "Tiber! Are you going to come watch with us?"

  He shook his head, nodding to the fighters behind him. "Someone's got to help keep these guys in line and in good spirits for the fight. Some of them have a long wait before they step into the arena. And Corinna hates being around crowds. But I'll see you again tonight."

  I blinked. "You will?"

  "You're not my only fan, you know. It seems Meridius's son is also one."

  "Oh? And what about Alba?"

  He chuckled, putting his hands on his hips and hanging his head in defeat. "She doesn't care. She thinks I'm the same as those street performers, although perhaps she's not wrong."

  I winced, patting his shoulder. "Oh, that's rough, friend. It's hard for sure, the life of an entertainer," I joked. "I'll see you later then."

  Felix was inspecting some of the weapons on the rack when I approached him. He held up a trident, frowning at one of the prongs.

  “Father.” I hugged him tightly. "I just wanted to say good luck today."

  He wrapped an arm around me and kissed the top of my head. "Why? Did you secretly sign me up to fight today?"

  My eyes rolled. "You know what I mean." After another moment, I released him and stepped back. "I'll wait for you at home after?"

  He nodded and I let him continue his preparations. Right before I reached the door, however, I nearly bumped into someone pacing. I stopped abruptly with the apology already on my lips when I caught sight of who it was. The words faded.

  "Ignatius."

  He worked his jaw and stepped around me. But I could tell the usual edge in his expression was different. And that his tension wasn't really focused on me this time.

  "You'll fight well," I said to his back. "After all, you're part of Ludus Invictus."

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  Ignatius paused for a moment, his head only turning slightly before continuing on. Shrugging, I left. I could get mad, but if there was any time that being rude to someone made sense, it was a moment like this, waiting anxiously to fight.

  The others hadn't shown up to the seating area yet so I waited alone. It felt strange to be here without Saturnia. Looking out, I took in the waiting sand still shaded from the morning sun. It felt too open and empty. Too open to possibility of things that could go wrong. Turning my back to it, I perched on the ledge to watch the arriving crowd instead.

  Right now, we'd be failing miserably to hold in our laughter at the poor guy who just tripped. His roasted chickpeas went flying everywhere. They tumbled down the stairs, rolling all the way to hit the low wall right under my feet.

  With his fist raised to the sky, the man shook it hard. He let out the most frustrated, strangled scream I'd ever heard in my life. "Why? Was that really necessary?"

  "Aha!" A laugh escaped me and I clapped my hands over my face. The last thing he needed to start off his day was knowing not just the gods were laughing at him.

  "I never would have imagined Maximilia laughing at other people's misfortune."

  Hearing that, I peered through my fingers to see them enter from the other side. They all wore dark tunics with swaths of blue draped over.

  "Oh, shut up, Urs. You just laughed at me for mine yesterday," Praxedes snapped.

  Her twin stepped around them. "You don't count."

  "Especially when it's self inflicted," Flavia added, looking away when she received an indignant screech in response.

  For some reason that made me laugh even harder. I doubled over before leaning back as if that would somehow get me more air. My shoulders shook and I tipped a little too far. Corvus snapped out a hand to catch my arm.

  "Normally people die trying to get out of the arena, Max. Not in."

  "Stop," I cried, begging through the wheezing. My hand slapped against the stone. Sometimes, once I start laughing, it was hard for me to stop.

  "Who would've thought that watching the spectators could be just as much a show as what happens in the arena?" His sister giggled as she jerked her thumb over towards the unfortunate man.

  Ursus reclined on the bench. "You can look at them. I'll admire the goddess of the arena before me."

  I couldn't help but blush as I wiped the tears of laughter from the corners of my eyes.

  "And now the moment is over," she complained with a toss of her hair. "You're like a dog."

  He smirked. "Well that's the way devotions work. You never stop praying them."

  She crossed her arms and one corner of her mouth curved up. Blue eyes flicked over me. "But put her on a pedestal and you can't love her."

  I slid off the wall, back onto my feet and kicked the rogue chickpeas out of the way. "Alright. Let's rein it in and not drive the other two off. You both win today because you're both pretty."

  "More like pretty annoying," Flavia said as I threw an arm around her shoulders, narrowing her eyes. But there was laughter in them.

  "Don't make me throw things at you instead of the fighters," Praxedes retorted.

  Corvus kicked the big gladiator's legs out of the way, walking to the other side of the seating box. He leaned over the edge to look down at the sands. It was rather high, but blood had been known to fly all the way up to splatter the crowd before. “It's been a long, long time since we sat int the stands.”

  Flavia pointed at someone in the crowd. "What do you think her story is?"

  I leaned into her shoulder to follow her line of sight. A frazzled looking woman had taken a seat in the stands. Her leg bounced up and down nervously while she chewed on her nails.

  "Let's see. I think...she has a gambling addiction and her husband doesn't know."

  Her eyes twinkled. "Oh! And maybe...maybe she bet all of the tutoring money they had saved for their four children."

  Praxedes slapped her hands against the stone bench. "I want to play!” Jumping up, she shoved Corvus out of the way to limp slightly to the edge of the box and turn around. She nodded towards a rotund older man who was absolutely dripping with jewels. "What about that—OW!"

  Her brother had kicked her still-sore shin vindictively. She snapped her good leg out in retaliation, but he dodged.

  Ignoring them, I nudged Flavia. "What do you think?"

  The gladiatrix nibbled on her bottom lip. A calculating look stole over her green eyes as she studied him. "He wasn't born a patrician—too weathered by the sun—but he became a landlord. Owns all the property in a neighborhood and does the cheapest work to fix things."

  Ursus leaned forward with his elbow on his knees and looked at her appraisingly. "I get the sense that you've seen something like this before. I think our dearest Flavia is keeping secrets from us."

  She cast him a withering look and he grinned. By now, the crowd noticed who they were and excited whispers began to buzz. Opportunistic eyes locked onto the gladiators and people began shouting their names and waving. Ursus nodded to someone and two legionnaires took post near us, eyeing the crowd. Then he and Praxedes waved back, which earned them more cheers.

  The trumpets sounded, announcing the start of the games, and we all turned to watch.