“I only met him early today. He said he wanted to speak to you.”

  “Did he now,” the senator raked his nails across my face as he released his grip on me. I could feel the burning scrapes running down my face as I watched him move closer to Athena.

  “Did he tell you about his intentions to kill me?” Alexander hissed. Athena shivered as her father spoke. Her father … it only now dawned on me that she was more involved with him that I couldn’t have dreamed. Of course she knew him and what pleased him. Of course she would know when the best time to talk to him would be. I shook my head in disbelief as I gazed at her.

  “Leave her out of this. It wasn’t her fault. She had no clue of what my plans were.”

  “Oh, the beast speaks,” Alexander pulled his hand back and slapped it across Athena’s face leaving behind an angry red imprint. I growled seeing the tears in her eyes. There was no one to blame but myself. I had dragged her into this hoping that she would find a way out of this mess. How was I to know how deep my treachery would be to her?

  “I will deal you later,” Alexander warned as he turned his back to Athena to focus on me. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed Luca rushing to Athena’s side. “As for you,” Alexander’s eyes narrowed in on me as if I was his prey.

  “I’m curious as to why you’ve come here tonight? Was it just to kill me or is there something more?”

  “You slaughtered my entire family. You needed to pay for the blood you split.”

  “Your family?” Alexander’s eyes shifted to the crowd standing, by watching with wonder and awe as their senator paced before them, keeping his eyes locked on me. The stern glare in his cold dark eyes told me he recognized me, despite my disguise.

  “Ah, yes. I remember you and that pathetic place you called a village. You were one of those hooligans out in the forest, weren’t you?” Alexander’s eyes squinted as he glared into my eyes. There was hatred beneath the shallow pool of his stare; hatred and anger, but also a flame that burned with power. I had seen that look before— the look of a leader challenging another for dominance in the village. Iris’s face flashed before my eyes as I saw the grim smile pulling at the corner of his eyes.

  “You thought you could just come in here and take me down, did you? What did you imagine this moment would be like? Did you think you could kill me so easily?”

  “You owe me blood!” I snapped lunging from my captors grasp and enclosing my fingers around his scrawny little neck. I could feel his pulse quicken and his eyes glowed a deep gold.

  “Please,” Athena pleaded. “Stop, you can’t kill him.” Her pleading and tears pulled me from the brink of my blood lust. Reluctantly, I released him knowing that I owed her at least one favor and if this was the favor she requested, I had to comply, no matter the consequences. Alexander hacked as air entered his lungs and burned down his throat. I saw my fingerprints embedded around his neck, before his guards tackled me to the ground.

  “Death will be too kind for you,” Alexander said with a wicked grin stretching across his face. I sucked in a deep breath and caught a whiff of something wild in the room— a musky scent that I had almost forgotten about.

  “I wager you thought you would die tonight, but you will soon realize there is a fate far worse than death,” Alexander stepped closer and I watched his eyes flicker with a golden light. “Take him to the cells and lock him up like the animal he is,” Alexander ordered. “I’m sure the people would enjoy a better show than the one we saw today.”

  Immediately the men dug their nails into my flesh. Six men hoisted me from the floor, refusing to let one inch of me touch the ground for fear I would break free. My eyes darted to Athena as her eyes burned like comets roaring across the pitch black sky. There was no kindness in her eyes, only pain and I wondered what misfortune would befall her. She would surely be punished, but at least her father would keep her safe.

  “As for you, Athena,” Alexander twisted around to face his frightened daughter and my heart sank. “You have betrayed this family. You let a murderous man into our home.”

  “Father, please I didn’t know who he was or what his plan was. If I had, I swear I would never have …” I could hear her pleading as the six men dragged me away from him and out of the house. The last I saw, Alexander was standing over her, disgracing her before the entire city. It was all my fault.

  I should have picked a better time to attack. I should have gone into the room when I saw him with his mistress. Instead, I had to make a spectacle and more than one life was cut from the sharpened blade of fate.

  I tilted my head and stared up to the night sky. The stars were brightly lit up over head and the moon had disappeared behind the mountain range. Regret filled my heart and stabbed me deeper than any blade.

  If I can make this up to you Athena, I will. I promise.

  “Where are you taking me?” I demanded to know as my feet dragged across the cobbled street towards the center of town. My mind raced to Athena, and I wondered what her fate would be, because of me. If there was anything I could do to spare her, I would find a way. This wasn’t supposed to be her fight, yet that is exactly what it came down the instant I asked her to introduce me.

  Large wooden doors groaned as they opened before us. The stench of animals lingered in the damp corridor of the coliseum. Suddenly it dawned on me what the senator meant by living. He was going to watch me battle in the arena.

  “What do we have here?” A large brute stepped out of the shadows and stood before us with an ax his in hand. My eyes drifted over his body and as I wondered if I could take him out. Before I could concoct a plan, the large man stepped forward and a blanket of darkness came crashing down on me.

  A warm summer breeze played with my hair as I strolled through the golden fields. In the far distance I spied two figures holding hands as if they were waiting for me.

  “Tobias.” The woman’s voice was like a song on the wind calling me to her. Hope filled every black corner of my being and I couldn’t walk any longer. I found myself racing towards the figures.

  Just a little further, I told myself as I pushed my legs to go faster; but no matter how many steps I took, they remained in the distance.

  “Iris? Please, wait for me!”

  “Tobias.” Her voice carried to my ears and was the sweetest sound I had ever heard. All I wanted to do was slip into this world and never come back out. I was out of breath. No matter how fast or far I ran, she was nothing but a dark figure before me.

  I dropped to my knees weeping as I reached out my hands to her, “Please don’t leave me again.”

  Cold water splashed against my face awakening me from the vision of my wife. Instead of seeing her beautiful face, there was only darkness. I wiggled my arms and found them pinned above my head.

  “He’s awake,” the brute said laughing, as Alexander walked into the cell and towered over me.

  “Did you think I would let you die here, tonight?” he asked running his fingers through my hair and tugging a hank out by the roots. “I think my gladiators will find their work cut out from them come tomorrow. Wouldn’t you say?”

  “You’ll pay for this and every vile thing you have ever done.”

  “Oh, that game has been played my friend. You lost. Come tomorrow though, I will send you to whatever god you want and you can pray to them to rain down their vengeance on me. But, I doubt they’ll listen to someone like you.”

  Alexander straightened himself and with his crooked little grin turned his back to me.

  “What about her?” The brute asked sparking my attention. I twisted my head to see Athena standing beside him, tears streaming down her face. In the dim light she looked almost like a ghost.

  “She needs some time to think about what she had done. Maybe even prove herself worthy of my affection or attention,” Alexander huffed, moving past Athena without a second glance. The brute tossed her into the cell and locked her behind the wooden bars.

  “Get some sleep,” the brute said.

  “Maximus, please, don’t do this,” Athena pleaded while Alexander climbed the stairs leaving her to the darkness.

  “Maximus, be sure that she gets the same treatment as our guest.” He threw over his shoulder.

  My heart sank as I watched her drop her head into her hands, weeping.

  Chapter 7

  “Athena,” his voice carried through the bars but I turned my head away from him. Just the sight of him chained to the wall like a savage beast frightened me. His betrayal stabbed me.

  “I don’t want to talk to you,” I cried keeping my eyes off him. I knew there was a chance that if I looked at him, I’d see kindness in his eyes and that would break my resolve to hate him.

  “I know you don’t want to talk, but you have to hear me out. I didn’t mean for you to be involved in this.”

  “Was that before or after you used me to try to murder my father?”

  “I didn’t know he was your father. I didn’t know you had any relationship to him. All I had to go on was what you told me. You said you could get me close,” Tobias sighed deeply and I could sense he was filled with remorse for the things he did; but still, there was no way I was going to offer him any penance for his devious plan.

  “Please let me explain,” he pleaded. “Your father is not the man you think he is.”

  “Oh really? He isn’t an evil monster who would pawn his own daughter off to the highest bidder just to rise in power? He isn’t a conniving manipulator who sells his daughter to council men for favors? Don’t you dare tell me who my father is! I know. You Sir, do not!” I could feel the heat scorching my face as my voice rose higher and higher. For the time being I didn’t care who was listening.

  “If he is such a bad guy then why did you stop me? Why not just let me kill him? Then your life would have been completely different. You wouldn’t be here.”

  “Yes I would,” I snapped. “If my father hadn’t thrown me in here, my mother would have. You have no idea about my family or the things they do to hurt one another. Why do you think I tried to show you kindness? Why do you think I wanted to help you with the soldiers this morning? Because I don’t want to be like them, that’s why. But, now I see,” tears flowed down my burning cheeks and it was too late to reel them in.

  “Now I see what Luca was saying about my innocence.” I continued. “I should be more like you. Learn to harden my heart and not see the goodness in people. Then maybe I wouldn’t be here with you.”

  “But, you are here,” Tobias said, rubbing salt into an open wound. “It’s because of what I did, not what you did, that you are here. If I was just some merchant who wanted to speak with your father, as I said I was, then none of this would be happening.”

  “It is happening. All my hopes and dreams are gone.” Thoughts of Luca entered my mind, and I realized all that I had lost this night. There would be no running away from this place now. I was trapped like a caged bird with broken wings. There was nothing anyone could do; not even Luca, to stop me from being thrown into the arena and killed for conspiring to kill the senator.

  I curled up my body and rocked as I wept. My whole world— as cruel and evil as it was— slipped through my fingers like sand.

  “I will find a way to get you out of here,” Tobias said. The tone in his voice was almost sincere, but there was a hint of doubt. He and I both knew the odds of making it out of the games alive.

  “Give up, Tobias. My father has won. Come tomorrow we will both be dead.”

  “I wouldn’t give up so easily if I were you.”

  “Why is that?”

  “Because there are still things in this world that frighten people; and I happen to be one of them.”

  I wiped the tears from my eyes and looked up at Tobias, who was shackled to the wall. Iron bands around his neck forced him to keep his head up as the cuffs around his wrists held his arms above his head. Just the mere sight of him like this was too much to bear. No one, not even an assassin such as Tobias, deserved that kind of punishment.

  “Is that why my father went after you? Are those the events that brought you here to seek your vengeance?”

  Curiosity boiled at the surface of my heart. There was no way I was going to believe a word that spilled from his lips, but still I had to know. “Why did you come here?”

  “Your father killed my wife and child just because of who we are.”

  “Who are you— really?” I threw my words at him like daggers. “A merchant lost in Rome? A villager in some god forsaken part of the world? Who are you really? Is Tobias even your real name?”

  “You have every right to be angry with me. If you would just let me explain, then maybe you might find it in your heart to forgive me.”

  “Is that what you are asking for now? My forgiveness?” I rose to my feet and stormed the bars as if I could knock them down. All I wanted was to lash him for everything he took from me. Everything he had lied about to me.

  “Yes,” Tobias stated honestly. “I need your forgiveness if I am going to die tomorrow.”

  “You should have thought about that before you came here and messed everything up for me.”

  “What exactly did I mess up for you,” he snapped. “Please tell me all the things that you have had to sacrifice to be where you are. You spout out words as if I stole something from you, when all I did was enlighten you about the reality that your father is an ass and a murder.”

  “Luca. Okay. You stole my one shot at getting out of this city.” I could see the shock in his eyes, as I let slip my plans.

  “Luca and I were going to run away tonight after the party. We just needed a few more hours and then we were going to leave together.”

  “I see,” he said as of he had all the answers neatly placed in his palm just waiting to read them like cards.

  “You don’t see. You have no idea what it's like living here. All you saw was some servant girl running errands for the master of her house. The same master who you wanted to get your hands on.”

  “You’re right,” his voice was barely audible. “All I saw was my mark.” His lips pressed together into a tight line. I rattled the bars with all the strength I could muster. As the last bit of my rage faded from me, I dropped to my knees and let out a fresh torrent of tears.

  “Athena, I really am sorry. Truly, but I swear I will get you out of this mess. One day, you will find the freedom you seek. I just can’t say if Luca will be at your side when you get there.”

  “Enough,” I said too exhausted to speak. Every bit of me hurt as if he had pulled out my beating heart and tossed it to the ground before trampling over it. “No more.”

  “Can I tell you a story?” he asked. His voice was as tender as it had been the second time we met. It pulled me into him and wrapped me up like a blanket. I didn’t want to hear anything he had to say, but I was far too tired to protest any longer. All I could think about was the horrors that awaited me come tomorrow.

  “Tobias, please,” I begged resting my head on the cold muddy floor, too weak to remain up right. I had cried my last tear and locked my heart into a vault, knowing that Luca would never find a way to help me here.

  “I once fell in love with a beautiful girl. She had hair like yours. It was soft like grass swaying in the wind. She had a spirit that could never be tamed. She was wild and free,” Tobias started and I turned my eyes to watch him as he spoke.

  “You remind me of her; the way you carry yourself. The way you speak. If I didn’t know better, I’d think you two were sisters. But, she lived in a village far from here; a village that I once called my home. Everything about our lives was perfect. Eventually we married and started a family.”

  Tobias’ voice was soothing as I laid on the floor listening to him. A part of me wanted nothing more than to focus on Luca’s face and imagine we had run away together, but each word that drifted from Tobias’ lips pulled me out of my day dream and I couldn’t help but listen to what he had to say.

  “We had a little girl. Her hair was pitch-black, like soot and her eyes— they were green. Nearly as green as the moss that drifts over the white cliffs.”

  “What was her name,” I asked surprising myself. I hadn’t realized how his story was pulling me out of my private world and tossing me into his.

  “Lilith. She was but a baby when your father came to our town.”

  “Why did go there? What goods or products could your small village give to Rome?”

  “Men; lots of strong men. He was gathering them for the games you see. He had heard about what kind of men lived in our village and wanted them for himself.”

  “He wanted slaves?” The thought wasn’t so far-fetched. My father took what he wanted and if it was men plucked in their prime, he would have them.

  “Yes, but more than that he wanted soldiers for his army.”

  “But, it’s the emperor’s army, not his.”

  “Perhaps, but you need to hear the tale in full to understand why I hate your father and why I need your forgiveness.”

  I sat up, weighing my options. Although my heart was broken and my future was bleak, surely I could find it in my heart to forgive him, if forgiveness was all he wanted.

  “Very well,” I grumbled trying to make it seem as if he had to earn my attention. “Tell me your story. Then I will decide if I will forgive you or not.”

  Chapter 8

  A long agonizing howl ripped through the aspen trees, stealing the warmth from my blood. It was a warning that something was coming. The ice within me swiftly melted as I stood waiting for the second alarm. My ears perked up, listening to every twig snap, every rustle of feathers and leaves, and every creature stirring within a mile’s radius.

  With frozen, trembling hands I stood on the bluff waiting. My ears twitched at the thunder of hooves pounding the ground, and racing towards my family. I spun around, my eyes peering through the shadows, searching for the origin of the threat. I suddenly realized that the second howl was further away than the first and came from the opposite direction. With my heart bursting out of my chest, I caught the glimpse of the crescent moon drifting quietly through the canopy.