“What did you discover?” she asked. Earlier, she had asked him to follow Piston.
“Too much,” he said. “He sent a bird to Calypso.”
Viper frowned, her heart beating three times too fast. “A bird? No one uses birds anymore. Streaming is far quicker and more reliable.”
The guardsman nodded. “I thought it was suspicious too. So I had a skilled archer shoot it down.”
“You intercepted it?”
“Yes. Once Piston ceased watching its flight.” The man paused, licking his thick lips.
“And?” Viper said impatiently.
“It was as you had feared. It was a message to your sister, the empress. Piston told her everything we’ve been doing. About the renovations, the fighters you’ve been pulling aside, your training…he even explained how you were fixing fights and promising the prisoners freedom in exchange for their loyalty.”
Viper froze, catching herself before she could show her surprise. “Thank you for your service and loyalty,” she said. “You will be rewarded.”
“Your safety is the only reward I require,” Cadon said.
As he walked away, Viper watched him with narrowed eyes. The truth was, she felt shaken. Though she’d suspected a spy for a while now, hearing confirmation was another thing entirely. “Bastard,” she said.
Her attention was diverted when she spotted the next pair of fighters preparing for their match, another two from her secret group. Mish, a wiry girl who fought just dirty enough to win seven straight matches against bigger, stronger opponents before Viper had claimed her. And Naki, a tall, red-skinned Teran man who liked to use his teeth as his weapon. In the typical manner of Teran males, his coppery hair was long and straight, reaching almost to his waist.
“Good luck,” she said to both of them. “You’ll make us all proud.”
They nodded, both grinning, moving into the tunnel.
Gat brushed past them, entering the atrium. He spotted her. “Satisfied?”
“Good show. They’ll be talking about it for days.”
“They didn’t chant my name.”
“They will.” Unless my sister shuts us down.
He nodded. “How is Barr-et? I accidentally landed a few of those kicks at the end.”
Viper scanned the atrium, locating the Dreadnoughter, who was lying on a slab as two of the pitmasters applied a clear salve to the area just under his ribs, while another wiped the blood from his skin. The sheep’s blood. Both men had entered the pit with plenty of it on hand, hidden in their clothing, wrapped in large banana leaves. Each time they landed a blow, they squirted some on their opponent.
It was strange seeing the pitmasters serving the prisoners. And yet, the masters didn’t seem to mind, so long as they got paid. Viper had also promised them leadership positions in whatever was to come.
Have I cast my net too wide? she wondered. The more people she let into her inner circle, the greater the risk of spies. She’d already learned that the hard way. And yet, she knew she had to trust someone.
Now, Barr-et cocked his head to the side, very much alive, and laughed, the sound quickly morphing to a groan. “You hit like my third wife,” he said to Gat, who clasped his hand.
“She must’ve been a strong woman,” Viper noted.
“Not as strong as my sixth wife!”
“I’m sorry,” Gat said. “I tried to hold up the blows as best I could. The adrenaline got the better of me it seems.” The pitmaster finished with Barr-et and began cleaning the animal blood from Gat’s skin.
“Har! I’ll take a few bruised ribs in exchange for my freedom any day!” He eyed Viper warily, as if daring her to contradict him.
She didn’t. “A deal is a deal. Your freedom is yours, so long as you don’t double-cross me. You have a choice now: leave Calyp forever, or join my cause. If you leave the city but not the empire, I’ll hunt you down and rip out your heart.”
“Har!” the man laughed. “Now you sound like my fifth wife! She tried that exact same thing! Twice! Har!”
Before Barr-et was sent out the gate to the fighting pits, he was disguised, his hair shorn to the scalp, his clothing changed to that of a pitmaster.
Viper held her breath as she watched him go, as he almost ran into a passerby. The woman startled, stopping dead in her tracks.
Oh gods, she was at the fight, she’s going to recognize him, we’re going to have to grab her and—
With a sweeping bow, Barr-et, who would now introduce himself as Rur-vera, apologized to the woman and continued on his way. After a moment’s hesitation, the woman chuckled to herself and walked away.
“Your first soldier,” Piston said, standing beside her.
She refused to look at him, afraid he might be able to read her as easily as a scroll. “And hopefully not my last,” she said. “Do you think his true identity will be discovered?”
“As you said, people see what they want to see. They won’t be looking for a dead man, and certainly not one dressed like a pitmaster. I’d be more concerned with whether he’ll return.”
“He will,” Viper said, although she had the same concern, which had been rattling around her head for days. It was the one true fatal flaw in her plan. Once she offered freedom, the released prisoners would be able to do whatever they chose with it. Despite her threats, there was little she could do to stop them.
She was hoping the gratitude they felt toward her would be strong enough.
Tonight, she needed a distraction from her thoughts. “Come with me,” she said to Piston.
“Where?”
“My chambers.”
Two went in, only one came out.
At dawn, Viper waited alongside Cadon, hoping Barr-et would make an appearance.
Hours later, she gave up.
He was gone.
He’d chosen to leave the empire forever.
“He’s here!” Naki shouted, bursting from the tunnel and into the grand arena, where training was in full tilt. The Teran had “lost” the fight the night before, and thus was also “dead.” But his freedom was dependent upon the return of Barr-et. It was a strategy Viper had decided upon earlier, linking all of their freedom to each other’s loyalty. If one brick in the wall crumbled, they’d all come crashing down. She wouldn’t risk losing another future soldier.
“Who?” Viper said, not willing to believe it yet.
“Barr-et! He came back!”
Viper took a deep breath. An explanation was in order, and she would get one. Her eyes met Gat’s and he shrugged. “Keep going,” she said. “I’ll return soon.”
She strode from the arena, following Naki.
When she emerged into the atrium and saw the broad-faced Dreadnoughter, she had the urge to run to him and throw her arms around him. She also had the urge to slap him across the face.
She did neither, standing before him wearing a neutral expression. “Explain yourself.”
“No need to cut out my heart, Your Dragonliness. I admit, I went a little mad on account of all the freedom. Had too much simpre to drink, the strongest kind I could find. Don’t remember much after that except I awoke with my eighth wife and a headache the size of a red pyzon! Har!”
Viper shook her head, unable to hold back the smile. She was certain it was the truth, and a night full of simpre and women was the least of her worries. He came back, she thought. When offered a chance at a new life, he chose me.
Cadon stumbled into the atrium, glancing back and forth. “I heard Barr-et showed—”
“You heard right,” Viper said. “Cadon, meet the first soldier in my army.”
After things quieted down, Viper pulled Cadon aside. “This was too close a call,” she said. “I underestimated the loyalty of these prisoners, many of whom might stab their own mother in the back if the situation warranted it. My plan is too risky.”
Cadon blinked, and she could read the surprise in his expression. “I haven’t seen Piston today.”
“I took care of him.”<
br />
“Then what’s the risk? You’ve eliminated the spy.”
“There could be another.”
“Who? One of the pitmasters?”
“Possibly. Or Nurge.”
“Nurge is solid. I’ve known him my entire life.”
Of course you have. “Even one of the prisoners could cross me. My sister would reward them richly for information. They are criminals, after all.”
Cadon frowned, as if greatly troubled by the turn of events. “Then what do you propose?”
“We put everything back to how it was before. We run the fighting pits the way they were meant to be run.”
“When?”
“Tomorrow. Tonight we’ll stick to the plan. Then tomorrow we take the freedom back from those we’ve granted it to. The prisoners go back to fighting for real. To the death.”
“Even Gat?”
“Especially Gat.”
“What about your plans for the empire?”
“I will come up with something else.”
Cadon nodded slowly, unsurely. He started to turn away.
“And Cadon…”
“Yes?”
“Thank you. I wish to reward you for your service tonight, after the fights. Come to my chambers.”
A greedy smile played across his lips. “As you wish, my lady.”
Viper smiled back. The moment he turned away, however, she gritted her teeth, her tongue bitter with the lies she’d told him.
The fights that night went much like they had the evening before. Naki was released beforehand, melting into the streets wearing his pitmaster disguise. Viper had a feeling he would return the next morning, as promised.
Three more fighters were “killed” by the “victors”. Assuming Naki returned, all three would be granted their freedom on the morrow. Gat didn’t fight—Viper would build up the anticipation for a few days, and then have him face off against three of the other victors at the same time. Of course, he would win.
Then will they chant his name? Viper wondered. She hoped so. And if they do, will the lies become real?
She’d already bathed and scented herself in tea tree oil. Her hair was brushed with silver dust, shimmering in the torchlight. Her lips were painted the color of yellow rose. She laid down on her bed, wearing a thin silk coverlet.
A knock at the door. “Enter.”
Cadon pushed inside, and she saw the way his breath left him when he saw her, the instant desire in his eyes.
“Close the door.” He did.
“I—”
“Don’t speak,” she said. She never wanted to hear his voice again. His lies. “Come to me.”
He didn’t need further urging, striding across the space, completely at ease, removing his guard’s belt, which contained all of his weapons. It clattered to the floor behind him as he worked on the ties on the front of his shirt.
His eyes were so focused on Viper that he never saw the shadow falling over him from behind.
Cadon gasped as Piston’s strong arms pinned his behind his back. “Move and I’ll break your bones,” the Calypsian growled.
“Help! Her lady is under attack!” Cadon shouted. “Nurge!”
“Nurge has been killed,” Viper said, sliding off the bed and slipping a robe on. “We couldn’t take the chance with him, though I suspect he was none the wiser to your little spy games.”
“What? I think you’re confused, Piston is the—”
Piston’s fist crashed into Cadon’s back and he grimaced.
“At first, I thought so, too,” Viper said. “But he was too obvious and my sister too shrewd. She would never select a spy like him. No, you were the far better choice. You did well, hiding the truth behind your own feigned ignorance. And casting suspicion on Piston was a brilliant maneuver. You made one fatal mistake, however.” She paused, letting it all sink in.
Cadon’s innocence melted away, his face suddenly full of true fear. “I don’t know what you mean…”
“The message you claimed to have intercepted from Piston was far too detailed. Even you shouldn’t have known the full extent of my plot, especially if you were as dull-witted as you like to pretend.”
“I overheard you talking to Gat, I swear I never—”
“Save your lies for the gods,” she said. “Piston followed you today. You sent another bird to my sister, telling her I’d changed my plans. You fed her the same lie I fed you. How does it taste now?”
Recognition dawned in his eyes. “You’re not changing your plans.”
“Very good. Pity you won’t be a part of what’s to come.”
“My lady, I’m sorry, I’ll make it up to you, I swear it!” He was trembling now, tears bubbling from his eyes, streaking down his cheeks. Seeing the big man cry made Viper uncomfortable.
She opened the top drawer of the chest beside her bed, extracting a knife. He stared at the glinting blade, sobbing harder.
She jammed it into his heart.
The day’s training was over, and the grand arena was empty save for Viper and Gat, who sat against the newly erected wall. Months had passed since Gat had first refused to fight. It seemed like a lifetime ago.
Three of her “dead” fighters had chosen to take their freedom and leave Calyp, but she didn’t allow their disloyalty to affect the others. Three hundred and twenty-nine had returned. Every morning her army grew, so large now that she’d had to take some of the pit profits and build a large estate outside of Zune to house them all. There the best men and women fighters trained and prepared.
How many soldiers do I need? she wondered. A thousand? Ten thousand? More? Viper knew her sister’s latest dragon brood was growing. Once the dragonia matured, she might need a hundred thousand soldiers to stand a chance. Thankfully, a steady stream of prisoners continued to arrive in Zune, feeding her army.
“Your mind is full,” Gat said.
Her gaze flicked to his. He was watching her intently, as he often did. More than once he’d admitted to being in love with her. More than once she’d shrugged off his advances. I feel nothing for him, she told herself, her latest lie.
Whenever the temptation grew too great, she distracted herself with Piston.
“My mind is always full.”
“You’re impatient, I can see it.”
“Tell me, Gat, how did you end up in Zune? You’re Phanecian, a thousand leagues from home.”
“You’ve never asked me that before. Why?”
Because it didn’t matter. Because I didn’t want to know. “I’m asking now.”
“I’ve killed many people, both men and women,” he said.
He liked being clever with his words, as he was doing now. “In the pits, yes. Defending yourself, yes. But before Zune? No, I don’t believe you’re a murderer.”
His face grew sad, which surprised her. Why would he be sad to not be a murderer?
“I snuck into Calyp almost a year ago, crossing the border by night.”
“In the midst of a civil war? You must have been missing your wits.”
He didn’t laugh.
“Why did you leave Phanes?”
“I couldn’t live there anymore…”
“Did you do something? Commit some crime? Or had you jilted your lover, who chased you out, screaming for your head.”
A wry smile. “Something like that.”
Viper cocked her head to the side. He truly was melancholy as he remembered whatever had brought him here. No, it wasn’t like any of what she’d suggested. “You’re a traitor,” she said, the truth making sense.
“In a sense,” he said. “I tried to free some slaves. My sister helped.”
“What happened to her?”
“We got separated as we tried to escape. I fear the worst.”
“What is her name?”
“Sonika. Sonika Vaid.”
The name sounded familiar for some reason, but she wasn’t sure why. Gat Vaid, she thought, wondering why she’d never asked him his surname. Both he and his sister
boasted a strong name. “So you’re against slavery?” she asked, wanting to confirm her understanding of the situation. Slavery was the main focus of the marital dispute between the Sandes and Hozas. The Hozas lived for it—the Sandes despised it.
He nodded. “It’s not right to own humans like property. Which was why it was ironic when I ended up here.” He looked to the sky, as if searching for the gods.
“And made to fight. To kill.”
“At first I thought I was just doing what I had to do to survive, using what I’d learned growing up to defend myself. But then I realized I was as bad as the slavers when I killed.”
“That’s why you refused to fight again.”
He nodded. “And then you showed up, right when I thought they were going to kill me.”
The way he looked at her, at all of her, was intoxicating. And also disconcerting. Viper looked away, unable to meet his gaze. “I’m not some angel sent by the gods,” she said.
“To me you are. You saved my life. You gave me hope for a better way.”
She shook her head. “I’m just a woman. Flawed. Out for revenge against my sister.”
“I don’t believe that,” he said. “What will you do once the empire is yours, once all of your dreams are realized?”
She hadn’t thought that far ahead, and yet the answer dropped instantly from the tip of her tongue. “Defeat Phanes. Win back the south.”
“End slavery?”
Of course. She despised slavery as much as the next Calypsian. “Yes.”
“Then I am your warrior.”
Another month passed, Viper’s numbers growing daily. She kept her distance from Gat, fearing her attraction for him would lead to a mistake. If anyone outside of their inner circle ever saw them together...
Instead, she spent more and more time with Piston, whose company she enjoyed. He spoke less than Gat, but when he did his words seemed to hold great wisdom. He tempered her optimism and bridled her impatience. He was the antidote to the poison of the snake for which she was named.