They wasted no time. Quintus nodded once and they both launched at the hoplomachus. He danced backwards, trying to put some distance between them. But there was no time. He raised his shield to meet Quintus's oncoming blade and parried a blow from the gladiatrix. But he simply couldn't take them both on at once. Gashes sliced along his thigh and collarbone.
It happened so quickly, almost before I could blink.
Equally surprised, the murmillo took a moment to react before rushing at them. Their backs were turned and I inhaled sharply. But right as Quintus landed the blow on the leg, he pivoted away, slamming his shield against the incoming blade.
The murmillo slashed down, raking the gladiatrix across the back. Red glistened, almost the same deep tone as her skin. She collapsed facedown with a scream. The murmillo stomped on her helmet, grinding it deep into the sand before kicking her repeatedly in the side.
I slapped my fist on the wall in outrage. "Irrumator! You skullfucker!" I shouted. "That's so uncalled for!"
Although one was heavily injured, Quintus faced two opponents. He maneuvered to stay on the murmillo's shielded side. Then, after making a quick feint, he dove to swipe at the feet. The shield was slammed down, but he rolled right by on the outside. The sica flashed as Quintus returned to his feet, slicing the murmillo's upper arm. Deep enough to catch a glimpse of white.
The big gladiator spun with a bellow, but the thraex had already moved on to the other opponent. The hoplomachus was caught off guard again, since his line of sight had been partially blocked by the murmillo's body and shield. Quintus raised his own shield up to jam it behind the hoplomachus's. He released it and his opponent was momentarily distracted, extending his arm to let the shield fall out of the way.
I blinked. It was the second time today a gladiator used their weapons as a distraction.
Quintus lunged wide, his sica hooking around to cut across the hamstring. The gladiator fell, howling in agony, and I shouted with the crowd.
Now it was just the thraex and the murmillo left standing in the arena.
"He's always been so good at creating time between two opponents," Praxedes said. She stared intensely, not blinking. "I need to train with him more."
The murmillo checked him several times with his giant shield. Then Quintus lifted his knee and slammed his heel against it. The gladiator braced as several more kicks followed. But the laceration on the arm began to take its toll and he had to lean his body against the attacks.
Suddenly, Quintus grabbed the edges of the shield, twisting down as he pulled. The murmillo stumbled forward, expecting the push back instead of being pulled forward. Another heel kick connected with the face plate. Unable to raise his own sword in time, the gladiator fell to his knees in defeat before Quintus's blade.
The spectators cheered. And then an unexpected chant filled the air.
"Kill!"
"Kill!
"Kill!"
Around us, the crowd beat their fists in the air in unison. The irony of the situation nearly made me laugh. They reveled in the blood, but apparently took offense that it hadn't been done with dignity, against the female thraex.
Quintus swiveled his head to the magistrate.
A faint shiver skittered across my skin; I'd somehow forgotten it was the same man as Tatius's father. Secundus stood and held out his fist, listening to the demand.
"Think he'll do it?" I whispered. But we all knew the answer.
Quintus stood still over the murmillo. The tip of his blade didn't move from the fighter's chest.
Secundus's wrist turned. It was the infestus pollex, the hostile thumb, pointing to the sky.
Death.
Looking back to the man kneeling before him, Quintus lifted the chin of the gladiator's helmet with his sword. His arm crossed in front of his body. And like an griffin wing slicing through the air, it swept across. The tattoos unfurled as his arm extended, darkened by the blood dripping from the blade. The murmillo fell to the side with his throats slashed open. Any final words he may have had escaped through the gaping hole instead of from his tongue.
The crowd let out the collective breath they've been holding, cheering wildly. My shoulders had been tight and now they dropped, the tension releasing from them. Below Caelum and another medic rushed out to help the gladiatrix and the hoplomachus.
But Quintus left the arena without a single scratch.
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"Well that was amazing," Praxedes said, practically bouncing on her toes. "When's the next game?"
Her brother shoved her face aside. "There's still another fight, you know."
"Yeah, but they're not important to me."
"You might learn something," Flavia said, clearing her throat.
Ursus chuckled and the banter continued as the last fight of the day carried out. Afterwards, we waited for the legionaries to clear the section before we left. The last thing I needed was more undergarments thrown desperately at me.
When I returned home, I headed straight for the bath and changed into a fresh tunic. With the games done, the celebration for Liber would take up the rest of the day. And since it was a festival, Felix had decided to give the gladiators the next day off. Which I planned to use as an excuse to sleep in late.
I could already hear laughter floating in the air as I waited. People were excited, feeling the awakening of spring that Liber brought. And as the god of wine and male virility, it was a time for boys to enter manhood.
Felix returned home to a surprising question from me.
"Did you ever wish you had a son?"
He spit out the wine he was drinking. "What makes you ask that?"
"Well, you know." I shrugged. "Lots of men care about carrying on the name and legacy."
The back of his hand wiped across his beard. "Maximilia, the same blood flows through both sons and daughters. And only daughters can actually pass on the blood, you know that."
"I mean, I'm not your actual daughter," I said dryly.
"You are now. Besides, blood relations hardly matter to most. Many sons are adopted for that purpose."
"Still—"
"I need no son, nor do I desire one. You are my daughter." His tone was a warning that this discussion was over.
I signed before feeling a grin spread across my face. "I guess you've adopted enough through your ludus anyways."
A warning rumbled in his chest. But while he didn't answer, his mouth twitched.
Outside, shouts and singing grew louder. The Liberalia procession had made its way from the fields and was passing by us. We stepped out to watch it pass with a shrine of a large phallus. The symbol was meant to bless the land and peoples while also protecting the crops from evil.
A devotee ran up to us, handing out cakes of oil and honey. "You're coming with us, right?"
We joined the flow and soon arrived at the temple for the Aventine Triad. In addition to Liber—also known as Bacchus, the goddesses Ceres and Libere made up the trio of agricultural deities in Aeterna. A wide brazier of fire burned as everyone took a turn casting in their Liberalia cakes as offering. For the final ritual, a priest slaughtered a goat as sacrifice, dripping the blood onto a wreath and draping it over the phallus statue. The moment it was placed, everyone gathered broke into cheers and street performers began their routines.
“Maybe you'll have better luck this year finding a partner,” I said in exaggerated sympathy.
“Worry about yourself first," he snorted. "When they decide to give their attention to me rather than you.”
“Oh, low blow, Father!” I gasped.
He grimaced. “I apologize—”
I snorted, elbowing him. “Don't. It was a good one. Come on, let's go.”
Meridius greeted us at the door. He and Felix embraced and then patted me on the head affectionately. I rolled my eyes, laughing. Tiberius and his wife followed shortly after, holding Alba.
"I'm not a little kid anymore!" she sulked. "Put me down, you're embarrassing me."
His eyes crinkled. "But I just wanted everyone to see you and how amazing you are! Here." He put her down. "Alba and Ovidia, this is Felix's daughter, Maximilia."
The woman beside him, her chestnut hair piled high, greeted me warmly. "I've heard much about you. Good things," she added, scrunching her nose with a smile.
Alba walked up to me. "If you're his daughter, how come he doesn't pick you up and show you off too?"
"Oh, he would absolutely do it if he could. But I'm much older than you."
"So?"
Felix chimed in, a rare mischievous gleam in his eye. "Yes, so?"
Alba just stared at me and I shifted awkwardly. I really had no idea what to do around kids.
Tiber called her over. "Alright, that's enough terrorizing people."
I leaned in to whisper to Felix. "I really have no idea how you dealt with me at that age."
"Who said I did, Maximilia? You terrorized me. I was but a pack animal, carrying you around on my back whenever you demanded. While you shouted charge."
I gaped.
“We can always recreate it for Alba.”
“What? Oh, gods no. Is this how parents get payback? Reminding us of all the stupid things we did?” I hurried away before he could bring up any more embarrassing memories, his chuckles chasing me. Memories I wouldn't trade for the world.
Once everyone had arrived, we all gathered to watch Meridius's son shave off his first stumbled beard, placing the cuttings onto the shrine to the household gods. Then he took off the toga praetexta worn by boys and donned the toga virility of a man. It was an important moment, since it meant he could register as an official citizen to vote, leave the house, and start his own family.
Meridius laid out a feast for everyone with music and entertainment. I spent part of the evening chatting with Tiberius and his wife—she was almost appalled that I had never learned how to weave.
"If there's one thing every Romachian woman should know, it's that."
"Darling, have a little forgiveness for Felix. He's just an old gladiator."
"Well then he's been a bachelor for too long," Ovidia quipped. Her eyes turned appraising, studying him as he spoke with a group of people. "I have some friends..."
A sigh escaped me. "Good luck with that. My friend's family tried that already and it didn't go well. But," I said, putting down my empty cup of wine. "I think someone wants to talk with you, Tiber."
He turned and saw Meridius' son. He waited calmly, but his excitement was practically burning through his eyes. I watched them talk, wondering how similar I'd looked when I first met Felix and the gladiators of Ludus Invictus.
At the thought of gladiators, my mind drifted back to the fight. It'd been a stunning win by Quintus, but I couldn't help my curiosity over how he felt about the command to kill.
What say you, rabble of Royal Road?
