Champion in Love (bxb)

CHAPTER 9. Patching Up

After Victor's antics, it was hard for me to focus on the actual match. The wind picked up by the time Laurentius' quad stepped into the arena, with winter's bite in it. Even though I sent Victor backstage in my cloak, I never felt the chill. I only needed to think of him—and he intruded into my thoughts constantly—for the warmth to pulse through me.

If I was agitated, imagine how hard it was for Laurentius' quad to pull it together, Senators! However, they performed better than I had expected. Perhaps, being bested by a man they had dismissed as a clown disciplined them better than anything else. Whatever the case, they held it together. Didius swapped his net for the second sword. While he didn't match Junius in grace, the attack was there.

"Good job standing your ground," I told him when the quad stepped into the exit tunnel after the match. The foursome responded with identical stupid grins. "Saw you flinching, Didius, but you didn't run."

Didius' voice shook with excitement to echo his pounding heart. "Two swords in the face... not honeyed figs! Lanista, that was... that was..."

"I know." I did. The longer one turned tricks with the net, the deeper the instinct to sting like a bee, flee like a rabbit rooted. I saw it time and again in the former tricksters. Broke this habit time and again too, starting with myself. "You did good."

Didius' grin widened so much, it split his face in two. It was possibly the stupidest and the most infectious grin I'd ever witnessed. If I looked at him for a moment longer, I might start grinning like a fool too. So I swiveled my gaze to Junius. My best student hung a little behind, schooling his face to be emotionless and failing miserably at it. A special gleam danced in his eyes. I met his gaze, and that was all it took. His lips stretched in a smile and his after-victory shakes jumped to me like fleas.

I dry-washed my hands to reign the shivers in. "Does anyone need a medic?"

"Laurentius," Junius tattled.

Back to walking on the sand rather than on clouds. I scanned all of them for damage. Quintus limped noticeably, but Junius was on the money. A trickle of red snaking down Laurentius' thigh was the worst injury.

"Fulvia!" I called.

The shriveled crone crawled out of her hole-in-the-wall surgery right off the exit. "Who died?"

"Only our opponents." I lied, but my boys could have gotten a kill in, if the crowd pointed their thumbs down. It was only pre-season, so they didn't and everyone lived to fight another day. "Laurentius needs stitching up."

The big guy heaved a sigh. "It's a scratch, lanista."

"Then it won't take long, right?"

"If it's just a scratch—" Rufius Fulgentius waddled into the tunnel to join us. His eyes gleamed more than their usual oily sheen. My boss experienced victory jitters of his own when he jingled the winners' purse. Knowing what he was going to say, I held it out of his reach. He shut up mid-whine, tracking the prize with his peepers.

"Laurentius quad drew the first blood." I shook the pouch to make the silver coins play their seductive tune. I sang it. "Surely, someone of your wealth, generosity and elevated spirit could spare a few sesterces for surgery? Not to mention keeping them in fighting shape makes money and we don't have a shield-wall better than Laurentius..." until I outwit Victor.

I gave the purse a bigger shake. "Am I right or am I right, noble Rufius Fulgentius?"

While this noble man mouth-breathed, Quintus edged past me. I grabbed him by the back of his tunic. "Since Laurentius doesn't need the full works, fix his ankle too, Fulvia."