They gathered early in the courtyard to discuss training plans over the next three days. It wasn't much time, but it was still better than nothing. Rubbing sleep from my eyes and yawning, I set out food that I'd brought from home. Some wine to dip their bread in, boiled eggs, cheese, and fruit drizzled in honey.
Praxedes clapped her hands together. "Look at this! Oh, this is why you're the best, Max." She lowered her voice to a more husky tone. "And of course the only one I want to feast my eyes on."
"Why stop there, hm?" Ursus leaned back with his hands behind his head, looking quite content. "Are we competing to make her blush now? Surely you can do better than that."
She lifted her chin defiantly. "I already did yesterday."
"Then you're a day too late." His smile was beyond smug and she scowled.
"Alright. Settle down," Corinna said, pinching the bridge of her nose. Her red hair was like burnished copper in the morning light. "Don't burn the place down—again, from what I hear—while we wait for Tiberius."
Praxedes licked a slice of pear slowly while looking up at me through her lashes. "Thank you again, Max."
"Can you be serious for once?" Her brother grumbled, slouching down.
After listening to the two bicker over me, I was hit by an impulsive thought. I glanced at my father to gauge his reaction, but he had been pointedly ignoring everything and keeping his face intentionally blank. I decided to interpret it as silent permission for what I was about to do next. That is, if I could get through it with a straight face and not laugh.
“Enough,” I said suddenly, putting my hands to my head. “Your flirting is honestly so overwhelming for someone like me who's such a fan of you both. I'm barely staying calm just being around you. Seriously.”
The table looked at me in surprise.
My hands slid to cover my face. “It's one thing to see you all up close. When I first did, I thought to myself that the Magnus twins must have been blessed by Venus herself. And that Ursus is like…you're like the finest wine I've ever tasted.” I nearly lost control of my mouth as it trembled with the effort not to laugh. “And it's another to have your attention like this.”
Corvus choked on the drink he was sipping. Meanwhile the big gladiator gaped at me incredulously, but also with a hint of uncertainty. "Max? Apologies if—"
I waved him off. Internally, I was cringing at myself. This was so bad. “I want to do a good job, but gods above, you're making it so hard to focus.” Resting a hand on the table, I leaned over Praxedes. I lifted her chin softly. “Especially you.”
She blinked, caught off guard, with a hesitant but hopeful gleam in her blue eyes. “Oh?”
"Ever since I first saw you out on that sand, I was convinced you were the goddess of the arena. The way you fight? Devastating. And now you're doing the exact same thing to my heart with your teasing.” My thumb brushed over her lips and they parted slightly. “Cupid above, Praxedes. You're not just toying with me, are you? I can't stop thinking about you now.”
"I'm not," she promised breathlessly.
From the corner of my eye, I saw Tiberius freeze in the courtyard entrance. The table was dead silent and she let out a slight gasp as I began lowering my head without looking away. Her eyes fluttered slightly. I bent down and then…
Flicked her on the forehead. “You've got food on your face.”
Time trickled by and then the table burst out in raucous laughter. Ursus threw his head back and slapped the table while Felix coughed, caught between discomfort and amusement. I winked at him. And for the second time in as many days, Corvus was on the floor.
"You…looked so stupid, Prax," he wheezed. He had reached the point of laughter when it turned silent and all you could do was try to breathe.
Corinna poked her in the side with a cackle. "Vah! She got you good, girl!"
A hand slapped my back and I turned to see Tiberius. The lines around his eyes crinkled. "It's nice to finally see someone go toe-to-toe with these two idiots. I'd been wondering just what I was walking into."
I grinned. “An attack should always be prepared for a reprisal, right? I tried to keep your advice in mind about precision.”
Her stunned face shifted from embarrassment and a fire lit in Praxedes's eyes. "One day, I'll make that real."
“Oh, Max. Your counter might have worked too well,” Tiberius quipped.
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"We'll see." Ursus wiped the tears from his eyes. "But right now we have some important matters to discuss."
The group quieted down and Felix leaned forward, sharing the new information Flavia had won for them. "They call themselves Mexicas and all the men are trained to fight since childhood. To hide all signs of fear and to either die in battle or return as a warrior." His face was grim.
Tiberius rubbed his chin, deep in thought. "And what kind of warriors are these two?"
"It seems their best fighters can become an eagle rank or a…jaguar." Ursus stumbled over the unfamiliar word. "Rumor is that it's the same thing as a leopard and they'll be added to the beast fights."
"Nevermind that. Do we know how they fight?" Praxedes seemed like an entirely different person from how she acted only moments before. There was an unforgiving ice in her eyes.
"They line their spears and clubs with obsidian shards like teeth," Felix replied. "Meaning pieces can break off and continue to cut the wound. They have darts coated in poison, too."
I sat, pulling my knees up to my chest and wrapping my arms around them as I listened. My stomach twisted at the description. The weapons seemed designed for reveling in pain before death. Corvus had been listening quietly until now
"But why now?" he asked, jaw tightening.
Tiberius sighed. "For several reasons. As always with politics."
My father held up his hand, fingers flicking out as he listed them. "To test out how a fight with them could look. They want to see if these Solis warriors can beat some of our best gladiators. You two are nearly ready to move onto fights in the Colosseum with Tiberius and Ursus, making you the perfect candidates. If you end up losing, the embarrassment will be controlled.” And by losing, he meant dying. “And what better way than this to celebrate Mars, since this is the god of war's month after all.”
"Irrumatores," Corvus swore and his sister reached out to grip his hand. They exchanged tense looks. "Those skullfuckers."
Apart from being used as a test, this was a line they had been dancing for some time. My father was right. It was a tricky balance; as gladiators became better, they were pulled into higher-stakes fights. Win too much and you were given death matches and brought to the Colosseum against the very best. But lose and you would miss out on the prize money and were likely to leave the sands injured or maimed.
"We focus on this fight first," Felix continued. "Back to how they fight. Tactics we consider dishonorable are normal for them to use, based on reports from the Legion. They may pretend to run away. Or, depending on the arena layout, hide to ambush you."
Corinna spoke next. "So for the next two days, your training will be unpredictable to get you into the right mindset..."
Standing, I began to ready the shop, listening as they continued planning. Although I had rooted for them for several years now, the Magnus twins became a lot more real once I'd met them, even if it was only a few days ago. I didn't want them to die. I glanced back at Praxedes and Corvus. They were calm and focused despite the spectre of death looming, eager to pull them down into the underworld. I shook my head. I couldn't believe they were only a few years older than me, and here I was just mixing fruit juice.
Tiberius approached me and his eyes caught the way my hands shook slightly. "Are you alright?”
I gave him a tight smile, lacing my fingers together. "Why wouldn't I be? I'm not the one fighting, after all."
“Maximilia.” There was an softness to his words. “No one needs to be brave for us except ourselves. It's okay to show that you're upset. It helps us more than you know, because it means you care."
"I'll keep that in mind.” I looked down at my hands. “Now, can I make you something so I can pretend to feel useful with everything" I gestured in the direction of the strategizing session.
His eyes crinkled. "Fair enough. I liked what I got the first time, so I'll have that again. And make the Proximo again for Ursus." He shook his head. "I have no idea how he got so muscular without eating anything from an animal."
“Wait, really?” I looked back at the big gladiator. "How did I not know he was a full hordearius?" People called gladiators—many of whom became one out of desperation—barley-eaters. The training schools also didn't always spend a lot of coin provide the best meals, so they ate meat infrequently compared to the general population.
"When he calls himself a lover not a fighter, he means more than just flirting. But don't point out the contradiction with his profession as a gladiator. He'll just rant about people having a choice."
Successfully distracted, I snickered and prepared their smoothies. Just like the first time, I made Ursus's drink with more of the vanilla flavored pea protein. One of the local apothecaries had somehow figured out how to make the plant into a protein powder as an alternative to protein from whey.
"Thank you, Tiberius," I said when I finished.
He raised his drink. "Just Tiber is fine."
Afterwards, the day proved to be slightly busier than yesterday as word of mouth began to do its part. Fortuna must have been on my side because all the customers were relatively reasonable. I learned that a lot came in after eating a main meal at the thermopolium just a few buildings down. Also, not needing to wash hands after eating here was a big draw.
When the end of the day arrived, a handful still lingered. Felix was there too, sitting with Corinna again to finalize tomorrow's training. I took the opportunity to check my stock and crouched down. It seems like I'd have to get more yogurt.
“Hey.”
Startled, I looked up. It was the novicius from yesterday, the one I had run out on. "Oh, it's you! Listen, I'm so sorry—"
"Can you do just the whey with water?"
I swallowed the rest of my words when he cut me off. Blond and brown-eyed with a strong nose and a square jaw—there was a tightness to his expression. He seemed on edge.
"Uh, sure," I said. "It'll just be the same cost as a regular smoothie, but I'll add some extra powder."
"Fine," he responded curtly, not looking at me. I followed his eyes to the bench where my father sat. Sensing our gaze, Felix glanced up for a moment.
"Ignatius." He nodded before returning to his discussion.
The novicius's posture straightened slightly at the acknowledgement. A smirk flickered across his face so quickly that I wondered if I imagined it. Dubiously, I handed him the sad, tasteless mixture he'd asked for.
He threw it back. Put the empty cup back down on the bar and walked away. Without another word.
On a scale of 10 to 10, how awkward was that flirting?
