"You'll get to know the new ones by the time you race. They'll be here tomorrow."
I wasn't going to argue with that. The horses he'd given me before were strong, but they were older and tired easily. Winning mattered almost as much to him as it did to me, and I had to trust at least some of his decisions.
"Get me one horse," I said, smiling. "So strong that he defeats the other teams and lets me squeeze right between them."
"I'm getting four horses," he said. "So strong that they'll run right over the other teams."
I laughed. "To do that, I'd need at least double that number."
"Too many horses won't help you." Radulf chuckled. "The story is told of that great fool, Emperor Nero, who attempted to race with ten horses, more than twice what the other charioteers were allowed. He was thrown from his chariot before finishing the course, though naturally, he was declared the winner."
I grinned along with him. "I would have liked to see that."
Radulf patted my back. "When I rule the empire, you will see anything you can imagine. With our magic combined, everything will be possible. Even the gods will bow to us."
My smile fell, and I turned my focus back to the circus. "I'm ready to ride now," I said. "I want to get on the track."
"Just the starting gate for today." I started to protest, but Radulf added, "It's the most important part of the race. You need a clean exit from the gate."
Here at the Circus Maximus, a building housed the gates that led onto the track. We entered from the stables to the rear, beyond the view of the audience, and then lined up in the building where the race would begin. The twelve gates each had a separate archway with wooden doors that released at the very same moment. The gates were all
situated on a slight curve so that every gate had the same distance to the break line, the point at which the competition officially began.
However, the way a charioteer left the gates could make all the difference. That was the reason for today's practice.
My team of four horses was brought to a middle gate, and I climbed into the chariot. I planted my feet on the chariot floor as I started tying the reins around my waist.
"Just hold the reins today," Radulf said.
"Why? When I race --"
"When you race, you won't tie the reins either." Ridges of concern had appeared in Radulf's forehead. "That's how the Praetors will try to win, not in a fair race, but by knocking you from your chariot. You can't be tied in."
"They don't want me killed in a fall. They need me."
"They need to win, just as much as you want the victory. If it looks like they're about to lose, then they'll make sure you fall and that you don't cut yourself free. Those are the stakes. Do not tie yourself to the chariot."
I looked down at the reins in my hand. Maybe I'd made a stupid bargain, but at this point, I needed to race my very best. And that meant I would ride this chariot the way I understood. Like every other charioteer, I would tie myself in with the reins.
Radulf sighed as I wrapped them around my waist and made the knot.
"Very well," he said. "But be aware that I can only help you as much as you are willing to be helped. The rest is up to you."
"In the end, it'll be entirely up to me," I said. "Wasn't that your point last night, that I'll have to do this alone?"
"Yes, Nic," he said somberly. "In the end, you'll be alone on that track."
That was all I could think about as I directed my horses to the gate.
And that was where my practice began. We kept the gate doors open so that I could see Radulf's signal. When he gave it, as quickly as possible, I urged the horses to action and my chariot bolted from the gate. Behind me, Radulf shouted out every error I'd made, but I didn't look back. I kept my concentration on the track, edging as close to the spine as I dared.
When I'd completed one full turn, he motioned me back into the gates.
"You hesitated after the gates opened!" he said.
"For a single second -- no more!"
"That single second might cost you the race. When the gates open, your horses must already be in motion."