I glanced at where I had last seen Radulf, but couldn't see him any longer. Though it would require a greater use of magic to save the horses, it was a necessary risk. As the horses tangled with one another, I brushed my hand sideways, and they immediately regained their footing. It was a relief to release a portion of the magic bottled up inside me, a little less pressure to contain. On the other hand, if Radulf noticed what I'd just done, I would pay for this.
By then, I was able to pull off to the gates, and when I did, I used the knife to cut myself free from the chariot, removed my helmet, and leapt to the ground. While handlers took over the care of my horses, I sprinted off the track, dodging other horse teams when necessary. Then I ran up the stone steps into the stands, toward where my mother had been. But though my heart was pounding and I was completely out of breath, I hadn't been fast enough. I could not see her anymore, nor the woman she had served. Those seats were empty, and no matter how hard I looked, I could not see them anywhere. My mother was gone.
Nic! Why'd you quit the race?"
That was Aurelia's voice, and I turned to see her hurrying toward me, wearing a deep yellow tunic. Her light brown hair was pulled away from her face in a complicated braid that signified her newfound wealth. To see how nice she looked now, it was hard to believe she had once lived in the sewers beneath Rome.
I knew that I had missed her over the last two months, but until this moment, I hadn't realized how much she had become part of my life. It was rude to stare back at her, but I couldn't help it. The fire in her eyes was as bright as ever, as striking as always. Had she asked me a question? I couldn't remember.
"Nic? Are you awake in there?" She was in front of me now, smiling and waving a hand in front of my face.
It didn't make sense, seeing her now. The last time we had been together was after I had fought Radulf in the amphitheater. Senator Horatio, Aurelia's father, had died there. Maybe she didn't blame me for that after all, as I had believed. Because her smile suggested that we were still friends. Was that possible?
"What are you doing here?" I finally asked. A part of me hoped Aurelia would say she had come to see me race. Actually, every part of me hoped that.
"I came ..." she stammered. "Er, we came --"
"We?"
"Is everything all right? The practice was going so well." That was Crispus, who walked through a nearby archway and stood beside Aurelia. She only gave him a casual glance, telling me far more than I wanted to know. They had come here together. And whatever anger she had supposedly felt toward Crispus before had clearly vanished.
My anger had not.
"I have nothing to say to you," I muttered to Crispus. Then I turned and marched away from him. Now things were beginning to make sense, but not in a good way.
Aurelia hurried down the rows and crossed directly in front of me. "We came to talk to you," she said.
"You came with him?" I pointed to Crispus, still standing several rows above us. "The last time we were all together, he nearly got both of us killed. He succeeded with your father's death, and had me blamed for it."
"Crispus didn't do all that," Aurelia said. "It was his father."
There was truth in her words. Crispus's father, Valerius, had planned it all so he could become the Senate's presiding magistrate, a position of great power that had previously belonged to Senator Horatio. More important, the position also allowed Valerius to inherit the key to unlock a magical amulet he called the Malice of Mars. I didn't know much about it, other than that it would give its bearer victory in battle and that it was hidden somewhere.
The problem was that Valerius never got that key. Everyone seemed to believe Horatio had given it to me before he died, but he didn't. Radulf believed I had it too, one of only a few reasons he was keeping me alive.
Crispus stepped toward me, though he still kept his distance. "You were right to be angry, Nic, and it's understandable if your feelings haven't changed. But even if you disagree with what my father did in the arena, that doesn't make him your enemy."
"Without Radulf's protection, the empire would've executed me by now, all because of your father." I squinted into the sun to finally look at Crispus. "So tell me how he isn't my enemy."
"He came here to save your life." As if to prove it, Crispus pointed across the circus to the imperial box, where Radulf was sitting in close conversation with Valerius.
I swerved on my heels and began marching over to them. I wasn't sure whether Crispus followed me or not, but Aurelia almost immediately caught up to me.
"Believe it or not, Valerius is trying to help you," she said. "It does us no good to be angry with them."
"Us?" I scoffed at that, then said, "Since when did you become friends with Crispus? Was it the same night Valerius had your father killed, or did you wait a whole day first?"
"How dare you?" Aurelia punched my shoulder, and crossed in front of me, forcing me to stop. "My whole life, all I wanted was to get back to my father. You know better than anyone how much I wanted a family! But I walked away from him, because of his terrible plans for Rome." Her tone softened. "Because of his terrible plans for you, Nic. I did that because we are friends. I went into the arena to help you fight, and all I've done since then is try to figure out how to get you away from Radulf."
If that was true, then why hadn't I seen or heard from her? I knew she had tried to help me that day, but she couldn't possibly understand how difficult the last couple of months had been.
I shook my head and walked past her. "So your friendship with Crispus is to help me? Or does he help you instead?"
She caught up again, and this time grabbed my arm. "What is that supposed to mean?"
I checked behind us. Crispus was following, but at a safe distance. It wasn't far enough, though.
I turned back to Aurelia and said, "I know why you're so friendly to him."