temples. He wanted these men out of this house, far away from the Metaxas. He wanted to forget the anger, and the pain, and the memories he’d locked so deep inside that he could almost pretend they weren’t a part of him. But they were a part of him, and now with each breath the past dug its claws deeper into his lungs.
You don’t belong here. You’re a disappointment to any god.
Elias laughed weakly. “I don’t know anything about that. We’re stonemasons, not fighters.”
“There you have it,” said Ilena. “Now, if you—”
“You used to live in one of the Divine districts, did you not? Glykeria? No, Kyphus.”
Ilena dipped her head, hiding the clench in her jaw. “Yes, dominus.”
Petros knew they had lived in Kyphus because six years ago, he’d taken Elias’s father for his unpaid gambling debts. Ilena had been left alone, pregnant and with three young children, as well as Madoc. And when they’d been unable to pay off what he owed, the tax collector had sold him to the arena, to be used as practice in the matches against real gladiators.
No amount of stonecutting skill could help him. Elias’s father had lasted only a week.
Behind Ilena, Cassia was gripping the edge of the table with white knuckles. She’d once told Madoc that the reason she wanted to become a centurion was to stop men like Petros. She’d applied every year for the legion since she was twelve, even though they didn’t take anyone under eighteen. Barely a day went by that she didn’t practice their training exercises in the alley behind the apartment.
He prayed she didn’t lose her temper now.
“I’m sure you think there isn’t much farther to fall than this heap of rubble and filth, but believe me, there is.” Tension thinned the air as Petros stepped closer to Madoc, forcing Elias to cram against the wall to stay out of his way. “It would be a poor decision to lie to me.”
“Please,” Cassia said. “We know—”
“Quiet,” Seneca cautioned her. Her eyes were water blue, nearly translucent as they landed accusingly on Madoc.
“Tell me, Madoc,” said Petros. “When did your geoeia reveal itself?”
Madoc froze. Petros remembered his name.
It shouldn’t have been a shock, but it was. Madoc hadn’t heard his father say his name in thirteen years. He’d assumed Petros had forgotten it, just as he’d forgotten him.
“Dominus, please.” Ilena stepped closer to his side, edging in front of Madoc and Ava. “My son is Undivine. He has no geoeia.”
“Your son,” said Petros, bringing a wash of shame through Madoc’s chest. Birth mother or not, Ilena was the closest thing to a parent he had. Madoc could hardly believe Petros was challenging the claim. “Did I not tell you it was unwise to lie to me?”
Petros raised his hand. With a twitch of his finger he summoned a stone from the wall and sent it hurtling toward Ilena.
“No!” Cassia shouted, launching herself forward. She was fast, but not fast enough. As she pushed her mother aside, the stone glanced off Ilena’s head, drawing a gash the size of a fist across her forehead.
Chaos erupted inside Madoc. With Ava still in one arm, he dropped to catch Ilena, terror punching through his ribs. As his adoptive mother blinked up at him, dazed, Madoc caught sight of a ceramic bowl flying off a shelf, crumbling to pieces in midair.
“Cassia, stop!” Elias cried, trying to block the fragments of clay before they hit Petros or his guard. It was illegal to use Earth Divine gifts against a government official. Citizens were imprisoned for even suggesting they could.
The guard swung in front of Petros, turning the shards to dust before they reached their mark. With a roar, he cut his arms in a wide arc, clapping his hands before him with a deafening boom. The walls around them shuddered as gravel and loose bits of stone came flying toward Cassia. Danon dived under the table, and Madoc thrust a screaming Ava toward him, dragging Ilena to safety as Elias tried to contain his sister.
“Please!” From somewhere across the room, Madoc heard Seneca’s voice. He looked frantically for her through the dust—the old woman could hardly stand without support. She couldn’t make it down the stairs without assistance. A blast like this could topple her. “You’ll bring the house down!”
The rumbling halted, but dust floated in the air, gleaming in the light from the door.
“Enough,” said Petros. Madoc coughed as he rose from beneath the table. He glanced to Elias, the gasp