LXIV

WAKING ISN’T A PLEASANT EXPERIENCE. The first thing I’m aware of is the throbbing of my head, followed swiftly by the duller but no less painful ache in my arm. I’m propped up against something hard and coarse. There are bindings both holding my wrists behind my back, and pulled painfully tight around my stomach. I assume I’m trussed to a tree.

I don’t open my eyes, but the change in my breathing must give me away, because there’s a rustling as someone nearby stirs. “Belli. He’s awake.”

A crunching of footsteps, getting louder. No point pretending; I open my eyes, squinting against the sting of what looks like noon filtering into the clearing. A dark shape looms over me. “Welcome back.”

“Thanks.” I surreptitiously test the knots that secure me. Too much to hope that they weren’t tight, unfortunately. “Where are the others?”

“We’re here.” It’s Callidus, off to the right somewhere behind me. Close.

Belli is smug as my vision finally clears. Iro’s off to the side, arms crossed. I’m not sure where Felix is.

The red-headed girl sighs, looking disappointed. “I thought this would be harder, to be honest, Vis. Everyone’s been going on and on about how good you are. Catenicus. Seven to Three in less than a year.” She shakes her head disdainfully. “And now you’ve been eliminated less than six hours into the Iudicium.”

My heart skips a beat and I glance down at my medallion. Still there. Still in one piece. “How did you get ahead of us?” My voice is steady, thankfully, and ignoring her gloating seems best. I should have known Iro and Belli would come after me. But they haven’t eliminated me yet—not properly. There must be a reason. Something they want from me.

“Does it matter?” Belli crouches, bringing herself to my eye level. “All you really need to know is that you were outplayed.” Behind her there’s a low, ugly chuckle from Iro.

“You hit me in the back of the head. Outplayed indeed,” I say dryly. “Still sore about losing at Foundation, I take it?”

I regret the words as soon as they’re out of my mouth. Belli’s expression darkens.

She straightens, draws back her boot, and kicks me square in the face.

Pain explodes across my cheek and everything briefly goes dim; I can hear outraged yelling from Callidus and a couple of other urgent voices, but I can’t focus on what any of them are saying. My head lolls, and then I suck in a breath and pull myself upright again. Spit blood. It was vicious, but not full force. No worse than taking a hit in the Theatre. I don’t think anything’s broken.

I take a few more breaths, both to steady myself and to cool my fury. Then I look up at the two of them again. Iro’s yanked Belli away, holding her back as she glares at me, but she’s not struggling, and she definitely pulled her kick. Despise me or not, they’ve remembered Veridius’s warning. They still want to win.

“So. You haven’t taken my medallion yet, which means you think I might be of some use. How can I help?”

Iro sneers. “Don’t get the wrong idea. We’ve only just finished tying you up. I just needed to make sure we were ready to leave before bringing the Sextii here.”

I’m still trying to fully extract myself from the torpor of multiple hits to the head. “I know you want to win. I’m more valuable to you as an ally. Together we can cover more ground, take out the other teams. You may not trust me but if you go it alone, you have to know that Indol or Emissa will win anyway.”

“He’s right,” calls Callidus.

“He’s half right,” counters Iro. “We need more people. But we don’t need him.”

There’s silence as Iro looks behind me. I twist to see Callidus and Aequa. Felix is standing a small distance away from them, watching. Callidus is smirking and shaking his head. “I don’t think so. Not without Vis.”

Belli ignores him, gaze fixed on Aequa. “That’s fine.”

Callidus frowns and turns to the girl across from him. I watch her too. She’s locked gazes with Belli, and I can see the wheels in her head turning.

“She’s not going to let you go, Vis, no matter what.” Her voice is soft. She doesn’t look at me. “And I don’t want to lose. I can’t lose.”

“Aequa.” Callidus’s expression is growing indignant.

“Smart choice.” Iro walks over, crouching down. Apparently whatever anger he has toward me over the naumachia, doesn’t extend to Aequa. I’m fuming, but say nothing. She’s right. I’m in no position to win.

A small part of me still hopes that this is part of some plan of Aequa’s, but that’s dashed as she leans forward, exposing the back of her neck. “Take it.”

Callidus bucks futilely against his restraints, looking at Aequa darkly. I hang my head, feeling more melancholy than anything else. I’ve misestimated. I thought she would feel some obligation to me, thought she had more loyalty in her than this. But I can’t bring myself to blame her. In her position, I may very well have done the same thing.

Felix unloops her medallion and gives it to Iro, who presses it against his own. There’s that strange warping in the air, a bubble of distortion, gone in an instant. “Done.” He hangs the medallion back around Aequa’s neck, then considers her. “I’ll untie you once we destroy Vis’s medallion.”

“Don’t do that.” Aequa gives him a reproving frown. “We can eliminate him just by taking the medallion with us, and then the others won’t know he’s out of the Iudicium. They’ll have to at least consider the possibility that we’ve temporarily teamed up.”

Iro reflects, then glances at Belli, who signals her agreement.

“We’ll have to keep you tied up for the next hour or so. Until we can be sure the Sextii have come to collect him.”

“Of course.”

Belli helps Aequa to her feet, retying her hands in front of her. “We should get moving.”

“Let’s take their cloaks, too,” says Aequa. “The nights will get cold, and they won’t be needing them.”

More cursing, even more vulgar than before, from Callidus, and this time I join him in the vitriol as Felix strips our cloaks. But it’s mostly to hide a glimmer of hope.

“And their supplies?” asks Felix.

“No point,” says Iro. “We have more than enough, and Aequa won’t be able to carry much while she’s tied up like this.”

Belli walks across to me. I resist the instinct to shy away as she leans down, instead letting my gaze bore into her. She meets it, snagging the cord around my neck and yanking sharply. The skin on my neck burns. There’s a snap, and then the cool white stone is being pulled from beneath my tunic.

“You lose,” she says softly.

She pockets the medallion and the four of them walk off, ignoring the furious railing that Callidus aims at their backs.

---

IT’S HUSHED IN THE DARK as we wait. There’s the constant, gentle rustling of branches in the wind, which is too cold for my tunic alone to fight. The occasional scrabbling of nocturnal animals nearby as they catch our scent and bolt in the other direction. The flapping of wings overhead, though rarely any birdcalls. Callidus’s steady breathing from the tree six feet away. And nothing else.

“Still awake?” My voice splits the air, rough from lack of water and overuse.

“I doubt I’ll sleep until she gets back.”

I’ve been working at my bonds constantly since Iro, Belli, Felix, and Aequa left. My wrists are chafed raw, painful to move now, and I’m pretty sure the sticky slickness covering my palms isn’t sweat. I still occasionally let frustration get to me, strain vainly against the thick rope, try and yank my hands apart or through the loop. It never results in anything except a dull ache.

“She’s not coming back, Callidus.”

We talked for hours after the others left. Debated Aequa’s plan, mostly. There’s no doubt she took my cloak to ensure the Sextii wouldn’t come for us; she knew the tracker I’d swallowed was secreted away in there. At the start, I shared Callidus’s optimism. Even came up with a plan. I didn’t believe she would just leave us here—it’s hardly a death sentence, as someone will eventually wonder why Callidus’s medallion isn’t moving, but it seemed unnecessarily cruel.

After a few hours, though, I knew the truth. She’s intending to use my tracker as a weapon, a means of sabotage, drawing our safety team to someone else instead of us. Executed at the right moment, it could be the advantage that leads to her winning the Iudicium.

Callidus didn’t want to entertain the possibility. Still doesn’t. But as our conversation has petered out, leaving us with nothing but encroaching night, I think he’s more and more come around to my point of view.

“What do you think Veridius offered her?” Callidus asks the question idly.

“Must have been something big.”

He grunts. “It shouldn’t have mattered.”

I smile affectionately into the darkness. “You could have gone with her, you know. I would have understood.”

“And put up with Belli for three days?” Callidus forces some humour into his tone, deflecting the suggestion. “Gods’ graves, no.”

I chuckle, glad of the brief levity. Glad of Callidus’s company, too, even if I’m responsible for his plight.

There’s quiet again, and then I have to ask. “What did they offer you?”

Callidus takes his time replying. “Domitor.”

“What?” I shake my head, sure I’ve misheard. “What?”

Callidus chuckles. “My reaction too when the Principalis told me, word for word. He said that if I was on the winning team, I’d graduate as part of Class Four. And if I brought the Heart back myself…” I can almost hear his shrug. He’s embarrassed.

“Rotting gods. High stakes.” I’m struck by the enormity of Callidus’s decision. “You’re a better friend than I deserve.”

“Not really. I just figured not causing any trouble was the fastest way back to the Academy.”

There’s a pause, and then I cough a genuine laugh. I can hear Callidus joining in. I lean back, resting my head against the coarse bark, and peer upward through the leafy canopy at the diffuse starlight that occasionally peeks through. “You really don’t care about where you end up after all this, do you?”

“I care. I just think there are more important things.”

I keep smiling at the sky. I’m terrified of what’s coming, but there’s a simplicity to the answer that’s somehow comforting. “You really still think she’s coming back?”

“An hour tied up. A decent while before they let their guard down. She might even be waiting until they’re asleep.” There’s a sort of desperate resolve in his voice. He hates the thought of Aequa betraying us. “She’s our friend, Vis. These past few weeks have meant something.”

“I envy you, you know. Your capacity to do that. To trust like that.”

There’s a silence, then he snorts. “For a second, I thought that was going to be a compliment.”

“I mean it.” I’m reflective. I know we’ve lost, have known for hours now. It’s left me introspective. “I’m not just talking about Aequa. I mean things like telling me about Belli, about why you’re really in Seven. I mean how you chose to warn me about the Iudicium, even after it burned you so badly last time.” I lick cracked lips. “Gods’ graves, Callidus. You showed me where you hid the documents. You did it like it was nothing.”

He chuckles, a little uncomfortably. “Well, I trust you.”

“I’m not sure I’m worthy of it.”

Another silence. “I know you won’t tell anyone.” He’s bemused. “Are you alright?”

I squeeze my eyes closed in frustration, the act barely making a difference against the near pitch-black.

I want to tell him. I don’t think he would turn me in. I think Callidus would take my secret to his grave.

“I’m tired,” I eventually say softly, cursing myself for my cowardice. At least it’s true. I’m tired of lying. Tired of fighting. Tired of being afraid. “And thanks. You’re right, of course. I’d never tell anyone.”

Nothing for a while, only the wind whispering through the trees touching my ears.

“Why do you think they do this?” Callidus asks suddenly.

“Do what?”

“This. The Iudicium. Pit us against one another while no one’s looking. Bring us down to this level.” There’s a note of bitterness. “It’s not exactly the culmination of all we’ve learned at the Academy.”

“I don’t think it’s supposed to be. I think it’s meant to be the final lesson.” I say it with cynical certainty. “This is the real world. They’re looking for people to lead, and in Caten… it’s like Thavius says. Caten rewards greed above all. So this, out here, is about seeing who will do whatever it takes. Who will do whatever they can get away with to win.”

There’s a hush for a while, and I can tell Callidus is processing the words. “That’s a grim way of looking at it.”

“Tell me I’m wrong.”

“No. No, I don’t think you’re wrong.” There’s a shuffling, Callidus repositioning himself against his tree trunk. “So if it’s not us, are you hoping Emissa’s going to win?”

“Yes.” I mean it. “She has a good chance, too. Indol’s going to be hard to beat though. Especially if he gets more Fourths over to his team.” I sigh. “Honestly, at the moment? I don’t mind, as long as it’s not Iro and Belli.”

“Absolutely. I cannot believe she actually kicked you in the face. I knew she wasn’t a graceful loser, but that was…” Callidus raises his voice to a fairly decent approximation of Belli’s. “ ‘All you really need to know is that you were outplayed.’ ”

“ ‘You lose,’ ” I copy him.

It’s not that funny, but it’s enough to send us into a coughing fit of giggles, loud enough that neither of us notices the cracking of twigs until a voice cuts through our laughter, sharp in the pitch-black. “Do you idiots really not care whether you get eaten by alupi, or do you not know how loud you are?” Torchlight creeps over the ground around me.

“Aequa?” I twist, heart leaping even as the rope grinds against my raw wrists.

“Who else would it be?” she says impatiently, slender form emerging from the shifting shadows. She crouches down by me, torch in one hand, steel in the other. “Hold still.”

“Rotting gods, Aequa. What took you so long?” calls Callidus.

“Quiet.” She shoves me forward to get to my hands. There’s a pressure on the rope, a frenzied sawing motion for about ten seconds, and then the cords that have been holding me in place for the last several hours fall away. I almost topple with them, unbearably stiff, but manage to clumsily catch myself. Before I can stand, she’s moving over to Callidus and repeating the process.

“How did you get away?”

“We hit a dead end a few hours ago, had to double back for almost an hour. They’re terrible at woodcraft. I offered to scout ahead for a while tonight, make sure the new path was clear. They didn’t even consider I might be double-crossing them.”

“Hah. How foolish of them. Hah,” I say weakly as I lever myself to my feet, gingerly stretching out. “Do you have my trackers?”

“No. But I’m going back to get your medallion.” She finishes what she’s doing. “The other one’s in Iro’s stomach.”

“What?”

“I slipped it into his broth at dinner.”

“That’s… amazing.” Callidus is awed. “And disgusting.”

Aequa’s calm, short of breath though she is. “It was spur of the moment, but I think it will work. I’ll suggest branching off with Vis’s medallion to act as a decoy in the morning. No reason they’ll see it as suspicious—they think you’re out of the Iudicium, and it would be insane for me to try and win by myself this early, with no way of knowing where anyone else is. Once the tracker in Iro’s stomach activates, the safety team will make contact, and they’ll all be eliminated. I’ll meet you after that.”

I breathe out, as impressed as Callidus. “And Veridius only said we needed the medallion to win.” I work the blood back into my fingers. “How long did it take you to get back here?”

“Only about an hour. We got blocked by a cliff, had to come back east before we made camp.” She shakes her head, locks swinging in the dim light. “It was lucky. I was getting ready to grab your medallion and just run for it when they realised there was no way forward.”

I frown. “East?”

“They had the same idea as you: go west, skirt the boundary, keep clear of Indol and Emissa until the Heart starts moving. That’s how they got ahead of us. Just bad luck.”

I grunt. It’s not an awful plan from Iro, but… certainly a coincidence.

“How is your face, by the way?” She falters. “You know I would have stopped her, if she’d gone near you again.”

“I know.” I rub my bruised jaw. “It’s no worse than the rest of me.”

“Good. We should move, then.” She holds up her torch and starts jogging back into the forest, not waiting for a response.

Callidus elbows me. “Told you,” he says softly.

I give him a superior look. “Never had a doubt.”

We both grin, and chase after Aequa’s retreating torchlight.