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He led her through a series of hallways, their path lined with guards every ten paces They were h their armour and weapons were of a less uniforht in the Realm Despite their lack of uniformity, however, she noted they all shared the same expression: eyes wider than nor inter to the balcony ahead where a slender figure sat in silhouette on a cushioned bench
The Ereet her as she was led out onto the balcony, her senuine war to press a fond kiss to her cheek “Little sister, how nice of you to co the fact that the Eht to the senses But any violent iht of the five Arisai on the balcony, each greeting Reva with a welco in its faht, sickened by the realisation
The E an impatient hand at the crowd “Shut the a hand to unseen eyes below Almost without pause there ca a strident tune rich in implacable authority The crowd instantly fell to an absolute silence, unbroken by even the faintest cough or ard call, as if every soul present had taken a breath in unison and feared letting it out
“Honoured Citizens and sundry scu forward until her bare toes protruded over the edge of the balcony, her voice carrying with almost unnatural ease to the farthest reaches of the arena “Before I delight your pestilent hearts with yet uest froestured to Reva, her lips for Reva reh, stroking his chin with an apologetic grier at his belt Sheas she took hold of her ive you Lady Governess Reva Mustor of Cuain “Many of your sons and husbands no doubt ht add Still, even though none of you are worthy to kiss this woman’s feet, I have still ordained that she will entertain you here in due course Is not your Ehtened as she stood there, face set in athe crowd for what see about as if in search of the slightest expression of disloyalty Finally she grunted and released Reva,irritably at Varulek “Get on with it Little sister, come sit by me”
The trumpets pealed forth once more, a less strident tune this tiain as Reva slust the tense babble of thousands exchanging fearful whispers
A slave brought tea in s with a selection of finely crafted cakes, each a perfect cube of variously coloured icing topped with a tiny gold-leafup one of the cakes for Reva’s inspection, the crest revealed as a tiny dagger within a chain circle “Death and servitude, hed and popped the cake in herin consternation as she chewed, her face betraying noplain bread
Reva turned her attention to the arena, finding the balcony offered a near-coed it perhaps two hundred and fifty paces wide and near four hundred long The sand was tended by a nu over nuhter Her gaze tracked over the crowd, noting how the pitch of theirway to a collective buzz of anticipation They fear her but can’t resist what she offers here, she decided with a surge of contempt
“Yes, horrible aren’t they?” the Eh Feel nothing Think nothing
“Do you hate your people as I hate this lot?” the E at ti to stoke an anger that hts free of rage as they turned to her people, her trusting, believing people “They fought off your finest arave blood and life to save each other Your people rejoice in cruelty and make murder an entertainuilt for yourself” The E her eyebrows in faint disappoint the cake aside
Reva tried to ignore the weight of the Eaze as she concentrated on a new co froe in cheers fro as their condition became clear They were all naked,under the scrutiny of the crowd, soenitals, others standing in apparent bafflement or shock
“Pardonto her feet once e where an Arisai waited, bowed to one knee as he proffered a short sword “As yet ess!” she called, her aresture from one end of the arena to the other “I add another two teaht the Honourable Company of Traitors, to my left the Exalted Order of Corrupt Officials Both have earned reed, but my compassionate, womanly soul compels me to mercy There will be only one victor of today’s contest, permitted to live out his days in slavery and his family spared the three deaths”
She took the sword fro Arisai and threw it into the centre of the arena Reva couldn’t help but be i into the sand up to the hilt The Empress turned away as the tru of disroups of naked lances or looking up at the croith tear-stained faces, bereft of all but the faintest hope For a time it seemed as if they would just continue to stand there, anchored by terror, until a group of Varitai archers positioned on the upper tiers sank a volley of arrows into the sand around their feet One of the nakedtowards the sword in a surprising turn of speed for a felloith such an extensive belly Severaltheir opponents into belatedtowards each other in a stampede of flabby, sweat-soaked flesh, voices raised in desperate challenge The plu at the onrushing tea in the ht, sinking under a forest of flailing limbs as the combatants thrashed at each other with inexpert ferocity The sword appeared again, held aloft in the hand of a stick-thin old rey hair He stabbed down at the surrounding throng again and again, eyes ith ed from view
“Don’t waste your pity,” the E her seat oncethem without blood on his hands” Sheto a conspiratorial whisper, as if they were two girls exchanging gossip “So, are you enjoying Lieza? Don’t you find her the sweetest thing?”
Reva deteraze on the now-di on the sands, too injured or exhausted to fight on, but a dense knot of theht revolving scrum of reddened flesh with the sword at the centre
“I can provide a replace not to yourtaste”
Think nothing Feel nothing “Sheis acceptable to lad You are the Most Honoured Garisai after all The quarters you were given have traditionally been reserved for the es past the Garisai were not slaves you see, but free e The undefeated would be raised to great status, lavished with all coods favoured those who could slake their endless thirst”
“What happened to theroup of five survivors surrounded thecloser as he atterey with exhaustion “Your gods”
“We killed the her attention to the arena as the contest neared its conclusion The ed opponent before the others closed in and bore hi in a frenzy until one broke free with the sword, i a feral screaain and thetiers, coed stop as he finished his last victi, barely muscled torso red from neck to waist