Two

Hadius glared down the arena.

Claudus tried to speak, but was silenced with a glance.

'You said you wanted to oversee the amphitheatre, I will admit I didn't have high hopes for your plans,' Hadius said, half turning to his nephew, 'but I didn't think you could sink so low. Almost as low as those fools in the pit.'

'Uncl—'

Hadius raised a ringed hand. 'It would be best if you kept from disappointing me any further.' He turned fully to the theatre, eyes trailing for the two peasants kneeling.

He saw the dead man, and one of Claidus' masked guards covering a bloodied arm.

'I assume those two have no crimes,'

'They do,' Claudus said with indignation, coming forward and pointing. 'That one there is an omega. A male omega and he had the audacity to try to steal from me!'

Hadius raised a brow. 'Oh? And what did he try to steal?' It didn't take a particularly wise man to know that the poverty-stricken didn't go around attempting to rob well manned elites, and Claudus, the cowardly bastard, was as well manned as any could be. For somebody who was not directly royalty.

'He grabbed my robe and—!'

'And what? Begged? Is begging now the reason we execute our citizens?'

Claudus seethed quietly, hateful eyes trained downwards, to the omega and the other one.

Hadius sighed. His Ears had told him the rebels were gathering, increasing their numbers and public image by sympathy. They were preaching of the old ways, saying that the elites had gotten too comfortable in their high seats and enjoyed making them suffer.

Already, if Empress Saltillia heard it, he was afraid of what she might do. Half the kingdom might be desecrated to prove that she was the strongest and even if the old ways were brought back she would still rule. She must have heard, her Ears were as good as his, but she had yet to react, and Hadius suspected it was because he was controlling the situation.

The last thing he needed was a public massacre in the capital.

He commanded all to rise with a hand gesture, and spoke to the omega in the pit. 'What is your name?'

'Adigo, my lord,' he said meekly, his voice shaky and barely as loud as it should have been.

'Did you kill that man?'

'N—no, my lord.'

'Did you?' he asked the other boy.

'I did.'

'The guard too, I pressume.'

'Yes.'

Hadius noticed his unbroken voice and lack of respect.

'What is your name?'

'Lucilla!' he shouted back, bolder than Adigo. The meeker boy turned to his friend. '…my lord…'

Hadius scoffed. 'A woman, and you protected your brother.'

She didn't reply.

'You,' he called the masked guards, 'bring them to my chariot.'

He faced his nephew and lowered his voice. 'The next time I see anything like this, you will lose an eye.'

Hadius froze when he got to his chariot.

It was late afternoon, the streets outside the amphitheatre was busy. The sun was beginning to lose its heat, but it was still bright, and its light seemed to radiate off the boy.

He was tanned and slim, his hair the shade of red sand and curled, it was dry, didn't have any lustre, but it hardly mattered. On his head, it might as well have been a crown of rubies.

'Adigo?' The boy's eyes widened just a fraction before it glance down shyly, beautifully green eyes. By Rhoda, what temptation was this?

'My—my lord,' he said, his hands clasped loosely in front of him. Even in his rag, Hadius had to swallow.

Then the other boy stepped forward, in front of the astonishing view.

Hadius' lips twitched. 'Lucilla,'

She bowed. 'My lord.' But didn't step aside.

It was dangerous. To be so bold in the presence of an elite, but Hadius could see the reason in her eyes. They were brown and dead, and seemed to care little for its owner.

He didn't know why he had commanded them there, but he knew the reason he commanded them along with him was because of Adigo's beauty.

There was also the unfathomable intrigue for Lucilla.

Compared to Adigo, she would easily be overlooked. Skinny and dark. Yet, she walked with her head up, afraid but hiding it, glancing around subtly, curious but trying not showing it.

If Adigo was shy kitten, she was a wolf pup guarding it.

Hadius thought on that. Claudius was a hateful boy, not forgiving unless forced. But he doubted the boy's thirst for retribution against them would even measure in the tiniest bit to what they might face in the palace.

He glanced at Adigo again, more dignified than before.

An omega.

He could feel it was a bad decision, they would chew him until there was less than nothing left. Lucilla, he thought, would be easy to do away with. He was a senator of the republic, a very senior member of the chamber, but he knew he had little power where the princes were concerned.

Still he drove on. If life was not full of spontaneous decisions, it was nothing. Besides, something felt like the outcome was uncertain.

Just the beautiful kitten, there would be no doubt, but with the wolf pup, there was cause for uncertainty. She didn't look strong, but she didn't seem stupid.

He mused that maybe his instincts were on to something.