GLADIATOR | ELYSIUM RISING 1 ✔️

⍢ | 31

Iggy winced as his knees were forced onto the polished tiles of Emperor Voltai au Castus' private viewing box overlooking the arena. The weight of a guard's gloved hands on his shoulders kept him kneeling. Grimacing, he shook the man's hands off him.

He might not have been in the arena anymore, but there was still an audience around. Various members of House au Castus stood about the place with hatred bleeding through their white faces. Members from other Noblus families stood around the edges of the vaulted room, silent and waiting eagerly for their ruler to finish deliberating.

Voltai remained sat on his golden chair at the front of the room. A golden cup sat in his hand. Iggy shot a glance at the empress-to-be standing at her fiancé's side. She kept her face deathly still; her eyes hadn't moved from Iggy's since he'd entered the room.

Finally, the emperor cleared his throat. He adjusted the sleek, golden crown sitting atop his blond hair. He rose from his seat and stepped through the crowd of Elysians filling the room. They parted for him like magnets avoiding their opposite. Everyone's eyes followed the emperor as he moved toward Iggy. He stopped just in front of the boy before craning his neck downward.

Iggy tilted his chin upward to meet the man's chilling gaze. Voltai's stare slid down the Arigorii's face and eventually landed upon the scratched-out symbol on his chest plate. A sneer twisted his lips.

"You are very bold, Iggorii." His words reached only Iggy's ears. "Bold and stupid."

Iggy simply smirked.

Voltai's eye twitched. "I could've had you executed alongside that traitorous Andradan. But I didn't. I offered you mercy. Why? Because I am not the monster you think I am."

Even if his eyes were closed, Iggy could've seen straight through the man's lies. Mercy? What he did wasn't mercy. It was cruel and sinister and torture.

"You're exactly who I think you are."

Straightening up, Voltai looked around the room. "Leave us." Without question, everyone—including the guards who delivered Iggy to the skybox—vacated the premises. They filtered through the automatic sliding glass doors, whispering amongst themselves. Before Noia could leave, the emperor gestured for her to stay. She shuffled over to him, her face tight and her lips pressed into a thin, straight line.

Iggy squinted at her. His gaze moved beyond her and to the cup sitting on the armrest of Voltai's chair. The emperor hadn't shown any symptoms of being drugged. Had Noia kept her word and done her part of the plan? Or had she backed out, choosing to side with her future husband?

He couldn't tell.

"Noia is the only reason you're still alive," Voltai told him. "After your antics in today's games, I wanted you executed on the spot. But she advocated for you." He lifted a brow at the Majaan priestess. "Why is that?"

Noia's entire body tensed. "W-What do you mean?"

He grabbed her hand. His fingers squeezed around hers. The color drained from her face as she stared at him.

"Why do you care for this boy?"

"I don't, my love."

"My love." He seemed to be tasting the words on his tongue, testing them for their sweetness or the bitter poison they might've been. "You've been keeping secrets, Noia."

"What are you—"

His free hand snapped to her throat, fingers curling around it like a snake ensnaring its prey. She clawed at his grip, eyes bulging as she struggled to breathe.

Iggy shouted at the man as blood rushed to his face. He attempted to stand up, but the emperor retrieved a knife from beneath the long flaps of his black shirt. The Arigorii remained on the floor, his rage frozen on his face. It bubbled within him, seeping into his veins and igniting every nerve ending inside of his body.