Guardian of Rome (#2 in Gladiator Series)

Chapter 40

Chapter 40

 

 

NOW!

Everything happened in slow motion as the sword was hurled into the air, momentum pushing it upwards over the four metre high walls and towards the royal box.

Brown eyes watched blue as the blade spun through the air, cutting through the heat of thousands of bodies as the light from the sun reflected off its edge.

Krista could see commanders and senators beginning to move, trying to protect their Empress, but she just watched the blade, as all the noise around them became muffled and distant.

The sword arched in the sky, gathering speed as it travelled over the balcony of the royal box.

Her heart was pounding in her ears, her breathing heavy as blood and sweat trailed down her arms before pooling at her fingertips and dropping into the sand.

Each droplet of her blood felt like a fresh beat of a drum as the sword continued upon its fated path.

Her breathing hitched, her eyes drawing wider, as the sword grew dangerously close to Pompeia.

In those last few seconds, Krista’s mind was overwhelmed with everything that had happened in her past and now she was here, childless, about to fulfil her campaign of revenge.

* * * Three months ago * * *

 

Krista walked through the camp, her eyes raking over the vacant tents, as people stood, hunched over, coughing, all around her.

She had returned a little over a week ago with Diomed and yet, whilst the cure worked, it worked too slowly.

People were growing stronger every day but it was not strong enough for the challenges they faced ahead.

Slipping down the side of a tent, Krista navigated her way through a winding path of tents and cots before she came across another seemingly average tent.

Glancing over her shoulder, Krista made one more circuit of the tents before she returned to the same one.

It was only slightly taller than herself with mix-matched fabric and half-used equipment littering the front. It was as if a moment of daily life had been frozen in time.

Subconsciously running the palm of her hand over her abdomen, Krista thought back to the way Gaius’s eyes had fallen across her mid-riff and, before she let the thought grow dangerous, she ducked beneath the opening of the tent.

Her hand dropped back to her side as she looked around and saw the faces of Leonidas, Frieda and Artorius gathered before her.

A map was spread out on a table that rested between them as Frieda swung a chalice of wine from her fingers before raising the cup to her lips and drinking its nectar.

Everyone glanced upwards at Krista’s arrival, their taught shoulders relaxing when they gazed upon who it was.

Krista and Artorius shared a silent look of welcome before she turned towards Leonidas, “Have you made any progress?”

Leonidas sighed as he rested his hands on the table, “The information you obtained from Gaius has not been very useful. The Commander was careful to leave anything valuable open to peering gazes.”