I left as dawn broke. But sudden trepidation about the whole thing hit me and my feet slowed.

  Felix waited for me at the doorway, a muscle ticking in his jaw. “Be careful.” His thumb soothed over the missing stump of his finger restlessly.

  “You'd think I was about to step into the arena as a gladiator,” I teased, rolling my eyes. But it felt nice to have him fuss like this.

  He gave me a hard look. “I refuse to feel ashamed for worrying. This will be the farthest you have ever been from me, Maximilia. If something happens to you while I…are you sure?”

  Gently, I leaned against my father and embraced him. A deep sigh escaped him, his cheek resting on my head. I could hear the faint rumble in his chest. While it would've been nice to go together—to write over the times I'd been left behind—I'd decided against it.

  “It's something you'd left behind. For your sake and mine. So it feels wrong to watch and cheer for it with you.”

  “But—”

  I cut him off. “That's completely different.” He was going to bring up how I watched the gladiators he trained from the stands while he watched them from the side.

  Felix tightened his arms around me before letting go and I kissed his bearded cheek.

  “Alright, I'll be back soon. I love you!”

  He was letting me borrow a horse from the ludus, and a servant was waiting with it in the street. Thanking them, I mounted and urged it forward. I could feel my father's eyes follow me as I twisted to wave before he disappeared from view. He'd already seen Ursus off last night.

  The big gladiator had winked. "I'll send someone with news if something goes wrong, Felix."

  "I expect you to come here and tell me yourself," my father had grumbled in reply.

  That exchange was a ritual he always did with Ursus and Tiberius when they fought in the Colosseum, apparently. I'd watched them quietly, enjoying the camaraderie.

  After picking Saturnia up, we made my way through the streets of Romachia, her arms wrapped around my waist. Hooves clipped against the stone in the quiet dark. The plan was to meet the others at the Colosseum, but we wanted to see everything first before it got too crowded—without the chaos of the group.

  Soon the giant triumphal monument that connected Romachia to the main province of Aeterna loomed before us. I'd seen it before a few times, but never passed through it. Everything I'd ever needed was here.

  "A first time for everything, right?" Saturnia offered tentatively. Like me, she also had never left Romachia.

  I shifted to grin at her and saw that she mirrored my growing excitement. The nerves were fading, replaced by a sharp beat in my chest pushing me forward. "That's right," I said, clicking the horse on.

  The stone structure was square, but the archways on each side met to create a dome underneath. We looked up to see massive friezes commemorating the founding of Romachia, the first offshoot province formed. It depicted the Dii Consentes, the twelve gods who were the major ones in the pantheon. Their eyes followed us.

  Not knowing what else to do to shake the feeling, I smiled up at them and waved. I figured it couldn't hurt if they really were watching. And then we passed through the opposite arch to enter Capitoline Hill.

  I took a deep breath. We'd just left Romachia.

  “Well this feels a little underwhelming,” Saturnia huffed. Then she looked around. “Actually, I might take that back. I thought our province looked nice, but this is absolutely pristine!”

  We moved down the avenue with several other merchant carts, passing dwellings and shops. It seemed like not even a speck of dirt darkened the stone and marble. In the distance we could see the Curia, where the Senate met. It sat on a hill around which the rest of the Forum settled—is how I imagined the house of the gods would look.

  "It's hard to believe the stories they like to tell about how gross it used to be," I agreed. "Back when the sewage and water was still a problem."

  As we got closer to the Forum, several wide roads branched off the main one intermittently. A distant triumphal monument stood at the end of each.

  "I wonder which one leads to Solis," Saturnia wondered, echoing my thoughts.

  A unit of legionaries turned down one of them and my eyes followed the road, squinting. A haze of green, darker and more vibrant than usual faded in the distance and several strange triangular shapes peaked out above it. That had to be Solis. I turned around to compare horizons and another street on the opposite side caught my eye. The stone blocks looked brighter, although most of the residences lacked the subtle touch of human life.

  You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

  As if it'd just been built.

  She jabbed her finger at the distant entryway. “Max, is that Schola? What if we rode up to the gate? Do you think they'd let us get near enough to see through it?”

  “I'm sure a lot of people have already tried that,” I scrunched up my bottom lip in contemplation. “Besides, it'll just be a tease when there are actual people in the Forum.

  “Oh, good call! Let's try to find them if it's not too early.”

  “That was the plan, Sat,” I said with a laugh before looking back towards the territory. “But I wonder if these houses are meant for people from Aeterna or Schola.”

  She leaned her head against my back. "Maybe both. Since they are Aeternians too, now.”

  “The Solis street also looks empty, but I guess I'd be nervous living near there too. And they still seem to hate us."

  “Hmm.” Her arms shifted around my waist. “I feel bad for both of them. Suddenly trapped here.”

  We reached the edge of the Forum as the sun crested the horizon behind us. The clouds were gilded, glowing molten gold against a pale, muted sky. I noticed a man bent over a fountain to our left, splashing his face and slicking back bright blond hair. Several strands fell back over his green eyes as he straightened to look at us.

  "Well, I'll be..." he murmured.

  The man wore an outfit similar to most who lived in Capitoline—trousers and short tunics over the torso—but the clothing itself was strange. The top part was white and sat close to his frame, which was well built like the farmers I'd seen. And the legs were a faded blue material held in place by a leather belt and a silver clasp.

  Our eyes met and a lopsided grin flashed. I'd never seen teeth that white, like the purest marble. Then I blinked and he disappeared as buildings blocked my view.

  "I wonder who that was," Saturnia giggled. "He looked strange. But hot."

  I snickered. "If we stopped at every attractive man we saw, we'd never make it in time."

  We found a mansio where people from the other provinces could stay overnight. After stabling the horses there, we continued on foot. The Colosseum towered above everything, a massive structure with endless rows of archways, and I swallowed, nervous again. I'd heard people talk about this place, but it always sounded exaggerated. Until now.

  Saturnia nudged me. "Let's poke around a little bit and get something to eat before the games begin."

  In response, my stomach growled loudly. And she smirked. Then a strange expression crossed over her face.

  "Do you think they starve the animals before making them fight so they're angrier? Because Ursus is starting to make more sense."

  I groaned, putting my hands to my head. "I'm already stressed, Sat. Don't make me think about that too right now."

  "Okay, fine." She shook her head and her smile bounced back. "Come on!"

  We wandered around, ogling over everything. While it wasn't too different from the forum back home, there was just so much...more. We also stood out a little bit now in our clothes, although the flashing of jewelry seemed consistent. Saturnia had borrowed some of mine and I was dressed pretty similarly to what I wore at the Liberalia games. But here, most wore trousers or knee-length tunics.

  The crowded maze opened up to a temple, but it looked oddly empty and untouched. Barely any offerings were left on some of the outside shrines.

  "They really don't seem to have kept with the old ways. Aren't they afraid of angering the gods?"

  "Maybe it's hard when the gods don't show their faces anymore,” I mused. “And not when people can see the assemblies and the Senate in person as the next level of power."

  We continued until we came upon a section that stuck out far more than we ever could. Intense was only word I could think of to describe everything, from the colors to the smells.

  I stopped, gripping Saturnia's arm. "I think...I think this is from Solis!"

  Her mouth dropped open and we entered slowly, eyes darting around wildly. Fruit I'd never seen before were on display. One had a green interior around a large seed and another had a red skin with golden yellow flesh. And another had tiny spikes on the outside.

  Laughter and the buzz of chattering voices drew my attention. Aeternians were already talking to the Solis people who looked just like the two warriors in the arena. On the shorter side, they had browned skin, not so different from some of our olive and bronzed complexions. Their features were striking with dark eyes shaped like almonds, sharp noses, and straight black hair mixed with partially shaved heads.

  “Their clothes are so bright!” Saturnia gasped. “I love it.”

  Some had adopted Aeternian styles, but most wore Solis garb. Brightly patterned and fringed mantles draped over skirts, loinclothes, or short tunics. Red paint also made patterns on skin and coated some of their teeth entirely.

  “Some of them also remind me of the gladiators. The thraeces,” I said.

  I also saw a lot of jewelry that was either beaded or jagged with chunky geometric designs. Bright blue stones winked at me and gold disks stretched out some of their earlobes.

  The world jerked as she pulled me to look at some caged creatures. "Max, look at these!"

  From the tiny birds that hovered in place to coiling snakes, they were more vibrant than everything else in the market. I ran my fingers over some jaguar pelts to feel the dense fur and imagined the muscles surging underneath. It was a shame to see them like this. While we looked around, a woman watched us, a pipe in her mouth. Sweet, earthy smell smoke curled from it, mixing with the aroma of resin in the air.

  We were like thrown dice the way we bounced around the market. Then the unmistakable sound of sizzling food hit us next and I spun around trying to locate it.

  "Gods above, I'm so overwhelmed. I know this is where the chocolate I use comes from, but I don't know what anything is." My hand found Saturnia's shoulders. "How about this? Let's come back just for the markets."

  Her head swiveled back and forth, her big brown eyes even wider than usual. She nodded. "I agree. Because I want a snake, but I'm not about to carry it around all day."

  "Do you even know if they're venomous? Or how much it would be?"

  "Thats what friends who are successful business owners are for."

  Laughing, we walked down the market streets and rounded the corner, nearly bumping into a table piled high with books. And lounging behind it, dipping bread into wine with a dubious expression, was the man from the fountain. He was in the middle of chewing when he saw us. Leaping to his feet, he swallowed hard and suddenly began coughing and pounding his chest.

  I raised my eyebrow. "Hate it that much?"

  The man coughed a few more times, his eyes widening as he shook his head. Finally he took a deep breath and cleared his throat. "Well, ain't this sweeter than pie. Here I was hoping to see you again.”

  He had a strange way of talking, drawing out and smoothing over some words slowly while holding others tight in his throat. I couldn't explain why, but it reminded me of warm honey and smoke.

  He extended a hand to me. "Cyrus Cassius Carter, miss. But you can just call me Cassius, since it seems to fit round here. I'm from what y’all are calling Schola."