Read Online Gladiator Bear's Battle (Shift In Time 1) by Anya Nowlan - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Anya Nowlan
Tags: Suspense, adventure, Romance, Historical, Paranormal, Adult, Action, supernatural, Short-Story, Gladiator, Erotic, bwwm, warrior, Shifter, werebear, Violence, Princess, Sacrifice, Mate, Forever Love, maiden, slave girl, Anicent Rome, Egyptian Royalty, Arenas, Victory, Forgotten Souls
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pointed toward the women Julius Augustinus had hired.
The lanista was not given an opportunity to reply as Aelia Fausta had floated to their side and Aurelius Clavius was taking her hand, kissing the back of it sweetly. Like that, he almost looked like a pleasant man, but when he threw a quick look at Kiya, she knew it was only a façade. There was that hunger again that had scared her so when she first saw it. It made her insides turn into ice and her blood curdle in her veins.
The look had only lasted for a moment, but it was enough. She knew far too well what he meant with that, having seen the much more passionate and loving version of it in Erden’s eyes just last night. Tears burned her eyes, but she kept them at bay. She’d been made up to look like a true Egyptian woman, with dark liner and a golden-brown complexion. If she cried now, she knew it would be noticed sooner rather than later.
“Father, is it now time for the entertainment?” Aelia Fausta asked, a true smile on her lips.
Lucia and Kiya shared a look, bracing themselves for the inevitable. The wine would flow freely and touching and joking would turn to groping, moaning, and moments when they would no longer have any control, though a slave was rarely left to believe that she could have any to begin with.
“I think it is,” Julius Augustinus said with a grin. “Prepare the gladiators!” he called, his voice bellowing over the room.
Kiya’s legs went weak underneath her and she pressed her back against the wall to keep from toppling over. A tear ran down her cheek in earnest now. Between the choice of losing herself and losing her bear, she would have chosen losing herself any time.
CHAPTER TEN
Erden
Erden was pulled from the gladiator line-up and walked out of the room. The rest of the men tightened their ranks as a single circle as if he had never stood there at all. Erden stole a look at Kiya before he was carted off. He could see the single tear creeping down her cheek and it made his heart break. The last thing he ever wanted to do was to see her sad, but he knew that this evening would bring plenty of heartbreak one way or another.
“Come on,” one of the guards barked, making him move faster.
He was led down the winding stairways back toward the catacombs. He’d rarely ever taken those stairs, as the gladiators were not allowed up in the villa. Once or twice, the gladiators were shown to visitors, paraded like prized stallions, but that was it.
“Where are we going?” Erden asked, looking at the man to his left.
He knew the guard. It was the same man who let Kiya into his quarters so many times by now. If he could expect some humanity from any of these paid goons, then it was him.
“To the training yard,” he said glumly.
Erden wanted to press the question further, but there didn’t seem to be much point. What else could the guard tell him? Erden had known that this was coming. He would finally be pitted against unfair odds for the amusement of fine visitors and there was little else he could do about it other than attempt to survive. For Kiya. For their future.
He gritted his teeth as the dark corridors of the dormitories claimed him. The closer they got to the entrance to the training courtyard, the more he could hear voices, loud and laughing. When he stepped into the yard finally, his feet digging into the thin layer of sand, he could see what the commotion was about.
Two giant tigers ran and jumped in the yard, bouncing up so high that they could have grabbed the edge of the balcony if they wanted to. That was why there were several guards stationed on the wide balcony, their long spears pointed downward if anyone wanted to try anything clever. Julius Augustinus was deep in conversation with Aurelius Clavius. Erden’s blood boiled hot when he saw who was standing next to the young Senator.
On one side, he had Aelia Fausta, fawning all over him. And on the other side, Kiya stood, the Senator’s hand
The lanista was not given an opportunity to reply as Aelia Fausta had floated to their side and Aurelius Clavius was taking her hand, kissing the back of it sweetly. Like that, he almost looked like a pleasant man, but when he threw a quick look at Kiya, she knew it was only a façade. There was that hunger again that had scared her so when she first saw it. It made her insides turn into ice and her blood curdle in her veins.
The look had only lasted for a moment, but it was enough. She knew far too well what he meant with that, having seen the much more passionate and loving version of it in Erden’s eyes just last night. Tears burned her eyes, but she kept them at bay. She’d been made up to look like a true Egyptian woman, with dark liner and a golden-brown complexion. If she cried now, she knew it would be noticed sooner rather than later.
“Father, is it now time for the entertainment?” Aelia Fausta asked, a true smile on her lips.
Lucia and Kiya shared a look, bracing themselves for the inevitable. The wine would flow freely and touching and joking would turn to groping, moaning, and moments when they would no longer have any control, though a slave was rarely left to believe that she could have any to begin with.
“I think it is,” Julius Augustinus said with a grin. “Prepare the gladiators!” he called, his voice bellowing over the room.
Kiya’s legs went weak underneath her and she pressed her back against the wall to keep from toppling over. A tear ran down her cheek in earnest now. Between the choice of losing herself and losing her bear, she would have chosen losing herself any time.
CHAPTER TEN
Erden
Erden was pulled from the gladiator line-up and walked out of the room. The rest of the men tightened their ranks as a single circle as if he had never stood there at all. Erden stole a look at Kiya before he was carted off. He could see the single tear creeping down her cheek and it made his heart break. The last thing he ever wanted to do was to see her sad, but he knew that this evening would bring plenty of heartbreak one way or another.
“Come on,” one of the guards barked, making him move faster.
He was led down the winding stairways back toward the catacombs. He’d rarely ever taken those stairs, as the gladiators were not allowed up in the villa. Once or twice, the gladiators were shown to visitors, paraded like prized stallions, but that was it.
“Where are we going?” Erden asked, looking at the man to his left.
He knew the guard. It was the same man who let Kiya into his quarters so many times by now. If he could expect some humanity from any of these paid goons, then it was him.
“To the training yard,” he said glumly.
Erden wanted to press the question further, but there didn’t seem to be much point. What else could the guard tell him? Erden had known that this was coming. He would finally be pitted against unfair odds for the amusement of fine visitors and there was little else he could do about it other than attempt to survive. For Kiya. For their future.
He gritted his teeth as the dark corridors of the dormitories claimed him. The closer they got to the entrance to the training courtyard, the more he could hear voices, loud and laughing. When he stepped into the yard finally, his feet digging into the thin layer of sand, he could see what the commotion was about.
Two giant tigers ran and jumped in the yard, bouncing up so high that they could have grabbed the edge of the balcony if they wanted to. That was why there were several guards stationed on the wide balcony, their long spears pointed downward if anyone wanted to try anything clever. Julius Augustinus was deep in conversation with Aurelius Clavius. Erden’s blood boiled hot when he saw who was standing next to the young Senator.
On one side, he had Aelia Fausta, fawning all over him. And on the other side, Kiya stood, the Senator’s hand
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