I’ll do what I’ve always done.
I’ll kill.
Here in the arena.
I’ll stay a gladiator but at least I’ll be free.
And I’ll let those dreams of a better life with a woman I love die alongside my opponents.
And then, I’ll truly be free.
“Kaeso Vinicius,” my master hollers as he struts into my cell. I stay with the other gladiators in the depths of the Colosseum, but I’m the only one to have my own room and a bed. Being a winner pays, even if being a slave doesn’t.
Septimus has a look of pure joy on his face as he tosses me a basket full of food. “You’ve made me one of the richest men in all of Rome.”
I start munching on an apple, biting half of it with one chomp as I look through the rest of the fresh food.
“Killing always makes you hungry,” he says with a grin as I shove the other half of the apple into my mouth. “Does it make you horny too?”
“If you pull out your cock, I’m chopping it off.”
He throws back his head and roars out a laugh. If any other slave in the empire threatened to chop off their master’s cock, they would be bleeding all over the dirt, but I make Septimus too much money for that.
“You’ve turned down every girl I’ve offered you,” he says with a grin. “So, I’m offering you six.”
I roll my eyes as he ducks his head back into the hall and starts barking out orders. “Bring the girls here!”
I’m shaking my head and cursing under my breath as he shoves one girl after another into my cell. They’re all standing there, cowering before me and trying not to look at the monster in front of them.
I know what I must look like to them. I’m the opposite of the pretty-faced boys they chased around their villages before the slavers came and slaughtered their families and stole them away.
I’m rough-looking. Scarred all over my coarse skin. More horrid than handsome.
I wrap my big powerful hands around a carrot and snap it in two as I avoid the girls’ terrified eyes. I hate seeing the way they look at me. Like I’m some wild nasty beast that’s going to devour them whole.
Why does Septimus do this to me? I know what each one is thinking. They’re all praying to their gods to spare them.
“I’ll leave you to enjoy your spoils of victory,” Septimus says as he heads for the door.
One of the girls lets out a pathetic whimper and I snap my eyes onto her. She has a pretty face, but is fighting back tears. Two more are crying, a third just about to.
They look as terrified as the men who face me in the arena. I know that look well. Fear. Terror. Panic. I was cursed by the gods with this face. With this grotesque body. Everyone I see is afraid of me. Everyone I look at drops their eyes, praying to their gods that I’ll spare them.
I hate it.
Why does Septimus torture me like this? I’ll kill whoever he puts in front of me and in exchange, all I ask for is to be left alone. He can’t even give me that.
“Take them with you,” I grunt as I drop my eyes back to the food. I crack open some walnuts with my bare hands and shove them into my mouth as the girls take a breath of relief.
“They’re all virgins,” he says with a grin. “Purchased specifically for you to deflower.”
My eyes bore into him. He takes an involuntary step back and strokes the sword at his side. He knows that his sword will do nothing if I choose to strike, just like the men who cage tigers know who’s really in charge.
Septimus was born the son of a rich merchant here in Rome. He dresses flashy in golden robes and precious gems that come from the far reaches of the world. His riches are paid from the misery of others. A slaver by trade, he is the only person who has ever treated me nicely, which is saying a lot since he keeps me locked up in this cage.
“I’m not going to ask you again,” I warn. “Take them out.”
If I see one more young innocent pair of eyes filled with terror, then I’m going to run a sword through my own heart. I can’t take it anymore.
“Out! Out!” Septimus snaps as he starts grabbing the girls and tossing them back into the hall.
My eyes wander to the girl on the end and my heart seizes in my chest when I see the innocence radiating off her.
Hunger like I’ve never felt before penetrates every cell in my body. I’ve never desired anything more in my life.
No, not desired. Needed. If I don’t have this girl, I’m going to light the empire on fire. I’ll thrust my sword into every last living thing. I’ll kill anything that tries to keep me away from her.
My body stands on its own, everything about her pulling me closer, drawing me in.
She doesn’t cower like the other girls. This one is staring right back at me, watching me with a curious gaze. Her blonde hair is a mess. Her fancy dress all dirty and shredded at the bottom. She has dark circles under her green eyes, but there’s a fire in them, a fire that even slavery can’t extinguish.
“I said out!” Septimus snaps as he grabs her arm.
She whimpers as he pulls her away from me.
“Let her go,” I growl in a voice that’s so primal I don’t even recognize it.
Septimus releases her at once and rushes out of the cell when he sees the fierce look in my eyes. He slams the door closed and locks it before I can make him pay for touching my girl.
“I’m glad we finally found one that you like, Kaeso,” he says with a nervous smile. “Enjoy her innocence.”
He quickly leaves. The desire to knock down this iron cage and crush his throat for talking about her in that lewd way is strong, but not as strong as the pull to stay near her.
I feel it invading every part of me, transforming me, molding me into something new. Into a man whose obsession with this girl stands above all else.
“Don’t be scared,” I whisper as I slowly walk up to her. She barely comes to my chest. She’s so tiny. She’s so perfect.
“I’m not scared,” she says as she gazes up into my eyes, tilting her head back to see me.
Those eyes… they stare past my harsh rugged exterior and seem to be seeing into my soul. Gripping it, seizing it, claiming it as her own.
It’s already hers. I’m already hers.
I can’t stop looking at her. She’s the finest thing I’ve ever seen.
Flawless skin that looks as soft as the most delicate silk, lips as sweet as a ripe juicy peach, hair that brings goosebumps on the skin of any man lucky enough to touch it.
My hands are shaking at my sides as I look down at her. She doesn’t belong here in this cell. She belongs in Olympus with the goddesses. By the side of Venus.
And that’s when it hits me…
It must be her.
“Venus?” I ask in a deep shaky voice.
Those green eyes scrunch up in confusion. “No.” Her tiny voice makes my heart thump like the hooves of a legion of horses charging into war.
“You’re a goddess?” I ask. I reach for her and then drop my trembling hands. She’s too perfect to be touched by a wretched beast like me.
“I’m not. I’m a slave. Like you.”
The awe that’s taken over my body is quickly being replaced by a vicious fury that I don’t know if I can control. A slave? The thought of other men with their filthy hands on her pure skin is making me enraged. Heat sears through me as I grit my teeth, wanting to hunt them all down and make them pay in the most violent way possible. This girl is mine alone to touch. Mine alone to defile.