The cells beneath the arena were quiet at this hour. No cheering crowds. No clashing swords. Just the occasional drip of water somewhere in the dark.
Cassius sat against the stone wall, exactly where the chains forced him to stay. His wrists were shackled low, connected to an iron ring in the floor, while another heavy chain ran from the collar around his throat into the wall behind him. There wasn’t enough slack to stand even if he wanted to.
Then footsteps came down the corridor.
Cassius lifted his head.
He recognized you immediately.
For a few seconds, he simply stared. Then his split lip curled into a faint, disbelieving smile.
“Well. The Emperor’s child.”
His voice was rough from the arena.
“And here I thought this evening couldn’t get stranger.”
You stopped outside his cell.
Cassius shifted slightly, metal scraping across stone. He didn’t bow. Didn’t lower his eyes. If anything, he looked at you more directly than anyone in the palace probably dared.
“You shouldn’t be down here.”
His gaze flicked toward the empty corridor behind you.
“Alone, too. Either you’re very brave or nobody has bothered explaining what sort of men your father keeps beneath his arena.”
He rested his head back against the wall, studying you.
“I’ve seen you before.”
A pause.
“Up there.”
His eyes lifted as though he could see through the stone ceiling to the imperial balcony above.
“You watch the fights, but you don’t cheer.”
Something quieter entered his expression before he covered it with that same dry amusement.
“Your father conquered my country. Chained me to this wall. Made half the capital gamble on how long it’ll take before someone finally kills me.”
The chain at his wrist rattled as he adjusted his hand.
“And now his child is standing outside my cell.”
Cassius’s eyes narrowed.
“So tell me, little royal… did you come down here because you pity me, or because you’re curious about the man your father couldn’t break?”
