“Thanks for coming back.”
“It’s not like I had anywhere to go. But seriously, is that all the apology I’m going to get from you?”
Kyle realized he had been stupid, but he also didn’t really think he owed her an apology. She was supposed to work for him, not the other way round. “How often did Krig tell you he was sorry?”
The snorting sound in his head was followed by laughter. When it eventually calmed down, Hilde said, “Never. You think the god of war would apologize for anything? He would have been afraid it showed a weakness.”
“But, for some reason, you think I should apologize?” Kyle asked.
The silence was deafening.
When she didn’t answer, Kyle said, “Look, let’s both be honest with each other. The reality is that you work for me. You are bound by a pact or whatever you called it. You are the representative of your people. Equally, you benefit by helping me gain enough essence to allow you to manifest and leave the void. I don’t know for sure, but that doesn’t sound like a fun place to be stuck.”
He sighed. “At the same time, I freely admit that I need your guidance and not just as a translator. I have so much to learn. I was overconfident and thought my strength would be enough to handle anything problems. It almost was, but for that stupid band they put on my ankle. Well… that, and the fact they held Lucas hostage.
“So, all that is to say that we need to work together. I am going to do things my way. That is how I made it to the top, in my world, and it is what will work for me here. I get the feeling Krig was like that too. That said, I am willing to take your advice and listen to your counsel.”
Still, nothing but silence.
“What I need to know is, can we work together? Will you have my back, or storm off every time I make you mad? ‘Cause I thought you were some kind of angel looking out for me and helping me with this whole reincarnation thing, not some overly needy girlfriend.”
He could almost hear the crossed arms and frowning face when she finally said, “Fine, we will work together.”
“That’s great. I am glad to have you on my team. You are like my coach, but once the lights are on, I’m still the one who has to perform on the field. Oh, and don’t think that I don’t know you are holding stuff back from me.”
“I guess ‘coach’ is your title for a respected advisor. I can live with that, but once I am able to manifest, we will need to renegotiate my role,” Hilde said.
“Yeah, yeah. Agents, always trying to get new terms,” Kyle replied. He didn’t mention it, but he took note of the fact that she hadn’t responded to his accusation about holding back information.
Her teacher’s voice was back now, although he had to admit that she still sounded smoking hot. “Now, we must decide what to do about your current situation. Despite how you got here, it may turn out to be for the best.”
“I just wanna figure out where I am and then how to get out of here. I think I can move my arms and legs, so whatever the fancy jewelry was doing to me, it seems to be over.”
“No, don’t move yet. They have a couple of guards in here watching you, but they are fairly lax. If you disregard my advice and try to escape, then it will be much easier with sleepy guards than vigilant ones,” Hilde said.
“Okay, makes sense. So where am I? Some kind of prison?”
“Possibly. I can only observe the area around your immediate location, so I don’t know for sure where we are, but I have an educated guess. If I am right, then this is exactly where you need to be. At least for a little while.”
“Gonna share with the team, coach?” Kyle asked.
“It is too airy to be a true dungeon, so it is unlikely any of the senators had you thrown into their private dungeons, or that the army captured you. It is too dark and, well, underground, to be any type of true infirmary. The most likely place is the coliseum,” Hilde answered.
“What? You mean that they took me to that arena thing?”
“It makes sense on multiple levels. First off, those manacles that they put on your ankles and wrists are obviously magical. They are used as a way to control the one they are on, without causing harm. They wouldn’t go to the incredible expense involved in using those, unless they had a reason to keep you alive. After your little display in the quarry, my guess would be that Darron sold you to the manager of the coliseum,” Hilde said.
“Sold me? You mean like a slave? How the hell does that work?”
“Simple, really. You had no connections to the community, no patron to support you, and you could barely speak. Darron probably believes that you are a barbarian from outside Thena—which is the name of the city you are in, by the way. You never asked, but it is the city state that controls most of what passes for civilized lands amongst the mortals on this continent.
“I won’t bore you with geography now since we have more pressing issues, but the city is ruled by a senate composed of the members of each noble family. There are thirty-three of those families. All citizens have a vote in the grand council, but anyone who isn’t an official citizen of Thena has very few rights here.”
“Why do you think this is where I should be?” Kyle asked.
“Simple, this will be the perfect place for you to learn to fight with low risk, at least at first,” Hilde answered.
“What do you mean at first?”
“Winter is
