Gladiator of Rome (#1 in Gladiator Series)

Chapter 30

Chapter 30

  

A red dawn greeted Pompeia as she stood on her balcony and looked out over the city she now ruled single-handedly.

No longer would she be the subject of her brother’s pity, doomed to be forgotten under the expanse of his shadow.

Pompeia now had her own chapter in the history books, but it was not for the reason she had dreamed.

A slave rebellion against Rome now tainted her name, and future generations would either condemn her or congratulate her on how she now dealt with the situation.

Kneeling on the ground, Pompeia wrapped her fingers around the thick Persian curtains that were now torn in two.

The rich threads had become frayed and ripped from where a dagger had sliced it down the middle in Krista and Artorius's escape.

Pompeia squeezed her fingers around the fabric, imaging that it was Krista’s neck in her grasp.

Krista was quickly becoming the bane of Pompeia’s existence.

Pompeia could hardly imagine that a few weeks prior she was hoping to appoint Krista as the head of her new army, before her brother had gone and changed her plans drastically.

And now, rather than celebrating her new position with wine and festivities, she was facing a crisis which would determine the aftermath of her rule. 

Thousands of people were looking to Pompeia, and amongst them were the many slave masters who turned to her for answers. They blamed her for their slaves escaping, for not having control over her own Gladiator Schools.

Throwing the curtain to the ground, Pompeia stormed over to her desk to where a map of her empire rested.

Small wooden figures littered the map indicating where her armies were positioned, but there was only one army that was close enough to reach Rome within a matter of days.

The legion that had been sent south to conquer the uprisings that her brother had been meaning to leave for could be in Rome within a week.

It seemed only right that they should return to conquer the rebellion that now shook the foundations of Rome itself.

Resting her hands against the table, Pompeia scanned the many statues that covered the map when a weak voice squealed from her doorway.

“Empress,” the voice called. 

Pompeia found her jaw setting in place as she looked up and cast her gaze upon the barbaric creature that would slit her throat the moment her back was turned; her slave.

“What is it?” Pompeia hissed but before the girl could speak another figure moved forward from behind her.

“Consul Germanus,” Pompeia lowered her voice in greeting before she glared at the slave until she left.

Turning back to the Consul as he strode through her chamber, his hands clasped behind his back, Pompeia placed a smile upon her lips.

“Empress,” Germanus bowed as propriety dictated but the action was a mocking one as a small smirk spread across his lips, “The Senate grows uneasy with news of the rebellion.”

“There is no news of the rebellion,” Pompeia frowned. Her army had not been able to locate the traitors for almost a week now.

“Precisely,” Consul Germanus spun on the heels of his sandals, his white hair framing his rigid face, “The public grows anxious. They want answers.”