GLADIATOR | ELYSIUM RISING 1 ✔️

⍢ | 24

Iggy wiped the tears from his eyes. Only a single question remained in the hurricane that was his mind.

"Where is he?"

"Iggorii, I—"

"Where is my father now? Is he alive?"

Tenn went quiet for a moment before answering with, "He let the empire get too close. In his desperation to find the first Centuri temple, he got sloppy. I urged him to be more careful, but he wouldn't listen. In one of his last letters to me, he revealed he knew the empire was close to finding him. He...he had to leave. He instructed me to travel to Novr to rescue you and your mother."

"What happened? Why didn't you?"

"I tried. Believe me, I tried. But the empire had been tracking me as well. They arrested me before I could get to you."

Iggy could barely breathe now. Things still weren't adding up. "Why weren't you executed?"

"I...I made a deal," he confessed. A regretful look passed over his face like the shadow of death. "I told them everything I knew about the Centuri Order and our plans in exchange for my life."

"What about my father? Was he killed?" Sniffling, Iggy wiped his nose with the sleeve of his shirt. "Did he abandon me?"

Tenn blew air from his nose before raking his fingers through his grey hair. His eyes flickered over to the glass doors of the training center. No one walked through them. Not yet, anyway.

"I don't know," he answered. "I lost all contact with your father. I don't know where he is, or what happened to him." He paused. "I'm...I'm sorry, Iggorii."

"That makes two of us."

"You have to understand—"

"I don't have to understand anything. This whole time you knew the truth and kept it from me. I don't care what my father made you promise. I deserved to know. I deserved to know the truth." He turned away from the old man. "You were supposed to be my friend."

"I am. Believe me when I say I'm your only friend here, Iggorii." Tenn inched forward. "You think that priestess is your friend? Or the emperor? Or that rebel you've been talking to? Trust me when I say this, boy. They are not your friends."

That might've been true, but none of them lied to him the way Tenn had. Not even Voltai.

Iggy wanted to scream at him. He wanted to shout until his throat went raw. But he couldn't. He couldn't even muster a single word. Warm tears spilled down his cheeks and he didn't bother wiping them away. Besides, there wasn't anything else to say. He had no more words for Tenn. Betrayal and confusion swirled around his chest like smoke inhaled from a burning building. It choked him until he couldn't breathe.

He gave the old man one last, hurt-filled glance before sulking out of the room.

#

Iggy swung the wooden pole in his hands at the head of the training dummy in front of him. It flung backward before snapping back to its natural upright position. The blank expression on its stupid face only made him angrier.

He swung his weapon again. And again. And again. He kept battering the training dummy until the sweat dripping from his face hit his hands and ruined his grip on the staff. With a grunt, he swiped wildly at the dummy. The long rod flew from his fingers after making contact. Breathing heavily, he listened to it clatter against the concrete of the elevating practice platform he stood on.

He didn't bother picking it up. A Hand would be around to put his staff back where it belonged. After all, it was their job. He'd gotten his fill of dominating his stationary victim for the morning.