![]() ![]() "It explains the crowds," Adiona agreed absently. "That should make the day more delightfully gruesome." "One of the gladiator troupes is Viriathos's men." Claudia spoke louder, refusing to be ignored. Yet she'd been inexplicably drawn to Quintus Ambustus since the first time she'd seen him train at the Ludus Maximus five months earlier. Other than her friend the famed lanista, Caros Viria-thos, she neither liked nor trusted men. Her attraction to one particular gladiator both mystified and rattled her. Surrounded by the fragrance of burning pinecones meant to keep the stench of blood and death at bay, Adiona needed no reminder of who faced what in the arena. Scanning the mob of enthusiastic spectators swarming into the massive arena, Adiona pretended not to hear the other woman over the roar of the crowd and motioned her bodyguards to clear a way to escape. "I can hardly breathe with anticipation!" "The gladiators face war elephants and chariots this afternoon," Claudia continued. Unfortunately, the older matron had begun to spin her web around Adiona the moment she'd approached the entrance gate. As insidious as a spider, Claudia rarely approached anyone without nefarious intent. Adiona Leonia shuddered at Claudia's gleeful prediction. ![]()
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