Chapter 6

Kat

Every bone in my body was weary, my muscles protesting as I made my way from the practice yard.

"Well, that was fun," a voice said sarcastically when I entered the hall.

I looked up to see Maia leaning against the wall leading to the courtyard.

Maia was around my age and had become the de facto leader of the female Fire Mageia. She and I had developed an uneasy alliance over the years following an incident with chocolate covered espresso beans and an escaped pet bunny. Don't ask. You really don't want to know.

"Sorry about that," I said, dropping to a bench near her and wrapped a towel around my neck. It was only marginally cooler in the shaded hallway than it had been in the courtyard. "Maalik knows how to push all my buttons."

She grunted.

"Families are like that," she said.

I looked at her in shock. I had never acknowledged a relationship with Maalik anywhere anyone could hear. Even in the courtyard earlier, the only one close enough to have heard our conversation had been V.

"Oh, don't look like I'm the Oracle of Delphi or something!" she teased before plopping down next to me, her black braids flipping over her shoulders. "Anyone who saw you, V and Maalik in the same room for five minutes and couldn't tell you were related would have to be blind."

The last time someone had threatened V and I with the knowledge we were brothers had ended messily and permanently.

I didn't want to discuss my family further, so I changed the subject.

"I am sorry, though. I should have kept better control of my temper," I said.

She looked at me thoughtfully for a moment.

"S'ok. Our dear Crown Prince is a bastard, we all know it," she answered. "Are you and V still up for an early joint practice tomorrow? The Machi must be close. We need to practice together every chance we can get."

I nodded. Despite the efforts of our captors, some of us had decided that the best chance we had to survive the Machi Thanatos was to work together. V and I had convinced several of our fellow Mageia to join us. I didn't want to have to kill any of my people if I didn't have to.

"Yep, we're in," I said, grinning. "Might want to bring snacks, though. He's got some new tricks to try out on Koutsouro."

She grinned. Koutsouro was another Earth Mageia. Before V had been sent to the Legion, Koutsouro had been the most powerful Earth Mageia here. V was arguably more powerful now, but Koutsouro was more skilled. Their bouts together were always fun to watch, and usually ended in a draw. It was a good thing they were friends.

She chuckled, then paused, looking at me.

"He's been good for you, you know," she said. "Well, for all of us, really."

"Who? V?"

She nodded.

"Before he came here, we were all just on our own little islands. No one trusted anyone. We didn't mix. Neos. Cadets. Hoplites. Fire. Water. Earth. Air," she continued. "We all just stayed in our own little groups and focused on just surviving that day."

I agreed. It had been part of the plan V and I devised shortly after he had arrived at the Legion.

I remembered the first time we'd ever talked about it. V had just been promoted to Cadet. His team was assigned to run agility drills. The Lochagos on duty that day wasn't happy with their performance, so he set archers to the walls and ordered them to start shooting at the stragglers.

Then had directed the Fire Mageia to begin shooting fireballs at the Cadets, offering prizes to anyone who scored a hit.

The kids were so scared. The rest of us could see what was going on, but we knew better than to try and interfere. The arrows landing at their feet and the Fire singeing their heads had the desired effect and they ended the drill with a time that pleased the Lochagos. Fortunately most of the fireballs were kept small enough that no permanent damage was done.

"Shit," Vlakas had muttered once safely in our room, his back was to the door. "They were really willing to kill us."

"Yep," I answered after confirming he was unharmed. "They've done it before. Last season, they killed three kids, doing the same thing."

"You'd think they'd at least value us as weapons, as resources, if nothing else," he said.

"They aimed for the weakest ones."

He was quiet for a few moments, then spoke.

"It's deliberate," Vlakas uttered quietly.

"What is?"

"The Elusians don't want us teaming up against them," he said. "They're afraid of us."

I had stopped and looked at him.

"You're just now realizing this?" I'd asked.

"You knew?"

"I… suspected," I hesitated, choosing my words carefully. "Why else limit the Machi Thanatos to a few survivors? Why not just have a graduation ceremony? Why pit us against each other, day in and day out, and try to limit our numbers?"

"It seems naive that I didn't realize," he said.

"Not naive, V," I said softly. "I know some instructors that have never come to that realization."

"We've got to change it, Kat," he insisted. "We can't let them keep pitting us against each other. If we don't learn to trust each other, we'll never find a way to work together." He was now pacing our narrow room and running his fingers through his hair, making it stand on end.

I knew the look on V's face. When he got like this, there was no arguing with him. No matter what you did, you would end up doing whatever he wanted, so you might as well work with him instead.

I stood and gripped him by the shoulder.

"We will find a way to make it happen," I had said.

So, we did. Over the next two years we covertly reached out to other Mageia to build alliances.

Some were skeptical at first, others outright hostile, but over time we started seeing friendships grow between the factions. The one sticking point was that those relationships didn't seem to survive the Machi Thanatos. Every single Hoplite who was part of our alliance and was sent to the Machi did not return. Suspicion was running rampant. Were they killing each other? Were the Elusians murdering them? If the number of "graduates" wasn't so low I might have bought it, but very few were returning from the Machi at all, so I held out hope.

By the time I got back to the cell after meeting with Maia, Vlakas was already inside, sitting on his cot, his hands clutching something. He looked deathly pale. He'd headed back to our room immediately after the evening meal, but since I had also stopped to grab our clean uniforms from the laundry and speak with Maia, he'd made it back to the room before me. Even from the doorway I could see something was wrong. As shitty as this day had been, I couldn't figure out what could make him look so ill.

"V," I asked. "What is it?" I said sitting next to him. "If it's about Maalik, he's just a dick."

For a long time he didn't say anything. When he finally looked up at me, he was so pale I thought he was going to puke and looked far younger than his eighteen years.

"I…" he stopped, then took a deep breath and began again. "We've… been Called." He turned his clenched hand over and opened it. In his hand were two crumpled pieces of parchment. One had my name written on it and held a yellow wax seal with a bird emblazoned on it. House of the Sparrow. Not a bad house to serve a Calling. But the other… The other had V's name and a broken red wax seal with a dagger dripping blood. I knew that seal.

The House of Eros.

The House of Eros was one of the most sadistic brothels in the city. It catered to a very expensive clientele who enjoyed inflicting pain on their victims. And their preferred victims were usually young Mageia.

"Fuck, V," I whispered.

I pulled him close and wrapped my arms around him, feeling him shudder.

Vlakas was just so damn young. Far too young for the House of Eros. He was barely eighteen, and most of those years had been a life of pampered protection. He'd been a prince. THE prince. Before he developed his powers, Vlakas hadn't known an unkind word, a blow, or even missed a meal in his entire life, and now they wanted him to serve a Calling in the House of Eros? Bastards.

All Mageia were Called to Serve at some point as we went through training, just like all slaves were required to submit to a Calling with their Master. Like Mitera and the King. Serving a Calling in a House brothel was supposed to be part of our training as Mageia. After all, if we failed at the Machi Thanatos, we could be sold to a House of entertainment or one of the Brothel Houses. It was part of the punishment we received for being born Mageia. Many of the Houses weren't bad, but like all things, they existed on a spectrum. The less challenging a House, the lighter their colors. The color of the House of Eros was black.

But V… V had never been Called to serve before. Fuck, as far as I knew, he was still a virgin. I'd done everything I could to protect him in this place, including teaching him what to expect in a Calling. Being Called to service some aristo female in the House of Feathers or Dahlia House wouldn't have been a big hardship for him. I'm sure some of them would love the thought of being fucked by a former prince. V didn't seem to want to talk about it, but he said he liked women well enough, and while it would be servicing on demand, he hadn't seemed overly concerned about the Calling at one of the lighter houses. The House of Eros was a different story, though.

The last time members of our Legion had been Called to Serve in the House of Eros, it had been a pair, a brother and sister who were both Earth Mageia: Ethan and Aria. I remembered all too clearly. Ethan had returned a broken, bloody mess. He'd been covered in whip marks and cuts and had numerous broken bones. His left hand was missing, and his right hand clutched a bloody ear. His sister's ear. For days he'd lain on his cot, refusing to eat or drink.

Aria hadn't returned at all.

Ethan never talked about what happened to them at the House of Eros. He just kept repeating "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry…" over and over.

We had all talked to him, tried to convince him that none of what happened in the House had been his responsibility. When Called to Serve we had no choice, we were not allowed to refuse any order. The Elusians could literally do anything they wanted to us; and in the House of Eros, they did.

We'd done the best we could to help him heal, physically, but a few days after Ethan had recovered enough strength to walk, he had hung himself.

I saw the memories flash across Vlakas' face. He'd only been with the Legion a few weeks when it happened. He hadn't known Ethan and Aria well, but I had.

"Thea na eisai eleimon," I whispered, gripping his shoulder. Goddess be merciful.

While Vlakas had certainly grown up in the last few years, he was still such a gentle soul, mostly at home with books and histories. All he really wanted was to be left alone to learn and make beautiful things. He had told me that he hoped that once he passed his Machi Thanatos he would be allowed to serve with the artisans in metalworking. His affinity for Earth was useful in creating intricate jewelry and weapons. I had kept my doubts that the King would allow him such a happy ending to myself. Anyone who would allow their son to be sent to the Legion without protest was a prick. No point in making the boy suffer when I didn't have to.

His whole body began shaking. The stories we had all heard about the House of Eros were enough to give anyone nightmares.

"What am I going to do, Kat?" he whispered after a while.

"I won't let them take you," I growled, tightening my grip. I didn't give a fuck that Vlakas had been a prince. Vlakas was my brother, I'd known him his whole life. He was the only person who had fought past the anger and resentment that had been my armor after my twin died and continued to see the person inside.

He nodded slightly, but I could tell he didn't believe my reassurance. We didn't have control over our Callings. Callings were assigned by the Temple of Vesta representative within each Legion.

Our Vestal was a man named Livius. Livius held himself apart from all of us. Some Legion gossip said it was so that he couldn't be accused of favoritism when it came to Calling assignments. Other gossip whispered other, less savory things about him.

"I'll talk to Livius," I told Vlakas.

"And tell him what, Kat? He must send someone. It's just… my turn," Vlakas whispered.

I didn't have Vlakas' faith in the impartiality of Callings, especially after Maalik's behavior today.

"I won't let them take you," I growled again, my temper flaring as the beginnings of a plan began forming. They had already taken one brother from me. No way was I letting them take another.

It took me a while to get Vlakas to rest. I finally resorted to getting something from our medic to slip into his wine. The medic had been only too happy to help when she saw the broken seal on the parchment.

"Let me know if he needs something…stronger," she'd said to me, a look of pity on her face.

As soon as Vlakas was asleep I slipped out of our room and headed to Livius' chamber.

A knock on the door was answered by Livius himself. The Vestal was a middle-aged man with rheumy blue eyes and was dressed in a casual linen suit, his face and body soft compared to Legion standards.

"Hoplite," he acknowledged with a nod of his head.

"Vestal Livius," I responded formally. "May I have a word with you?"

His eyes searched mine for a moment before nodding and opening the door wider.

I entered the room and glanced around automatically to assess for threats. I barely even registered that he turned the lock on the door after I entered. Livius was no threat to me, physically. Legion training taught us multiple ways to kill someone, both with magic and without. I had never been to his quarters before, and they surprised me.

They were much larger and nicer than those assigned to Hoplites, of course. There were several pieces of quality wooden furniture scattered around the room, a bookcase in the corner filled with books, and a low table in front of a fireplace. A plate of fruit and a glass of wine sat on the table.

He returned to the chair where he had obviously been enjoying his meal. Since he didn't invite me to sit, I stood at parade rest, my wrists clasped behind my back. Not quite the formal Mageia submission, but close.

"What brings you to my personal chambers, Hoplite?" he asked, popping a piece of fruit between his lips as his gaze raked me up and down. Just his look made me feel the need to shower, but I needed him.

"A Calling was delivered to my… to Hoplite Vlakas today, sir," I began. See? I can be polite when needed.

Livius nodded. "I am aware. A Calling to the House of Eros," he said.

I swallowed hard, my throat dry and nodded.

"Please, Vestal Livius, Luc--Vlakas wouldn't survive this Calling," I said.

Livius' eyes narrowed as he looked at me.

"A Calling is a sacred duty for Mageia, Hoplite." He said in a lecturing tone. "It is how the Mageia serve the needs of the state and prepare to serve their Masters. It's also how they repay the state for its kindness in letting them live in our great country."

"Kindness." Right. According to the Alexandrians, Mageia had nearly rent the world in two when they first came into their power. Cities were destroyed and millions died as fires, earthquakes, tornadoes, and flooding swept the world. The Priests claimed that Elus, in His mercy, granted his favored few the Suppression ability to stop the destruction by the Mageia and save the world.

Serving a Calling in a house brothel was just another way for Mageia to "atone" for the supposed actions of their ancestors.

"I--understand that Vestal," I said, struggling to keep my temper in check, for my brother's sake. "Vlakas has never served in a House before. He just— he wouldn't survive a Calling to the House of Eros."

A single eyebrow shot up on that plump face.

"So, what do you suggest, Hoplite? I cannot decline a request to Serve from our Legion. And Hoplite Vlakas was--specifically requested."

Fuck. That made this even harder. I held my breath for a moment. This was the part of the plan that I knew Vlakas would hate, and the only thing I could think of that might save him.

"I'll take his place. Send me instead," I whispered.

Now both eyebrows shot up on his plump face in surprise.

"That would not be protocol," he said, his eyes rolling over my body again, and suddenly I knew what I would need to do to save Vlakas. Fuck.

I moved forward to kneel in front of the Vestal, the very picture of submission, and placed my hand on his knee.

"Please, Vestal," I whispered, my eyes downcast. I wanted to vomit, but I had heard rumors of what Livius would take in exchange for what I was asking. "Elus tells us it's our responsibility to care for others. I will do anything to take this Calling from him."

For all I cared, Elus could go fuck himself, but I held my breath, hoping against hope that Livius would agree.

"He would still have to serve a calling, you understand?" Livius asked after several long moments. "But… I might be able to make some other arrangements for the House of Eros. If I were so inclined."

I moved my hand further up his thigh, my eyes down so he wouldn't see the hatred in them. He moaned slightly as my fingers slid over his crotch.

"You know the penalty for a Vestal who commits incestum?" he asked. Vestals were supposed to remain chaste. A Vestal who didn't was considered to have committed incestum and the punishment was harsh. Legion gossip made it clear that Livius wasn't too concerned about that particular vow or concerned about punishment.

I nodded at his question. Every child knew the penalty. "Zontanós táfos. Burial alive," I whispered.

"And what happens to their partner?" he demanded.

"Public ektélesi," I answered. "They are flayed alive."

I waited, unsure whether I was more afraid that he would agree or refuse.

"Just so we are both aware of the--benefits of discretion," he said. His hand moved to my head, his fingers stroking through my hair.

"My boy… My sweet, sweet boy," he whispered. I looked up at him, bile stinging the back of my throat. I was slight, and at only five foot six I was constantly taunted by my peers for being smaller than most. I had learned from a young age that to survive when you are small, you must be twice as vicious as everyone else.

The Vestal was licking his lips as he looked at me, the spit leaving tiny bubbles on his lips. I knew I had him, and the thought made me ill.

His grip on my hair tightened to the point of pain and his watery blue eyes turned to ice, then he stood.

"Open my pants," he ordered.

I was attracted to my own sex, something I had known since I was young. I'd had a few brief relationships with other Hoplites, but none had lasted. Such relationships were common in the Legion. This, though, was something altogether different.

My fingers only trembled slightly as I reached for the button on his trousers and pulled the zipper down. His cock was already straining at his underwear in anticipation.

I looked up at him from where I was kneeling, and he nodded at me. I forced myself to slide my fingers beneath the waistband of his underwear and push them down. If this is what it took to keep V from the House of Eros, I would do it.

His cock was short and thick, already purple and dripping precum.

I looked back up at him before I moved, demanding his response. "Swear it. Swear to the gods you will give me Vlakas' assignment."

"If you service me, I will reassign the Calling to the House of Eros to you, though gods know why you would want that. I can explain it as a simple error given that you and he share a room assignment," he said. His breath coming faster.

I nodded and leaned forward, hesitantly licking at the tip of his cock, the taste of his precum bitter on my tongue. His grip on my head became insistent as he pushed me forward. I took him in my mouth, ignoring the sigh of pleasure he released as I began sucking him. His fingers remained gripped in my hair, painfully shoving me forward on his cock until I began choking, my nose buried in the springy hair at his crotch. Impatiently he tightened his grip and just held me in place as my eyes watered, his cock thrusting into my mouth. It had been so long since I had done this, my jaw ached, and I could barely draw breath between his thrusts. The taste of bile never left the back of my throat.

Mercifully, at least, he was quick. After a few more quick thrusts I heard him release a strangled cry as I felt his cum spurting down my throat. It was all I could do not to vomit at the feel of the hot liquid hitting my stomach.

He stepped away with a contented sigh and pulled his pants back into place, leaving me kneeling on the floor. He walked over to a desk against one wall. He quickly wrote two notes, sealed them, then handed them to me.

"This rescinds the calling for Hoplite Vlakas," he said, handing me the paper. "This reassigns the Calling to you. He'll go back into the regular rotation."

I took both pages as I stood, my hands shaking only slightly.

He escorted me to the door, unlocking it. Before opening it, he laid a hand on my face. "If you should ever have the need again, my boy…" he said, his voice trailing off.

I pushed past him through the door, my anger and disgust lending my feet wings. I barely made it to the latrine before losing my last meal.

Trembling, I fought the feeling of sickness down, looking at the parchments in my hand that were only slightly crumpled. I cracked the seals and read them both. They were exactly what he said they were. I now had a Calling to the House of Eros. I hadn't realized that it would require reporting in just over an hour to the duty Tagmatarches. I thought Vlakas' calling didn't start until the next evening. The assignment duration was for three days. Three days. I was a tough bastard, and I could survive anything for three days.

I rushed back to our room, where Vlakas was still sleeping. I left the note for him that indicated the House of Eros assignment had been an error. I left him a second note that said my assignment was moved up, and that I'd see him in three days. I didn't mention anything about the reassignment to the House of Eros. He didn't need to know.