Iggy spent the last few hours of the emperor's party exploring the quiet network of halls that made up the place. He didn't dare step into any rooms with closed doors, which happened to be most of them. Luckily, there were other things to hold his attention until it was time to leave.

Vibrant gardens populated with flowers and plants he'd never seen before broke up the monotony of the stone palace walls. Open ceilings gave way to the sky above. Warm colors bled into the white clouds as the sun prepared to retire for the night. A ship darted across the colorful expanse every few minutes before disappearing again.

Iggy sat on a polished marble bench with his eyes glued to the marvelous fountain built into the center of the garden. Water spouted from the stone carving of the Elysian's symbol—a golden wreath—in glorious fashion. The soothing sound of the water trickling into the clear pool did wonders for Iggy's racing mind.

No one bothered him for what felt like hours.

He debated stripping off his clothes and taking a dip in the fountain's pool. It was large enough to swim in, after all. He decided against it, as the thought of someone finding him naked in one of the emperor's fountains was enough to turn his face red. Sitting in the peaceful silence of the palace garden was enough for him.

But it wouldn't remain silent for long.

Out the corner of his eye, he spotted a shock of pink. His lips pressed into a tight line, but he didn't avert his gaze from the gushing fountain. He heard footsteps approach him. Still, he never moved his eyes.

The High Priestess took a seat on his bench.

Finally, he broke and glanced at her.

"What're you doing here?"

"I needed some air," she replied. "I see you've found my favorite garden." She gestured at a vine covered in neon blue flowers scaling a wall nearby. "Those are jadorias from Pegasai. A beautiful flower."

"I guess."

The flowers were, in fact, beautiful. Stunning, even. Their petals glowed with an iridescent light that bent the last remnants of the burning sun ahead through its waxy, shimmering material. He squinted at the flowers upon seeing the tiny thorns running up and down their stems.

"They're poisonous to the touch," Noia continued. "One prick of their thorns will make your blood feel like molten lava. The petals alone will spread rashes across your skin."

Iggy tilted his head at her. "What're they doing in here then?"

"The emperor had them installed per my request. He had no objections to doing so. He quite enjoys admiring beautiful, yet dangerous things."

The Arigorii had a feeling she wasn't just talking about the flowers.

He turned to the priestess as memories of their previous encounter returned. The embarrassment and anger, both caused by the emperor's refusal to help his sick mother, accompanied the memory. His lip twitched as he suppressed a scowl.

"How can you marry him?" was all he managed to say.

Noia sighed. She wrung her tattooed hands, her bright irises trained on her shoes. "It's complicated, Iggorii. You...you couldn't possibly understand."

She was right about that. He'd never understand how she could marry a man like Voltai. Or any Noblus, for that matter. They all were the same. Elysians were selfish and cruel and vain. She didn't belong with them.

Perhaps she did.

"I'm sorry for not speaking up when Voltai denied your request," the Majaan priestess told him. She stood up and raised her chin slightly. "You should not have told him about your mother."

Iggy didn't understand.

"Voltai is sponsoring you to keep you close to him. Your story is making the rounds through the galaxy as the games continue to progress. You're becoming quite...popular. Even here in Elysium, the people can't seem to stop talking about the young Arigorii and his elder partner. The emperor desires to control your growing narrative."

He couldn't fathom why anyone would be interested in him. Tenn he could understand. But himself? All he'd done so far was win two games by the skin of his teeth. He wasn't a warrior like the other remaining tributes. He wasn't clever like Tenn. He was just a poor salt miner from Novr who shouldn't have even been in Elysium in the first place. Luck had gotten him here. Luck saw him get through the first two games. But luck couldn't carry him forever. Sooner or later, his would run out.

He stood and faced Noia. "I'm only still fighting to help my mother. If there was a chance the emperor could help, I'm taking it every time."

"He's a collector of information he shouldn't have, and he knows how to use it," she explained. "It's what he does. It's how he got here." Her eyes shifted about the garden.

Iggy wasn't surprised. He hadn't been under any illusion that the emperor of the Elysian Empire was a good person. Anyone who ascended to that wretched throne had to have some blood on their ledger. Manipulation likely was the least of Voltai's crimes.

"I had to ask," he said after a while. "You don't get it. You're literally royalty. Whatever you, or your family, needs gets handed to you on a silver platter. My mother needs my help. Without me, she'll die. I can't let that happen."

"Whatever idea of me you've created in your head..." She shook her head, her full lips puckered with annoyance. "You know little, Arigorii." Her tone wormed itself into his skin, pricking at his nerves and muscles. He stiffened under her hardened gaze, which quickly softened as she approached him. "Your mother will not die. Trust me. She'll get what she needs."

How could she say that so confidently? She didn't know his mother in the slightest.

He opened his mouth to question her, but the anger and confusion bubbling inside prevented him from formulating a decent inquiry. Had she gone behind her fiancé's back to send medicine to Novr? Surely not. His mind circled back to the deal he made with Jaxon. The rebel notified him his smuggler was already en route to the salt colony with his mother's medication.

But how would Noia have known that? She couldn't have.

Before the gears in his brain could truly start going, the sleek, white bracelet on Noia's wrist beeped. Holding out her arm, she pressed it and a hologram appeared before her. An image of Opal sharpened into focus.

"Yes, Opal?" the priestess asked.

"The transport for Iggorii Amrada and Ohr-Yahn Tennic has arrived at the terminal."

Noia nodded. "Thank you, Opal. I'll bring them out." She ended the call.

His stomach sank. Time to go home—well, he wouldn't exactly call the arena home. But it was the closest thing to a home he had right now. Hanging his head, he waited for the high priestess to speak again.

"Everything will work itself out, Iggorii," Noia said softly. She reached out and grabbed his hand. Her hands were softer than anything he'd ever felt before. He cautiously met her eye. "Do you trust me?"

He barely knew her. How could he trust her?

Still, aside from Tenn, she'd been the only person to show him any grace since he'd been plucked from the desert wasteland he came from. She spoke to him as if he mattered. Her eyes suggested she saw him as a sentient being with emotions and a brain—not just some poor, lowly creature the Elysians viewed him as.

Maybe she was different from the Elysians.

Or perhaps she was playing a game. The emperor was her fiancé, after all.

But she came here alone. No guards, no Opal, no Voltai. She found him in the garden on her own. Surely, that was no coincidence.

"Why'd you come here?" he asked her.

"I told you," she began, "this is my favorite garden. You just happened to also be here."

"Noia..." he warned.

A tiny smile played on her painted lips. "You're clever, Iggorii. I admire that about you. It'll take you far." She leaned toward him. His heartbeat spiked as his throat tightened. The sweet, aromatic smell of the perfume hidden on her dark skin tantalized his nose. He stiffened as she placed her mouth right next to his ear. "But a bit of advice, Arigorii?"

He swallowed hard before nodding for her to continue.

"Be mindful of the eyes. They're all on you now."

She straightened her posture before turning on her heel. Then she left the garden. Shaking himself out of his daze, he scampered behind her.

#

The priestess didn't accompany him back to Neon City. Neither did her android. Only Tenn and a representative from Voltai's house accompanied him in the same transport that brought him to the palace. He spent most of the ride staring at the darkening sky. He still hadn't said a word to the tight-lipped old man sitting across from him since the feast.

Iggy wondered what he had gotten up to within the palace walls since they parted ways hours ago. He'd decided he was no longer annoyed with the man, and the silence suffocating the inside of the transport sent his mind into a frenzy.

But he kept quiet. The Andradan didn't seem to be in a particularly chatty mood anyway.

Besides, Noia's words still echoed in his ears as if she were still standing beside him.

What exactly had she meant? Were the emperor and his forces watching him? He had been sponsored by Au Castus. It would've been foolish of them to not keep tabs on him. And it would've been foolish of him not to take note of that. But something told him that wasn't what the priestess meant.

He spent the rest of the ride to the arena mulling over her cryptic advice. It wasn't until they docked inside and the door opened—revealing the bustling hangar—that Iggy realized their journey was over.

"Alright, off you go," the Elysian inside their transport chirped. Tenn stepped off first. As Iggy went to follow, the Elysian grabbed him by the forearm. "Oh, I almost forgot. Our gracious emperor wanted you to have something."

Iggy lifted a brow at them.

The man retrieved a compact silver box from their vehicle and handed it over to Iggy. The insignia of the empire had been pressed into the shiny metal. Glowing lines the color of liquid gold ran along the edges of the container before accruing to the center of the box. It weighed a fair amount, leaving the boy to wonder what hid inside.

"What is it?" Iggy asked. As he turned it around in his hands, he realized something was missing. "And how do I open it?"

"It'll open by itself before the next game. As for what it is... Well, it's a secret."

"Of course it is."

The Elysian simply chuckled before closing the transport door. Within minutes, the vehicle had left the arena's central hangar. Iggy watched as it zoomed into the sky. As it sped back to the emperor's home, he couldn't help but be reminded of his status. He was a Slav now—property of the empire. Technically, the Au Castus family owned him now. Back on Novr, he had some rights. Now he didn't have any.

That trip to the palace was a strategic move on Voltai's part. The emperor allowed Iggy to see what luxury and freedom looked like, even if just for a brief second. He knew it would make the Arigorii yearn for more. Perhaps he assumed it would push the boy closer to him. Perhaps he thought it'd make him desperate and dependent on the emperor's resources.

He was wrong.

His talk in the bathroom with Jaxon replayed in his head. The rebels were planning something. Iggy would make sure he'd be a part of it.

He glared at the box in his hands. It felt like an anchor tethering him to the cruel vanity of Voltai and his aristocrats. A voice in the back of his head told him to toss it off the edge of the hangar and let it fall to the lower rings of the city. Someone else could've gotten better use out of it. Still, he yearned to know what was inside.

The Elysian said it'd open before his next game.

His stomach twisted into knots. That didn't bode well. If he needed a gift from Voltai himself, then the next challenge would likely make the previous two look like walks in the park. He survived the first by pure dumb luck. He made it through the second by the skin of his teeth.

His luck was running thin.

Perhaps this little care package from the emperor was what he needed to stay alive. Only time would tell.

A pair of arena guards stomped up to Iggy and Tenn. The two of them exchanged a look before peering at the masked sentries.

"Back to your rooms, tributes."

Iggy sighed. Their little outing had reached its end.

#

Iggy brought the cool water pooling in his hands to his face. He washed the day away and watched it disappear down the drain of the grimy sink in the communal bathroom the tributes shared. Exhaling, he brought his gaze to the mirror before him. He examined himself for a moment before taking a glance at Tenn. The man stood on the other end rubbing his hands vigorously in the water.

They still hadn't spoken a word to each other. Iggy didn't want to be the one to break their silence first, but something the emperor told him brought up a question he'd previously asked the Andradan. He hadn't gotten a straight answer then and was sure he wouldn't get one now, but it was worth a shot.

Swallowing hard, he turned to the old man.

"Hey," he said.

Tenn side-eyed him. He turned the water off before facing the boy. "I see you're talking to me again."

Iggy rolled his eyes. He already regretted doing this and he hadn't even properly started. "Be serious. I have something to ask you."

"Go on then."

He looked around the bathroom before continuing. They were alone, but he didn't doubt cameras were positioned stealthily to keep tabs on the tributes. Like Noia said, eyes were everywhere. He wasn't sure if this conversation should've been held in somewhere this public.

Tenn frowned. "What is it, Iggorii?"

He shuffled closer to the man before pulling out the medallion in his pocket halfway. He then lowered his voice to a whisper. "The emperor told me this symbol belongs to something called the Centuri Order. What...what is that?"

Tenn flinched as if he'd been punched. His face paled and he stared at Iggy with eyes wider than moons. He quickly gathered his composure, though, as his expression returned to its typical stony state. His stare found the corner of the bathroom housing the camera feeding their images to the arena security room. It whirred quietly, almost as if listening in on them.

"Not here," the old man muttered. Without another word, he left the room.

Iggy had no choice but to follow.

The two of them slipped out of their sleeping quarters. They had another hour before curfew, meaning no one would stop them from roaming the public areas of the arena. They'd be left alone until the time came for them to return to their dwellings.

Tenn made a beeline for the training center. Iggy wasn't sure why, but clearly the old man knew things he didn't. He followed behind wordlessly as they walked through the automatic doors of the training center. It was empty at this time of day, as all the other tributes were getting ready for bed. Iggy took note of the various cameras situated in the ceiling as they walked across the concrete floor. Tenn took them into a corner.

"This part of the room is in the camera's blind spot," he whispered. "We'll still have to whisper, but they won't be able to read our lips."

"How'd you figure that one out?"

"I pay attention to things."

Iggy pursed his lips. "I pay attention to things too, you know."

Tenn snorted. He stared the boy in the eyes for a few moments. Iggy shifted his feet, his skin crawling under the heat of the man's stare. He hadn't when the man did that. Deciphering the thoughts that hid behind his blue irises was an impossible task. After an eternity, Tenn finally spoke.

"I wasn't supposed to tell you. You were never meant to find that medallion, and you were never meant to find out about the Centuri Order. You were supposed to stay on Novr with your mother."

Iggy blinked. "Huh? What're you—"

Tenn took a long breath. The boy before him watched in silence as his heart rate quickened.

"Iggorii,," the old man started, "I know your father."