Chapter 6

Lykos stood in the doorway of a dimly lit chamber, his heart pounding in his chest as he glanced around the room. The opulence of the surroundings, the same luxury that he himself had once enjoyed, now felt alien and suffocating. The familiar face of the one who had summoned him there stared at him intently, like a spectre from a past life.

The man’s eyes, once filled with warmth and friendly recognition, now seemed cold and calculating. Lykos’s heart sank as the full gravity of the situation in which he found himself began to dawn on him.

‘Come in, Lykos,’ the man said, an unsettling cordiality to his tone. ‘Long time, no see.’

Lykos took a hesitant step forward. The room felt impossibly small, and the air was thick with an oppressive sense of foreboding.

‘Come closer. And remove that loincloth of yours.’

Lykos’s heart raced as he complied with the order, his body feeling exposed and vulnerable. The man’s eyes roamed over him with a predatory interest that made Lykos’s skin crawl. He shuddered involuntarily.

‘This doesn’t have to be as difficult as you’re making it, Lykos,’ the man said coaxingly. ‘You fought magnificently against your friend Tarin this evening – a fine-looking boy, though not quite so fine as yourself – but you don’t need to fight me now.’

The touch of the man’s hands on his skin made Lykos want to retch; every caress felt like a violation of his very being. It was not long before the two of them were lying on their sides on the bed. The leering man did not hesitate to fulfil his desires, with Lykos as his unwilling accomplice.

The only minute measure of comfort that Lykos managed to derive from this horrific situation was that, in his state of almost total exhaustion after his exertions of that evening and the one before, he was not required to apply himself physically. He could afford just to lie there and take it, trying all the while to detach his mind from what was happening to his body. He tried in vain.

Lykos was utterly heartbroken to feel a surge of physical pleasure as the man moved inside him. Unlike the acts of digital stimulation that he had been forced to endure over the past twenty-four hours or so, the boy had no idea why his body should repsond in such a way to this invasion.

He tried desperately to focus his mind on absolutely anything else, including the traumatic recollection of his many forced releases in the banqueting hall. It did not work. Lykos spilled his seed onto the bed, feeling as though his very soul were being drained from his body all the while. His companion, on the other hand, was delighted.

The act dragged on, each moment feeling like an eternity. When it was finally over, Lykos lay totally inert, his heart heavy with the weight of betrayal and humiliation. Then he was dismissed.

Walking back to the ludus, Lykos felt the crushing weight of his circumstances. The familiar face of someone who should have been a symbol of safety was now a haunting reminder of his suffering. Despite the somewhat consoling thought of Tarin and Kaelus waiting for him, he felt more alone than ever.

The communal bath was one of the few places where the boys could find a semblance of comfort. Kaelus, Tarin and Lykos sat submerged, the warm water soothing their exhausted bodies and spirits to some little extent.

Kaelus, his powerful frame gleaming in the torchlight, leaned back against the stone edge, his muscles tense despite the calming water. Tarin sat nearby, his slighter form relaxed but his eyes alert, while Lykos leaned forward, his face a mask of frustration.

‘I can’t stand it here anymore,’ Lykos said. ‘We’re supposed to be gladiators, not prostitutes!’