But Mira was persistent. Over the next three months, she became his shadow. She mended his leathers. She stole bread for him when the guards starved him as punishment for winning too easily. She told him stories of the Free Cities, where no collars existed. And slowly, against every article of the Code, Kaelen began to feel something dangerous: trust.
"Which article?"
The next morning, when the legion came with their siege towers and their war drums, Kaelen did not fight like a gladiator. He did not fight for survival, or for a Master’s favor, or even for revenge. He fought for the woman beside him, for the children hiding in the cellars, for the right to bury his own dead. battle slaves code
But Valerius had not forgotten. He had lost his star gladiator and his reputation. He petitioned the Crimson Mandate for a punitive legion. Five thousand soldiers marched on the Unchained Keep. But Mira was persistent