Nolan didn't move. The golden shimmer around him intensified slightly. A warning or a reflex. Hard to tell with light manipulators.
"You talk like this is a game."
"Everything's a game." I stopped three meters from him. Close enough to see the tension in his jaw. Far enough to react if he decided to stop talking. "The only question is whether you know the rules."
"And you do?"
"I'm learning."
We stood like that for a long moment. Two students in an empty arena with too much history and not enough understanding between us. He was trying to figure me out. I could see it in the way his eyes tracked my movements. The way he kept his weight balanced. Ready.
He wouldn't find what he was looking for.
The Rome he knew was gone. Replaced by something that wore the same face but operated on entirely different principles.
"Aurora talked to me this morning."
The words landed like a punch to the gut. I didn't let it show.
"Did she."
