“Fine,” Marius said in a low voice, avoiding Cade’s eyes. “But you must do something for me in exchange. Trust for trust.”

Cade nodded slowly. “What do you need?”

Marius looked up at him, and Cade could not read his expression.

“Keep the Codex. But if you die. And your friends die. What happens then?”

“We won’t,” Cade said. “Most of us will stay here.”

“Even so,” Marius said, “it is an unnecessary risk to take. There is no reason why my men should not become contenders as well.”

Cade swallowed. Marius knew there was a reason Cade was keeping the Codex to himself. It was because Marius could easily get control of the Codex if he and the other Romans were contenders. All that stood in his way were the beating hearts of Cade and his friends. The Codex would pass down the chain to them. That was how it worked.

Now, Marius was daring Cade to voice it. To say he feared Marius’s ambition. That he feared the Romans would kill them.

Cade’s silence stretched between them, as Marius’s eyes bore into his own. He could not read the man.

But in the end, it did not matter. In the short term, Marius needed them. Without them, there would be nobody to guide him with the weapons of the future. And while it was true Marius might kill them once their use ran out, Cade had no intention of being here that long.

As soon as he returned to the keep with the bomb, he planned to set off the EMP. Then have the Romans load the bomb into the ship. Initiate the autopilot. And end the game once and for all.

“Deal,” Cade said, holding out his hand.

Marius looked at it in surprise, then took Cade’s hand in his own.

They shook, once, then Marius dropped his hand.

“Are we done?” he asked.

Cade leaned back in his chair.

“Start bringing your men here,” Cade said. “It’s time to make them contenders.”

CHAPTER

38

It took until the afternoon to induct all the Romans. They came in groups and declared their consent to become contenders to the Codex in a short Latin phrase Marius asked them to repeat. Cade did not leave until every Roman had visited, even the men working in the orchards above. He wanted Marius to trust him. And to think he had won.

As the last of the Romans left the room, he could hear his friends in the stairwell demanding what was going on, the guards still refusing them entry.

“Can I go now?” Cade asked, standing to leave.

“Of course,” Marius said. “You can come and go as you please.”

Cade looked back at him. “We both know that’s not true.”

Marius cleared his throat as Cade stepped to the door. “Do not bring your lover with you,” he said. “Or any other of the women, for that matter.”

Cade turned, shocked. “Why not?”

Marius looked unashamed, despite Cade’s glare. “Women and battle do not mix,” he said. “They are bad luck.”