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Marushka the daughter of the house stood there, dressed in a simple sundress and sandals, hair loose and flowing, clearly admiring his abs.

Benet wished he’d taken the time to put on a shirt, not that he minded her frank appreciation of what he had to offer, but she was a lady and much higher in the social order here than he’d ever be.

A pair of large, purebred dogs gamboled at her side, clearly interested in the enticing aroma of the bacon. They were fluffy and white, with faces set in a permanent grin. Impossible to resist. The pair came forward to sniff at him.

“My lady, what a surprise,” he said in Basic, hoping she’d understand. He added a bow and moved to the counter to set down the foodstuffs.

“I’ll take you up on breakfast,” she said cheerily, seating herself at the table and smoothing the tablecloth. “I’ve only had morning tea so far and Dmitri makes the best pancakes.”

“I’m doing eggs and bacon today,” Benet said. “He cooked dinner so it’s my turn.”

“So domesticated,” she teased.

“I appreciate what he did for me yesterday and I’m grateful to be a guest in his home instead of cooling my heels in the dungeon. Unless you have a squad of guards waiting outside to take me there.” He chuckled to show he wasn’t serious.

“No guards. Dmitri’s my bodyguard,” she said.

“And once my tiresome father departs for the capital, which he did before dawn, things go back to normal.” Gesturing at her dress and casual hairstyle, she added, “Like this. I’m left to my own devices which means I come to see Dmitri.

And I bring my dogs. Father doesn’t like them so they’re glad of freedom today.

Meet Oksana and Boris, shameless beggars who have been fed today, allow me to assure you. ”

Benet wasn’t sure he understood the way things worked at this estate but he dug through a cabinet and found suitable frying pans. Cracking eggs after laying out the strips of bacon in another pan, he went to work cooking.

“You seem much better today,” she said. “I was so sorry for you yesterday. My apologies on behalf of no one but myself for the way you were kidnapped and brought here. I had nothing to do with it and nothing in my power to undo it either but for what it’s worth, my sympathies.”

“Kind of you. Dmitri said your father wants me to win some games for him?” Benet figured he might as well gather what intel he could, although her beauty and her proximity were severely distracting.

He needed to redirect his focus. She called the dogs to heel and both settled at her feet, avidly watching Benet.

Should he offer them a few morsels? Who could be immune to the mute appeal in their eyes?

“Not just any games but the Imperial Quadrennial,” Marushka said.

“He invariably loses in the overall medal count and the big featured events and last time he was ridiculed for the team he fielded, which incensed him. The head trainer was executed and the surviving fighters sent to the mines. My father is big on obtaining revenge for failure by anyone to make him look good. Be warned.”

“So I’m part of a team? Who are my teammates?”

“Don’t worry about them,” Dmitri said, descending the stairs.

“You’re a team of one for the main event.

” He crossed the floor to Marushka and they embraced, his hug lifting her out of her chair and into the air, which set her to squealing in mock protest and the dogs romped, jumping on him and barking.

“You shouldn’t be here,” he said to her as he set her on her toes.

“Your father wouldn’t like it and neither would Prince Vasili. ”

“I have a few more months of freedom,” she said with a frown.

“And I intend to make the most of it. Until his ring is on my finger and the priest declares us wed, the prince has no power over me. I do what I please and what pleases me is time with you. And our new friend.” She nodded in Benet’s direction.

“I hope the scrambled eggs will please you.” Benet served her a generous portion. “I added cheese and chives.” He set a jar of jam next to her elbow and tore off a hunk of the bread for her. “No butlers and waiters here.”

“Good. I hate all the pomp and ceremony and life at the capital in the imperial palace is even worse than my existence here.” She slathered jam on the bread and took a big bite.

“I like a girl with a healthy appetite,” Benet said, dishing up Dmitri’s breakfast, which was five times the size of hers.

“I came to watch the training,” Marushka said, waving a piece of bacon. “Benet needs someone to cheer him on.”

“I’m honored.”

“Marushka is a silver medalist herself,” Dmitri said after swallowing another huge bite of eggs. “She competed in the equestrian events at the last games.”

Benet gave her a look of respect and she blushed. “I had a good horse who followed commands like a dream,” she said.

“Not competing this year?” Benet asked.

“No, I have too much to do getting ready for my wedding and all the social events surrounding the occasion. I would have loved to enter the ring again but father said no and the empress reinforced his refusal.”

The mention of the fact she was engaged was a setback to the way Benet’s thoughts were running about the beautiful duchess, although she didn’t seem to care much for her intended.

Probably just as well though. He wasn’t here to find a woman, he was here to figure a way out and go home.

Already he could tell Marushka would be a serious distraction if he wasn’t careful.

“You’re the most exciting thing to happen on this old estate in years,” she said, leaning on her elbows and staring at him intently. “Although I’m sorry about the circumstances. But if we could win the games, that’d be huge.”

He wasn’t sure how he felt about her attitude, considering he was a prisoner and his entire life had been upended. He could care less what a victory in these games would mean for her family. “Would it be enough to get my freedom?” he asked bitterly before he could stop himself.

Marushka blinked and seemed a little taken aback. “Maybe, if the Empress was impressed enough and if you could speak to her.”

“Sorry but none of this is a game to me,” he said, trying not to let his frustration bleed through too much.

This lovely woman wasn’t the cause of his problems. She was only trying to be friendly.

“I had my entire life and everything that mattered to me ripped away once and I refuse to suffer the pain a second time.”

“What happened?”

“It’s how I became a gladiator,” he replied.

“I was young and idealistic and fought for what I believed in when my alliance of planets went to war against one a few light years away. We lost or were sold out and as the losers, we were taken prisoner and sold as slaves. I ended up in the Five Systems and managed to survive in the arena.”

“If you fight beside this Kyden you told me of, you must be a good fighter indeed,” Dmitri said.

“I have a good life there and I want to get back to it.” Benet spoke the truth from his aching heart.

“Was there someone special for you?” Marushka asked with more than idle interest, or so he inferred from her tone.

He shook his head. Best to try to discourage her now. “I’m a player, your highness. Probably many ladies in the Five Systems mourning my absence.” He was trying for a lighter tone since it wasn’t her fault he’d been kidnapped but to his own ears he sounded a bit pathetic.

“Oh.” Now she played with her remaining food and the dogs sat up to lay their heads in her lap as if trying to cheer her up.

“We’re all too serious,” Dmitri said, setting his plate and mug in the dishwasher. “Time to show you the first challenge. Come.” He strode out of the kitchen and Benet hastily finished his juice and followed. The Grand Duchess trailed behind.

Dmitri led them out of the cottage and across a wide swath of carefully tended green lawn, through a thin strip of trees and into a huge clearing.

Benet stopped and eyed the structure in front of him, letting out a whistle.

“What in the seven hells is that mess? Looks like the duke dropped a freighter full of junkyard scrap here.” He could see the primary structure was an open geodesic dome but then the space within was full of complicated smaller structures interlaced in uneven patterns.

“You’ll see. First we’ll walk around it.” The Badari ushered Benet toward the structure, which resembled a demented version of a child’s jungle gym, but with spikes. The framework shuddered in the morning breeze and parts inside shifted visibly.

After he’d made a 360 degree circle around the thing, which was two stories high, Dmitri stopped.

“You have to make your way through one like this at the games, without getting sliced up by the sharp edges. Time is important. The man who posts the fastest time on this and the obstacle course gets the most favorable position on the field of combat.”

“Climb through it?”

“I’ll show you.” Walking up to the nightmare installation, Dmitri grabbed two struts carefully and hauled himself up and inside the complicated maze of metal.

Benet watched in disbelief as the huge man worked his way through the coils and stacks of razor-sharp extrusions, moving generally upward and toward the center.

He and Marushka circled the maze again, accompanied by the dogs, to keep Dmitri in view until he leaped to the ground from about fifteen feet up on the opposite side.

A few scratches on his arms were already closing.

“Okay I’m in awe,” Benet said. “But how in the name of the underworld demons did you do that? It all looks basically the same to me and it’s all deadly.”