Jake and Hugo accepted the deal without batting an eyelid. In exchange, they would be treated the same as Khazus and Priscus. They had volunteered to provide their blood without dilution to those who had actively participated in the previous day's battle.
Since he knew that the blood of a nobleman like Priscus was not even a quarter as efficient as Lucia's, his enthusiasm for this reward had been cooled. With their wounds from the previous day Jake would have expected Priscus and Khazus to take a rest, but he learned the sad truth from the mouth of Servius Cassius, who seemed to have decided to trust them completely.
The man was certainly a better judge of character than Jake, since he had no trouble determining who among the few slaves still present was reliable and who was not. The reason why so many traitors were able to stay under his roof for so long incognito was in large part because he had little contact with gladiators outside of a professional setting.
