by Sandi Rog
“The villa is being confiscated by Caesar. He’s demanded control of all local vineyards,” Manius said.
David turned to him, ignoring the ministrations to his wounds.
“I’m free.”
Manius nodded. “Better. You’re a citizen.”
David looked past Manius, over his shoulder, and across the chaos. Titus stood erect, no emotion on his serene face. Without lowering his gaze, Titus bowed to David. How odd that the roles were reversed. Titus respected David as a Christian, as a Roman citizen. Suddenly, David realized, Titus had always respected him.
David met his tormentor’s gaze. The person who purchased him, beat him, taught him, and gave him his father’s scrolls. He straightened his bloodied back, and in one quick nod, David forgave his friend.
“I have to go.” David turned to leave. He had to find Alethea. He made his way through the gymnasium doors and sprinted toward the woods.
If she went over that wall, he’d—he felt for his sword. Gone. Of course. What if he needed to fight? He sighed. He was so weary of fighting. He’d have to make due. She was likely heading back to Rome, and she’d have to go through the forest by herself. He’d better find her soon before barbarians did. For all he knew, he’d arrive too late. That thought made his feet pick up their pace. He swerved between the trees and leaped over branches and dodged protruding limbs. He knew this forest like he knew Alethea. The big pine came into view. And there she was. Lying face down on top of the wall with her face buried on her folded arms. Relief washed over him. He raced for the wall and ran up the side, then leaned on the edge just above her head.
“Are you well?” he asked, breathless.
She lifted her cheek on her arms, sniffling. “David?” she whispered, not looking at him.
“Yes?”
Her head jerked up, her brown eyes wide with surprise. It was as if she didn’t believe he was really there. “You’re alive?”
“Why’d you leave?” He reached out and twirled his fingers around a curled lock of her hair, relieved to find her well and not lost or in the clutches of barbarians.
She wiped her nose. “I couldn’t watch you die.”
David frowned. Of course. What a stupid question. She’d already witnessed the death of her own parents, and then to have to witness his death was too much. He tried to lighten the mood and forced a half smile. “Well, thanks for the confidence.”
Her face brightened as if waking from her nightmare. “It’s you! It’s really you!” She threw herself around his neck, hugging him so tightly he barely needed to hold himself up on the wall.
After she loosened her grip, he jumped down and motioned for her to come, reaching his hands up to catch her. She scooted halfway off the wall and dangled from its edge. He caught her around the waist and settled her in front of him. And at that moment it was as if he were seeing her for the first time. She could actually be his. He was a citizen. They could marry. He could see the little girl he wanted to protect, the little girl he watched grow into this beautiful woman. He took in the shape of her face, her deep brown eyes, her pink lips, and dark hair reflecting the sun. He allowed himself to look at her as he’d never dared look at her before. As his. He backed her against the wall. She sucked in air as she studied him, hopefulness in her red-rimmed eyes. This time he would allow himself to kiss her. To kiss her with the knowledge that he could have her.
He leaned over her, one hand on the wall. He combed through her hair, moving the soft curls between his fingers. He brushed his knuckles along her cheek. She leaned in toward him, moving her cheek against his palm like a cat begging to be petted.
“Will you—” Suddenly, David was worried that she might refuse. He took a deep, shuddering breath. “Will you be my wife?”
Desperation reflected in her gaze, as if she were afraid she might lose him, afraid this entire experience was a dream. “Of course!”
Smiling with the greatest joy, a joy he hadn’t felt since he was a child, he cupped her face in his hands and kissed her. Intoxicating. She wrapped her arms around his neck, clutching her fingers in his hair. They slid down the wall together, kissing the whole way as if they were starved for each other. As if they’d been walking through a dry desert all these years without water, wandering the wilderness without food. But David knew if he didn’t stop now, he’d never stop. He pulled away, unwinding her hands from his neck, chuckling.
He scooped her up into his arms. Her soft, light form always amazed him, and now he’d allow himself to loosen some of the reins on his control. He felt her against him, every curve of her, and it was then that he was reminded why it wasn’t good for a man to touch a woman. But now she was his woman, or would be. And the sooner, the better.
David didn’t dare carry Alethea back into the gymnasium where she would have to again face her mother’s lifeless form, so he set her down in the plaza where he’d taken his last beating. Roman soldiers came in and out, escorting a weeping Renata and other dazed adult members of Aloysius’s family to the atrium. Alethea watched in shock. “What happened here?”
“Aloysius is under arrest for attempting to murder your father.”
Just behind the soldiers came Galen, eyes red from crying. His gaze fell on David and then on Alethea. He stopped as he studied her from head to toe. “Alethea?” His voice choked.
“Mpampas?” Her voice was barely audible, but loud enough for Galen to hear.
“You’re well?”
Crying out, Alethea threw herself into Galen’s arms, weeping on him. “Thank You, God. Thank You, God. Thank You!”
Galen squeezed her to him, turning with her in his arms. “You look so much like your mother.” He burst into sobs.
They hugged for a long while, holding each other. Finally, Alethea cupped his face in her hands and kissed him. “You shrunk.”
A roar of laughter ripped out of Galen and David joined in. That’s when Paulus, who was standing behind Galen, came into view. Galen put his arm around Paulus and Alethea and squeezed. “My family.”
Paulus’s face looked unsure and David wondered if it might be too late to win the boy over.
At that moment, the guards carried Cornelia’s covered, lifeless body by them on a litter.
Galen closed his eyes.
“She loved you, Mpampas,” Alethea whispered. “She told me she never meant for any of this to happen.”
Galen nodded, still unable to speak.
Manius then came into the plaza and put his hand on David’s shoulder. “Let’s go home.” He walked toward the atrium.
Now that was a new concept. David had no idea where home was.
As if reading his mind, Manius turned to him. “My house.”
Ω
Was it just this morning he walked on this same road? It felt like a lifetime ago. It couldn’t have been the same day. Surely, weeks, months, even years had passed.
David trudged over the gravel as they neared the woods. He felt like he was climbing a mountain instead of walking on a flat road. He reached for the hilt of his sword to protect against thieves, but his hand fell on air. He forced himself to relax; plenty of guards surrounded them. Two followed behind him and Manius, while one led the way in front of Alethea, Galen, and Paulus.
Alethea clung to Galen’s arm while Paulus avoided his outstretched hand.
David kept his eyes on Alethea as she bounced and giggled, apparently very excited about what she was telling her father.
“David—”
He started at the mention of his name and strained to hear. David stumbled, but righted himself before anyone noticed. The mountain grew steeper the farther they got into the woods. Out of habit, he glanced from side to side, watching for thieves.
Again, David stumbled, and Manius caught his arm.
“Are you well, son?”
David nodded. “Fine.”
Alethea and Galen kept walking along, and only then did David notice Galen’s slight limp. His stiff back made David uneasy. Did he not
like what Alethea was telling him? Suppose she told him about their kiss? David wouldn’t blame Galen if that infuriated him. But he didn’t think Alethea would go that far. He cringed. He never should have taken such liberties. Yet, perhaps if Galen knew they had kissed, he’d give Alethea to him? But that wouldn’t be the right motivation for Galen to give up his daughter. And David would want his father-in-law’s respect.
David’s body suddenly felt heavy and the trees became like water, moving toward them. Thieves? Black shadows filled David’s vision. He grabbed for his sword. Nothing.
“David!” Alethea’s hands were on his face, in his hair.
He opened his eyes. Alethea’s dark curls brushed softly against his bare chest, a stark contrast with the fire on his back and arms. Why was there so much pain?
Manius crouched over him. “The boy’s exhausted.”
Galen hovered next to Alethea. “I can’t imagine what he’s been through.”
Nearby branches snapped. Paulus tossed stones into the trees. Soldiers stood around, their backs to them as they watched the woods.
“He’s been through so much, Mpampas.” Alethea sniffed and wiped her face, her warm tears landing on David’s chest, burning his exposed wounds. “He saved my life so many times. Today, he tried to return me to you. We made it as far as the gate, but Demetri caught us. David could have been killed.” She cupped his face in her hands. “He could have escaped years ago. But he never did. Today, he tried to save me.”
Alethea’s words surprised David. He didn’t know she was aware of his sacrifice.
Manius put his hand on David’s forehead. “Can you hear me?”
“Yes,” he said, his voice raspy. He wanted desperately to take a nap, a nice long nap right there in the middle of the road. He no longer cared about thieves. He had nothing to lose.
Except . . . “Alethea.” He tried to sit up. Manius put his weight under David’s elbow, and Galen lifted David’s arm over his neck. They heaved him to his feet. Dizziness overwhelmed him. He lost his balance, but the two men steadied him.
“It won’t be long.” Manius’s reassuring voice comforted him as he urged him to take a step closer to Rome.
“We’re going home, son.” Galen urged him to take another step. “We’re all going home.”
twenty-four
David had heard Alethea sing plenty of times, but this was different. Her tone floated on soothing notes, as though she were relaxed and calm, no longer afraid.
Each note emphasized the purity of her voice. If he could see the song, he felt certain it would soar like a bird’s wings, flying through the mosaic halls, turning the corners until it floated into the chamber where he lay.
Aucella. Now he understood why her father called her little bird.
The realization that she was there in the same house made him come fully awake. The bedchamber looked vaguely familiar with its iron-grilled windows, long flowing tapestries, and fat cushions on the bed.
How long had he been lying in this room, dead to the world? He remembered a slave bathing him, cleaning his wounds. He remembered that because it was so painful. The crusted honey had locked the sand into his cuts. They still throbbed, but the burning was gone.
He recalled a woman checking on him, tending to his wounds. He’d hardly looked at her, he’d been so overwhelmed with exhaustion. He wasn’t convinced she was a slave. She seemed too elegant to be a slave. And she smelled like his mother. She must have been a dream.
He knew one thing wasn’t a dream. Alethea’s voice. And she was here. That gave him the strength to crawl out of bed and slip into the nearby tunic hanging on the wall. When his head was in the tunic, he heard a small gasp coming from the door. When his head was free, no one was there.
David followed the song as it floated through the halls. The tiled floors felt cool on his bare feet, bringing his body to life. How long had he been asleep? As he made his way through the house, David remembered it now from his youth. Not much had changed, other than the fact that it seemed much smaller. The marble columns were the same, only not quite as tall, and the mosaic, which had been new the last time he saw Manius, was still the flowered pattern David remembered. It brought to mind the night David snuck out to find Manius, to find Sarah. Only, he’d never made it this far.
“Master David is awake.”
Alethea’s song came to an abrupt halt.
The voice announcing him as Master David—strange—must have belonged to the gasp.
He came into a large hall where a curtain fluttered open to reveal Alethea hurrying toward him. A slave woman stood nearby, smiling. Alethea threw herself into David’s arms and he nearly lost his balance. She hugged him so tightly, her arms pressed into the wounds on his back, but it didn’t hurt terribly. Not enough to pry her arms away. He loved the feel of her against him. Then he remembered Galen. If Alethea was there, so was her father.
Alethea looked up at David with tears in her eyes. “You’ve been asleep for two days. I thought you’d never wake up.”
David cupped her face in one of his hands. “I’m awake now.” He smiled down into her dark, concerned eyes. He longed to kiss her, but he didn’t dare. Not when he knew her father was likely on the other side of that curtain.
“Your sister’s here.” Alethea grinned up at him.
David’s heart stopped at her words.
“We’ve been praying for you. She’s anxious to meet you.”
He’d actually meet her? Here, now? What would she look like after all these years? How old would she be? She was just a year younger than Alethea. Would she be as tall as Alethea? The strongest memory he had of her was when she was crouched in her nook, hiding under her blankets. The night he abandoned her. Would she despise him for what he did? She spent a terrifying night alone without anyone to comfort and protect her. All because of him.
“They’re coming.” Alethea faced the curtain.
David stood frozen like a statue. They? Who was “they?” Her father, certainly. Maybe Manius. Anyone else?
Sarah.
He would actually meet his sister. After all these years of wondering, of hoping, of praying. He waited for her to come through the curtain. He’d been waiting for this moment since he was ten.
Shadows moved. He could make out Manius and a slender form following behind. David’s palms grew clammy. It would be her. His Sarah. Manius pulled the curtain aside, revealing a woman—a lighter version of David’s mother. He held his breath. She even moved like their mother. She was in his dream. Only she wasn’t a dream.
David’s eyes burned and he swallowed back the knot forming in his throat. Her gaze held no malice. A little taller than Alethea, she moved gracefully toward him, keeping her chin down with a shy smile on her lips. A flush came to her cheeks. Her face was the same as he remembered, only not as round. A memory of Sarah’s lithe form peering around their mother’s skirts came to his mind. She hadn’t changed much. She was still just as shy as ever. She came to stand in front of him, a smile filling her face.
“Brother.” She stood on her toes and kissed his cheeks.
David took in a shuddering breath. Her scent wafted over him. The same scent as their mother. His eyes burned with unshed tears. He stifled a sob. He wanted to grab her, to pull her to himself and never let her go. His baby sister was a woman now. All those years of childhood lost.
“You took care of me.” David was referring to the last two days he’d been asleep. A woman had tended his wounds. It had been his sister. His little Sarah.
She nodded, smiling at the ground.
Manius came up to them. “Good to see you awake, boy.” He patted David’s shoulder, relief in his gaze.
David winced, the wounds still sensitive on his back.
Galen joined them, smiling.
David looked down at Sarah. He knew he had an audience, but that didn’t matter. He’d failed her, and there was no secret about that. “I’m sorry,” he said, barely able to force the words past the knot in his
throat.
The small brows above her eyes furrowed.
He realized he’d have to explain himself. He took a deep shuddering breath, hoping his voice wouldn’t crack under the weight of his grief. “For leaving you that night.”
Her eyes rounded with concern. She put a trembling hand to her mouth. “Oh, David.” She shook her head as though she didn’t believe his words. “No.” Swallowing visibly, she continued shaking her head. “You don’t have to apologize.” Tears filled her blue eyes, and she motioned toward herself. “I’m fine. I was just worried about you. When you came to Manius that night, we were so relieved. You were alive! But we didn’t know where to find you.” She motioned to Galen. “Not until Galen came. He said you sent him.” She touched David’s hand. “It was an answered prayer.”
She actually forgave him. It was as if he’d been carrying boulders on his back, and now their weight was lifted.
“Manius has been a good father to me, David.”
His sister. She was alive and well. The relief he felt was tremendous, so much so, that the burden of his guilt and grief nearly came barreling out in wails. He took a deep, shuddering breath and reached out to her. He took her face in his hands. “You look so much like our mother.”
Tears welled in her eyes. She stepped toward him, and they embraced. David choked back the sobs that threatened. He was free. At last he was truly free. Free of slavery, and free of guilt.
“Are you hungry?” Sarah asked.
Only then did David realize how ravenous he felt. “Yes.”
“Alethea prepared a feast for us. She’s a wonderful cook.”
David glanced down at Alethea, a half smile forming on his lips. “Really?”
“Yes. She’s been taking good care of us.”
“And no one’s been poisoned?” David asked with a smirk.
Alethea straightened, her haughty air returning with a flourish. “You just better eat it this time.”
Tears still in his eyes, David laughed.
