She suddenly felt a little homesick.
She leaned against the soft arm of the cushioned bench, trying to concentrate on what the others were saying. It was kind of them to talk in nothing but her language.
Her attention began to drift and she was mortified when her eyes started to close involuntarily. Dinah assured her no insult was taken and ordered Ceti to escort her to a guest room for the night.
As they left, Sky wondered if Dinah was indulging in a little matchmaking. It was a perfect opportunity to be alone with Ceti. But too much information that had been stuffed in her head for Sky to feel relaxed. There was also the fact that she’d lied to Ceti and the others about Makki and his fleet.
It was not right to be with someone with deception between them.
Ceti escorted her down another beautiful stone hallway to a bedchamber. He stopped in the doorway, hesitating about coming inside.
“Sky, please remember that Romans do much more besides bring war. You saw the buildings, the food, and the baths here. Tabor can stop the abuses that you’re concerned about, if you give him a chance.”
“I believe you,” she said. “And everything here has been amazing.”
“Yet you look worried.” He paused for a long while before answering. “Do you regret coming?”
He was so kind, so careful with how he treated her. She put a hand on his forearm.
They stayed there like that, frozen, for a long moment as the silence built around him.
“They are calling me your Lenape princess,” she finally said.
“And they call me your Ceti. I consider that an honor.” He leaned down and kissed her cheek. His lips were soft and warm.
If she’d been home, among her clan, she would have invited Ceti to spend the night, as she desperately wanted to do. Despite, or perhaps because of her exhaustion, she needed him to lift her up into his arms and take her off to bed.
She stepped closer, so their bodies were touching. She reached up and touched his chin, stroked his cheek, and finally let her hand linger on the side of his face.
He leaned over again, and their lips meet.
It was just as it was when they’d kissed on the cliffs above Shorakapkok. The world narrowed to simply her and Ceti. Her fingers tightened around his forearm. His arms encircled her, crushing her against him, and the kiss turned insistent.
She rose on her tiptoes to run her fingers through his hair. He lifted her off her feet and moaned deep in his throat.
She broke the kiss. He set her back down. She laid her head against his shoulder, breathing heavily. Perhaps time didn’t have to move forward and they could stay like this forever. She wanted him. But he was not of her tribe. He was not of the People at all. If she only wanted sex and comfort, she might have given into her desire for the night.
But she wanted Ceti for far deeper reasons than that and for longer than one night.
For that, she needed the approval of her mother and her entire clan. And that wouldn’t happen until the world changed.
“I plan to be back in the morning. I can show you a bit of the city on the walk to the wall’s defenses, if you like,” he said.
“I would love that.” She finally let go of Ceti’s forearm. There were marks there where she’d held onto him too tightly.
He cleared this throat. “Tomorrow then.”
“Sleep well, Ceti who flies like the eagles.”
“I fear sleep will not find me easily.” He bowed and left.
She watched until he was out of sight and suspected sleep would not come easily to her either. She finally turned to the bed. It was raised above the floor and covered with more soft cushions.
Lying down on the bed was like being on a pillow of the softest feathers. Yet more Roman comfort. She liked that about them.
She had another choice to make. Whether to leave the city tomorrow, before Makki attacked, and let the Romans battle it out among themselves, or tell Tabor as much as she could about Makki’s fleet.
Staying neutral while the Romans fought each other was an easy choice for her mother and the other clan leaders. They hadn’t spoken to the Romans, they hadn’t had dinner with them, they hadn’t seen Gerhard’s dry humor or Dinah’s concern for her friends, or Tabor’s need to protect Manhatos.
They hadn’t fallen in love with a Roman engineer who seemed to know instinctively just what to say to her and when to say it.
She could hear Lake Wolf’s voice in her head, pointing out that if her tribe became involved in this war, many of them could die. Their villages risked being destroyed. Lake Wolf would say Sky was valuing Roman lives higher than those of her own people.
Tabor and her mother were very alike.
Like her mother, Tabor wanted most to save his people. He would do whatever it took to defend them. Dinah had said Tabor was no threat to her. But if the man believed she knew something vital about his enemy, Tabor would be a threat. He’d act quickly and decisively, even if it meant hurting her or her tribe.
Cold metal pressed against her throat.
A hand closed over her mouth.
“No words, Sky daughter of Lake Wolf, or I will slit your throat. I didn’t come to kill you. If I had, you’d already be dead.”
She groped frantically at her waist for her familiar belt knife, but realized she had left it on the floor before climbing into bed. She curled her hand into a fist. Her neck felt numb from the knife against her skin. Her heart threatened to hammer out of her chest.
“If you scream or call out, I will kill you. Nod, if you understand.”
She nodded, swallowing her cry for help. The chamber was completely dark. She couldn’t even see a silhouette of her captor. She took a deep breath and realized he smelled of the sea. And then she knew him.
Ahala, the legate’s aide. The one who spoke the language of her tribe without accent.
Ahala took his hand off her mouth.
“How dare you touch me like this,” she growled.
“Keep your voice low, princess, or I will cut out your throat.”
“Keep your threats to yourself, Ahala, or I will make sure you die for this.”
He pushed the knife harder on her throat. “I am not bluffing.”
No, he was not. She was afraid to even swallow now. Her hands started to shake. No, please, gods, don’t let my body betray my fear.
“Did you tell them of the legate’s fleet?”
“No,” she said through gritted teeth.
“I don’t believe you,” he whispered. “You’ve disobeyed your mother’s orders by coming here. Why would you keep silent about the fleet?”
Ahala didn’t have the stench of the skunk, but he was foul all the same. “I am here because the gods gave me a sign.”
How did Ahala know that she’d disobeyed orders from her mother? How would he know what Lake Wolf ordered?
Ahala loosened the pressure on her throat. Sky took a deep breath, gulping in air. Even in the dark, she could swear she saw her captor smile.
“What do you want?”
“I could gut you and leave you for dead. It would be a painful way to die.” He laid his hand on her chest and pushed hard, taking her breath away. He held the knife between her legs.
She wanted to scream and rage at him. But, wait, why would he threaten instead of simply kill her? That did not make sense.
“I could take you from here to my legate. He needs a new slave.”
“Then why did you not do that already?”
“Because I need you to get close to another legate. Commander Tabor.”
“I don’t—”
His fingertips pressed into her belly, just below her ribs. Pain stabbed into her. She fought panic and struggled to breathe. She tried to punch him, but when she struck his shoulders, he had no reaction.
Spots appeared before her eyes.
He released his hold. “Another word and I will get more creative with pain.”
He took her silence for assent.
“As I was saying, you must get physically close to Commander Tabor. You must get him alone where he feels safe. And then you will kill him.”
She started to laugh and choked on it, cutting it off. “You mock me.”
Ahala’s hand covered her mouth again. “Yes, there is amusement in it. The great victor of the Battle of Seneca, the renowned Tabor who conquered the Welsh. The rebel leader with more imperial blood than our new emperor killed by a simple barbarian girl. I like it.”
Ahala’s words made no sense to her. Sky remembered a warrior who fallen and smashed his head on a rock. After, he could speak but his words never fit together right. Ahala sounded the same way.
“I can’t defeat a trained Roman warrior.” She knew how to hunt, but she’d never been in a battle. There had been no need.
“It only takes one blow to kill a man,” Ahala said. “He won’t be expecting it. You will have time for that one blow.”
“I won’t do it.” She braced for another stab of pain.
But Ahala still sounded amused. “You will. If you don’t, the legate will destroy your village. It will be the first place we ransack for supplies and slaves.”
“You wouldn’t—”
“I am in your chamber with a knife at your throat, Sky of the Lenape. Of course I will. Listen carefully. Your people can’t stay neutral. They must side with either Tabor or my legate. My legate will be victorious. You will be on the winning side, at least. I’m doing you a favor.”
“Threatening my family is not a favor. And Romans have never been on our side.” It struck her then that Ahala was enjoying this, enjoying torturing her with both words and actions.
“Ah, but think. We will establish order, leave a small garrison, and sail away. The colony will have lost men in the fight and will be weaker and no threat to you,” he said. “On the other hand, if we are stalled, the legate will send for more troops. There will be a long war. Your lands will be destroyed.”
“I don’t believe anything you say.”
“Do you believe that I’d kill you now if that’s what I wanted?”
“Yes.” Yet instead of killing her, he taunted her. Why?
“And you still refuse my order?”
“Yes.”
The knife left her throat. Had Ahala been bluffing after all?
“Fine, then, if you don’t value yourself, value another’s life. I will personally travel to your home village and slit your mother’s throat.”
“She’s too far away for you to reach,” Sky said.
“I have a guide who knows exactly where she is.” He grinned. She could see white teeth standing out in the dark.
A guide? Who?
“And Lake Wolf won’t be the first to die,” Ahala said. “I’ll start right here in Manhatos. You know the whole colony is full of the news of Ceti the engineer, his aquila, and how its flight helped him capture a lovely native girl.”
“I was never captured.”
“Yes, you came with him because you care for him. If you want Ceti to live, you will find a way to be alone with Tabor, then you’ll kill him.” He paused. “If you do, I’ll spare your engineer.”
He stepped back. She lunged out of her bed, grabbing for him, past caring about the knife.
But she encountered nothing but air.
Ahala was gone. She was alone again.
So very alone.
Chapter Fifteen
Ceti arrived at Tabor’s villa long before he expected Sky to be awake.
He had been up all night, looking over the work done in his absence and suggesting changes to Godwin.
Yet nothing altered the reality: there weren’t enough men to guard the wall properly. Even if there were, they didn’t have enough cannons to protect the city. The ancient siege machines could only help so far. It would take a week or less for the imperials to knock down enough of the wall for a ground assault or perhaps even less time to overwhelm an undermanned position.
Then it would be hand-to-hand fighting. Given Tabor’s estimate of Makki’s fleet, the Manhatos Legion would be outnumbered by at least five to one.
They would lose. The only question seemed to be how to minimize the damage to civilians.
And I lost two days of preparation flying the aquila.
Ceti consoled himself with the hope that Sky might bring her people onto their side. Allies would help far more than cannons. At the very least, the Lenape could offer refuge to those fleeing the fighting.
Yet something in Ceti rebelled at accepting defeat. The situation at Seneca had looked as dire and, yet, they’d won.
He’d searched through all his books and scrolls for anything that might turn the aquila into a weapon that would turn the odds in their favor. Oh, the wooden birds in his workshop could be loaded with black powder, lit and then thrown from his Aquila, but at most, that attack would damage one ship.
He finally hit on the idea of using cannon shot rather than large cannon balls as projectiles. He sent orders to Godwin to gather all scrap metal and melt it down to create mini-balls. If they could not increase the number of cannons then, well, he would widen their range. Many little balls might disrupt a charge by the Imperials.
At dawn, Ceti washed and oiled himself. He dressed in his full uniform with his chest armor and gladius. If he could not save the city, he would look decent defending it.
For extra measure, he looped his favorite hammer into his belt. Today, he might need the brute force of the steel hammer as a back-up weapon. The city had to be full of rumors about the impending attack. Desperate men could do unspeakable things in their panic. He’d seen that at Seneca.
The hammer’s padded handle tapped against his leg as Ceti paced in the corridor outside Sky’s chamber. He could be at his work station near the wall. But he needed to eat. He might as well eat with her. It could be all the time they had.
A servant walked down the hallway, carrying a tray of water and fruit. Ceti took the tray from the girl, assuring her that he’d see it properly delivered to Sky. She nodded, smiled shyly, and left.
Ceti heard movement in Sky’s bedchamber. “Sky?”
“Ceti!” she answered. “Come in, please.”
He walked in and set the tray down on a small wooden table. She was sitting on the bed, wearing the same clothing as last night. Her hair was ruffled and the darkness under her eyes told him she hadn’t slept well.
Still, she smiled at him.
“Did you sleep well?” That seemed more polite than asking why she hadn’t rested.
“No.” She walked over and picked up an apple from the tray. “My thoughts kept running in circles, like a dog chasing its tail.”
“Can I help sort them out?”
She shook her head. “No, Ceti, the solution has to be mine.”
“Did what Tabor said at dinner disturb you?”
“Tabor is a fierce advocate for his clan, as it should be. No, it’s that your world is much to absorb in one day. I knew it would be different. I didn’t know how different.” She bit into the apple. “This is delicious.”
“In Seneca, we trade apples to the Mahicans for corn. I’m sure that Tabor would be happy to be trading partners with the Lenape.”
“Perhaps.” She lowered her head.
This evasion was new. Something had occurred to her during the night, perhaps some words from dinner that still gnawed at her. Or maybe, after a night in contemplation, she was rethinking coming to Manhatos.
“I have to go down to my workspace at the docks and complete preparations for the battle. You could walk with me and see more of the city.” He cleared his throat, which was unexpectedly dry. “It will be a very quick tour as I have to work. If you’d rather stay and rest, I understand.”
“I want to see more of your world, Ceti. It’s why I came.” She smiled. “And I’d love to see how you work.”
He was ready to melt at her feet for that smile. I take back every time I teased Gaius about his latest lady love.
“But you mu
st sit and eat with me before we go. Surely, there is time for that.” She sat cross-legged on the carpet, ignoring the couch. “And I have some questions.”
“I am at your service.” He set the platter of fruit, bread, and cheese on the floor and sat down across from her.
She pulled off a hunk of the bread and ate some before speaking. “Ceti, my people are the original inhabitants of this land. Those you call the Mahicans grew from us, so, in the end, we are all one. Even the tribes to the far west are related to us. Yet Romans are not like this.” She finished the rest of the bread, right down to the last crumb. She chased it down with a goblet of water. “Your people look so different. They live in different types of homes, and they seem to have many clans. How can so many different peoples live with each other like this?”
He remembered what Tabor had said last night, that perhaps Sky knew of Makki’s fleet. Perhaps she was only waiting for Ceti to do or say the right thing in order to tell them about the fleet. He chose his words carefully.
“To explain the entire history of the Empire would take a very long time,” he said. “But as your tribe grew from one people, the Empire grew from Rome, a city so large that it would fill this island. The Empire encompasses an area that is equal to the land from the shores of this ocean to that great river you call the Misi-zibi that runs far to the west.”
She blinked. “The Misi-zibi is so far away that not even my father travels there!” She shook her head, as if trying to push away the surprise. “Well. That explains the many clans among you.”
He nodded. “Because the Empire has existed for many tens of hundreds of years, the clans in our lands intermarried and mingled. We’re different, but we’re all Romans.”
“I’ve heard my father say that you call us and the Mahican ‘barbarians,’” Sky said. “Do you want to absorb us as well?”
“I am certain I can speak for Tabor when I say all we wish to do is survive. Makki is another matter.”
“Yet you nearly destroyed the Mahicans,” she said.
“The Mahican clans attacked Seneca.”
“After years of being provoked, as my people have been provoked.”
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