by London Casey
They each grabbed a weapon, Marius choosing a long staff instead of a sword. Kane quickly reworked his plan as he paced the edge of the training circle. And by the time Marius launched his first attack Kane was ready for him.
He moved faster now, smoother, his right arm close to normal strength. It still tired quickly, sometimes giving out on him completely, without warning. But he learned to watch for signs, and switch hands before that happened. Thanks to Quintus and his ruthless training methods, he could do it almost without thinking.
Marius managed to keep up—until he took a wrong step with his bad leg.
Kane dropped his sword and caught the older man before he hit the ground, easing him the rest of the way.
“Thank you, my friend.” Marius gripped his arm, his fingers shaking. “Damn—it’s been too long since I felt that old pain. One of the advantages I’ve gained from our sessions.” He closed his eyes, and Kane knelt beside him, supporting Marius with his left arm. “I’d call that done.”
“Do you need help back to the praetorium?”
“Hand me my third leg, and I’ll get myself there.” Kane stood and picked up his crutch, smiling at Marius’ nickname for it.
He helped the older man to his feet, steadied him, then picked up his sword and moved to the rack, aware of the soldiers tracking his every move. They still looked at him as a murder suspect, hands on their weapons the entire time he was free.
Once he was rid of his sword, one of them came forward, holding the shackles. With a start, Kane recognized him—Demetrius, one of the soldiers with Villius the night they arrived.
He bowed his head to Kane before he spoke. “I know you did not kill Villius. You have conducted yourself honorably, and I am sorry for not stepping forward. If I had—”
“I don’t know that anything would have changed. Villius was determined to find a scapegoat. If you stood in his way, you may have been hurt as well. Thank you, Demetrius. Your support means a great deal to me.”
He nodded, and opened the first shackle. “I will stand for you, Kane, should you go to trial.”
Shock kept Kane from answering. Here was support he didn’t expect, from the friend of the man he had been accused of killing.
Demetrius started to close the shackle over his wrist—and they both froze when an agonized scream split the air.
Kane moved first, sprinting across the yard. That scream came from the direction Marius headed.
Elizabeth couldn’t stand the separation a second longer. Even if it was only to see him for a few minutes, she was determined to sneak into Kane and Marius’ latest training session.
She lied her way out of a lesson in the kitchen with Appia, claiming she had a headache and wanted to rest. Once she was alone, she took the hallway on the opposite side of the praetorium from the kitchen. She managed to get to the front door without running into anyone.
The group of soldiers leaving the principia had her heart skipping. She waited too long—the session must be over. She lifted the hem of her stola and limped faster. At the very least, she would be able to get a glimpse of him—
The scream froze her just outside the principia.
“Oh, God—”
She sprinted forward—and smacked right into a cloaked figure who stepped out of the narrow path between the buildings. A scent she recognized but couldn’t place assaulted her. Before she could recover, a strong hand gripped her wrist. She looked up in time to see sunlight flash off a ring on that hand—right before something smacked into her left temple.
“Marius!” Kane found him, crumpled on the floor, blood leaking through the fingers pressed to his right side. “Hell—get Galen. Now!” He barked out the command, and Demetrius ran out. Two soldiers stepped forward and helped him with Marius, easing him to his back. “Talk to me, Marius.”
“Kane—gods protect me, that hurts.”
“I need to take a look.”
“Please do.” Marius groaned, and closed his eyes.
“Your hand is in my way.”
“Right. You may have to remove it. I can’t seem to make my arm work.”
Kane swallowed, lowered Marius’ hand. The wound was narrow and deep, and obviously made from a sharp object. Like a knife.
As carefully as possible, Kane placed his own hand over the wound. Marius let out a harsh gasp. “I am sorry. I know this hurts you.”
“Necessary—pain.”
“Did you see who attacked you?”
“He came at me from behind—cowardly bastard.” Marius coughed, and fresh blood spilled through Kane’s fingers, hot and thick.
“Hold on, Marius—help is on the way.”
“Oh, I plan on—surviving, so I can convict the bastard.” He closed his eyes, the last bit of color draining out of his face.
“Marius—open your eyes. I need you to focus on me, now.”
“Here,” he whispered. “Tell Appia—”
“You will tell her yourself, from the comfort of a bed in hospital.” He heard commotion behind him, but stayed where he was until Galen told him otherwise. The soldiers could punish him for it later, if they found it necessary. “Now focus, and prepare yourself. This next bit is going to hurt.”
Galen lifted Kane’s hand, took one long look, and had the soldiers pick up Marius and carry him out on the simple stretcher he had brought with him. “You found him?”
“I did.”
Galen studied him for a moment, and Kane waited for the physician to forbid him access to Marius. “Come along, then. He likes you, so you can keep him from shouting at my attendants.”
Relieved, Kane followed him into the yard. Demetrius caught his arm, pulled him aside. “Come with me. Your wife is outside the principia, and she’s been injured.”
Sounds swirled around her. Each one amplified the agony roaring through her head. She swallowed, and even that hurt. One voice, one word broke through the agony.
“Beth.”
Kane. His warm, deep voice soothed some of the raging pain. She swallowed again, tried out talking.
“Kane.” The single, whispered word left her dizzy.
“I’m here, love.”
Warm fingers cradled her cheek. His touch hurt, but she welcomed it, after so long without hearing his voice, seeing his smile, touching him. Something wet and sticky coated his hands.
“Kane—is that your blood?”
“No, Beth.” Pain edged his voice. “Marius was attacked—he’s alive, and Appia is most likely with him at hospital by now. I need you to open your eyes for me, love. I’ve missed that pretty blue.”
She wanted to smile, to reach up and hold onto him. Her head gave a warning shriek when she even thought about it.
Other voices invaded. The shouts over her head made her flinch, and the flinch hurt almost as much as the sound.
She stilled, and opened her eyes. Or thought she did. She couldn’t be sure.
“Beth?”
“Kane.” Both hands framed her face, his breath warm on her skin. He had moved in, so she could whisper. Her hand inched up, found his wrist. “I can’t see.”
Kane carried her to the hospital building himself.
The weeks of training gave him back most of his strength—and he did not trust anyone else with Elizabeth.
She clung to him, moaning with every step. Blood stained her face, her hands, her clothes. He had panicked when he first saw her lying on the ground, that blood streaking her gown, her skin. A quick examination told him most of the blood was not hers. Whoever attacked her had hurt Marius first.
He pushed his thoughts aside and gently settled her to the cot at the end of the long room. She groped for his hand when he let go. “Please—I need to touch.”
He had expected her to panic when she discovered the blindness. He almost had. Instead, she held on to him, and he cherished the feel of her slim body in his arms.
“I’m not going anywhere, love.” He carefully moved bloodstained blonde hair away from the wound on her forehead. T
he bastard had hit her in almost the same spot. “How is your sight?”
“Everything’s blurry. But it’s already better. When I opened my eyes the first time, I couldn’t see anything.”
“Did you see your attacker?”
She started to shake her head, obviously thought better of it. “Just a flash on his hand, from a gold ring. He hurt Marius, didn’t he?”
Galen stalked into the room before Kane could answer, attendants right behind him. “Out of my way now. I need to tend my patient.”
“Kane—”
“It’s all right, love. I’ll be right here.”
He eased himself out of her grip, her fear twisting through him.
Galen laid a hand on Kane’s shoulder. He knew the man had skills, and was more than competent. He treated Kane more than once over the last weeks. “Kane, you need to leave me to treat her, without distraction.”
“I am not leaving the room.”
“And I did not expect you to, man. But you will not hover. There is a perfectly good bed halfway down, with your name on it. Take some rest, and I will have one of the attendants fetch you when she is ready for company.”
He stepped back, watched Galen sit next to Elizabeth, his voice low and soothing. For all that he was a military doctor, he treated her with a gentle hand, even pulling a smile out of her.
Kane moved to the bed, and halted when Quintus appeared in the doorway, holding the shackles.
“I am sorry, Kane. The captain has ordered you back to the principia.” He came forward and closed the shackles over Kane’s wrists. He knew it was to keep up the charade, but he was sick and tired of being treated like a criminal. “She is in good hands here.”
Quintus led him out of the far door, not even giving him the chance to look at Elizabeth again before he was hustled out of the building.
Then what Quintus said struck him. “Marius is—”
“Sore and vocal about it, but he’ll be fine. The blade caught his rib, instead of sliding between. It seems our killer was in a hurry.”
“Did he see—”
“The coward wore a cloak and hood. The captain said he was tall, and wore a ring.” Quintus held up his right hand. “The same ring at least thirty men here wear.” A gold ring, with the symbol of an eagle flashed on his ring finger. The same ring Kane found in Villius’ chest. The man may have been killed because he discovered more than was healthy for him. “Kane?”
“Sorry.”
“I understand. I am worried for Elizabeth as well.”
Quintus guided him into the principia, and Kane faltered. It was packed, nearly every soldier garrisoned here in full armour and standing at attention. They watched Kane as Quintus led him through the narrow path left in the center of the yard.
Marius waited under the basilica, resting on a stool. He flinched every time he moved, but the color was back in his face, along with a wide smile. “There is my foreign savior. Take the shackles off him, Quintus.”
“With pleasure, captain.”
As soon as the shackles hit the ground the men behind him cheered.
Marius waved him forward, and waited for the noise to die down. “I believe this latest attack on me proves you are innocent of the crimes done against my people. The real killer has overplayed his hand, and I will find him, and hand him over for the finest punishment Rome has to offer. As commander of Vercovicium, I release you from suspicion of murder, and thank you for preventing my addition to the list.”
He gripped Kane’s hand, pulled him down. “Thank you for my life, my friend. You and Elizabeth are welcome in my home for as long as she needs to recover.” Kane nodded, his throat too tight to speak. With a smile, Marius let him go. “She has been moved back to your room. So go—you are officially dismissed.”
“Thank you.”
He forced himself not to run—until he was out of the principia. Then he sprinted, skidding to a halt when he reached the arched doorway of the praetorium. Appia blocked it.
“She needs time, Kane.”
Panic shot through him. “Is she all right?”
“She will be fine. But she needs to rest, without any demands. A sleeping couch has been moved into the slave room for you.”
As his panic faded, anger replaced it. “Is this your order, or hers?”
“Mine, for the rest. She didn’t have to tell me she needed time; I was able to figure that out on my own.” He flinched at her cold tone. The hand she laid on his arm helped soften it. “You are worried for her, and that eases my heart, more than you know. She is still hurting from what you said, and I would give her the time to recover from that, as well as her injury.”
“How long.” He didn’t mean to sound angry, but—bloody hell, he needed to see Elizabeth. Needed to hold her, have her next to him. It was his own damn fault he stood here now. He built the wall between them, with his ugly words, and he would have to wait for Elizabeth to reach over it, or tear it down. “I need to know, Appia.”
“A few days.”
“Fine. Please tell her—never mind.”
Appia moved out of his way as he stepped forward, obviously reading his mood. He took the route that would not pass the doorway of the room he shared with her. A room he had not seen since he was officially charged with murder.
He would have to wait longer than he expected to step in that room, to be with her. To try and repair the damage he had wrought.
Kane lasted two weeks.
He had only been able to bear the separation that long because of his daily training. Pounding on Quintus and his men helped relieve some of the anger and frustration.
On the morning of the third week, he stalked out of his lonely room, determined to see Elizabeth, even if he had to fight his way to her.
He rounded the corner—and nearly ran over Appia.
“I was just coming to fetch you. Elizabeth has been moping about the last two days.” She smiled. “That tells me she is ready to talk.”
The weight on his heart lifted. “Where is she?”
“You will find her in the kitchen, alone. I trust you not to take advantage if she is not ready.” She caught his arm before he could escape. “Hurt her again, Kane, and it will be me you answer to.”
“Understood.”
“She is scared. Treat her with care.” Appia gentled her grip. “I know you love her. Now show her. She is uncertain, since you never even tried to communicate with her.”
He stared down at her. “I did. I sent her a note, weeks ago. I figured her lack of response was her answer to my question.”
She studied his face. “Was it Hild?” He nodded, and she let out a sigh. “She has a habit of hoarding items that intrigue her. I suspect we’ll find your carefully worded note among her things. Tell Elizabeth, apologize for what you said. When we love strongly enough, there is always room to forgive.”
He leaned in and kissed her cheek. “Thank you, for taking care of her.”
“It was a privilege, and my pleasure.” She rubbed his arm, a soothing gesture he didn’t expect, and freed him. “Now go, talk to your wife.”
He walked past her, his heart pounding faster with every step he took to the kitchen. By the time he reached the doorway, his hands shook with the need to touch her. She stood in front of a long counter, wearing a dark blue stola. Hair spilled down her back, caressing her slim waist.
“Appia?” Her low voice brushed over him, and he closed his eyes. It felt like years since he last heard it. “I don’t think I’m doing this right, and my eyes are giving me fits today. Can you come over and—”
“Beth.”
She froze, her hands gripping the edge of the counter.
“I don’t want to talk to you.” She sounded panicked. “Where is Appia?”
“Close by.” Kane knew she would not be far, in case he completely mucked this up. He moved to Elizabeth and took her hand. The way she jerked at his touch drove through him, left him raw. “Here is your anchor, love. Now breathe, slowly.” She did
, and the fingers shaking against his relaxed. His grip tightened when she started to pull away.
“No—please, I need to—”
“I need for you to listen to me, Elizabeth.” He let her go, aware that she could bolt at any moment. She had to be free to make that choice, as much as the thought of her running from him hurt. “When I have had my say, you can decide whether or not you want to continue.”
She swallowed. After an endless moment, she nodded, her tear-blurred gaze focused on the counter.
Kane shoved down the need to touch, to comfort, and began. “What I said to you, the day I was arrested—those words can never be taken back. They were meant to hurt, because I thought I was going to be condemned, and I did not want you caught up in it. If you were put at a distance, and I was convicted—I thought—”
“That I would be safe.” She finally turned to him, those beautiful eyes unfocused. “As much as it hurt, I guessed that, and I waited for you to find a way to contact me. When you didn’t, I figured I guessed wrong. That you really were done with me.” Her head lowered, her voice dropping to a whisper. “I’ve been waiting for it, since the first time you kissed me.”
“Beth.” He gently cradled her cheek. Her skin was so warm, so soft against his fingers. He had forgotten how soft. “I hurt you, because I thought I had to, in order to keep you safe. I love you.” She closed her eyes, tears slipping down her cheeks. “And I will love you, from now until my last breath. I am so sorry—”
His voice broke, and he lowered his head, all the emotion he had buried under the need to survive threatening to burst free. One warm hand spread over his scarred cheek, and he let out a shaky breath.
“I missed you, Kane. I missed you so much, and that scared the hell out of me. I don’t—I never let myself get so attached. Not after my parents—”
“I know, love.” He did the same. Until he met her.
“Why didn’t you send me a note? Something to let me know you were okay, that we were—”
“I did. Apparently, Hild never delivered it.”