Blood Never Lies (Mark of Mars)

by Juliet Anderson

  She was within sight of the temple, then a split second later deep in the shadows. She hadn’t seen or heard him, he was like a ghost; she didn’t even have time to squeal. His mouth was on hers, extracting the fight out of her. He really could play dirty at times. She made a half-hearted attempt to push him away then gave up with that foolish idea. They always were better together when they didn’t speak.

  “You are mine, Jenna,” he murmured in her ear. “You bear my mark.”

  “I bear Mars’ mark,” she corrected him. “And I do not believe in prophecies and destinies. It’s a load of riddles and people make of them what they will.”

  “How can you explain the mark on your back?”

  “People see blemishes how they wish. My birthmark appears similar to Mars’ insignia so you think it is.” She tried to wriggle out his grasp.

  “We need to end this ridiculous game,” he said hoarsely before kissing her hard. “You know your place is in my bed.”

  “I think not,” Jenna did her best to push him back. “You are the last person I would share a bed with at the moment. Now if you do not let me get inside my temple, I will do some serious damage to your groin.”

  To her surprise, he let her go. She stomped up the stairs and into the sanctuary of the temple. What was it about Marcus that could get her so riled up? One minute he was considerate and caring, the next he was back to being possessive and overbearing. Perhaps the man was a schizophrenic? Whatever he was, he had soured the end to a very enjoyable evening.

  CHAPTER 15

  Jenna’s nerves were sky high as she put the finishing touches to her hair. She could not stop shaking.

  “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you look so terrified,” Amelia eyed up her friend.

  “I don’t think I have been. I’m petrified.”

  “But you’ve already met him.”

  “I know. That’s what makes my nerves so ridiculous.”

  “Maybe it’s the formality of it. You’re setting foot inside the Domus Augustana.”

  “That must be it,” Jenna sighed. “And the fear I might make some dreadful faux-pas in etiquette and end up joining Faustus and Dracus at the Colosseum.”

  “The heroine of Rome does not end up at the Colosseum.”

  “Roman emperors do not always act sanely.”

  “Trajan does, and you know it. Besides, Gaius is going with you.”

  “Like that’s a big help. He was struck quite dumb the last time he came face to face with Trajan.”

  “Jenna, the Praetorian are here,” Cassandra called from the front of the temple.

  “Oh crap,” Jenna sighed. “Perhaps I should have stayed at the Laumus Estate.”

  “Too late for second thoughts now,” Amelia grinned. “Your escort awaits.”

  It amused Jenna that Trajan had sent a mounted escort for her; he obviously had discovered she liked to ride. The young Captain whom she recognised from that day in Forum Delitum, lifted her up onto the horse.

  “Thank you, Captain Lucius,” she smiled down at him.

  “It is I who have to thank you, my lady. You selected me from obscurity to stand right beside my Emperor.”

  “I hope it does not prove too dangerous a job.”

  “It is what we were born to do, to protect our Emperor.”

  He mounted up and she fell in beside him, with Gaius following behind. “How long have you served in the Praetorian?”

  “Three years now.”

  “Is it everything you expected it to be?”

  “Yes, and more. Everything changes when the Emperor actually knows you by name.”

  “I hope you have a long and trouble free service. I have a feeling the Emperor will reign for a very long time yet.”

  Her nerves had almost dissipated until she realised they had arrived in the main courtyard of the Imperial Palace. She was sincerely grateful that Captain Lucius lifted her down off the horse otherwise she did not think she would have been capable of jumping down.

  He led them up a flight of stairs and into the main entrance hall. She spun around trying to take it all in; magnificent didn’t even do it justice.

  “I was similarly awe-struck the first time I crossed this threshold,” Lucius smiled. “The Emperor asked for you both to be brought to his chambers.”

  “Pinch me, so I know I’m not dreaming,” Gaius murmured in her ear.

  Jenna giggled. “This is totally surreal.”

  They followed the Captain down a series of corridors until they came to a heavily-guarded door. The Praetorian stepped aside to let them through. Jenna was aware a few of them staring intently at her.

  “Why do they stare so?” she asked Captain Lucius.

  “You are a heroine in their eyes. You saved their Emperor when they failed to do so.”

  Jenna hurried by them, feeling a bit like an exhibit at the zoo. She found herself in a room that could best be described as understated regal. Marble columns and statues filled the huge void, with soft chaises in deep sumptuous colours and the odd smattering of gold. It was beautiful, without being over the top.

  “Ah, my favourite Arulian has arrived,” a familiar voice boomed.

  Jenna stepped forward and took hold of the hands that were offered. “It is a pleasure to meet you again,” she curtsied.

  A small, dark haired woman appeared by his side. “My dear, this is the wild creature that saved my life.”

  The woman gave Jenna a lovely smile. “I am delighted to meet you. I am Pompeia, Trajan’s wife.”

  “It is an honour to meet you, my lady,” Jenna curtsied again.

  Trajan looked over her shoulder. “Ah, your guardian. Forgive me, my child, I do not recall his name.”

  “This is Gaius,” Jenna duly stepped aside to let him have his moment.

  “You do have my sympathies,” Trajan beamed. “It cannot be easy keeping track of such a wildcat as young Jenna.”

  Gaius glanced sideways at Jenna. “She is certainly a handful.”

  “Luckily then, if the rumours we hear are correct, Marshall Vilnus keeps a watchful eye over her.” Trajan watched Jenna’s face closely for a response. She did her best not to snort, but failed.

  “It is wrong to tease our guest,” Pompeia chastised her husband. “Come, my dear, join us for some wine.”

  Jenna followed Pompeia and sat on the chaise she indicated. Gaius stayed very much in the background; he was there purely as a chaperone. “Now we are most curious to know more about you. How does a young girl from this far off land end up here in Apollo’s temple?”

  “I have always loved to travel. I guess that comes from my father, he was an Ambassador and we would often end up posted in some strange location. In fact I’m sure he requested half of the bizarre places we went to. My mother was a scholar and loved to learn about different cultures, preferably ones long dead.”

  “I understand both your parents are deceased?”

  “Sadly, yes. On Arula, eighteen is the age of adulthood, so I had to wait four years before I could control my own life.”

  “Gaius was appointed your guardian for those years?”

  Jenna looked over at Gaius and grinned. “His hair would be completely gone if he had had to look after me for that long. No, my aunt was my legal guardian. Not that she did very much. I spent most of that time at school, and staying with friends.”

  “School?”

  “Yes,” Jenna smiled. “Arulian women are educated alongside men.”

  Trajan let out a loud exclamation. “Women are educated to the same level?”

  “Yes. Men and women are born with brains of equal size and capacity. We just use them a little differently,” she smiled.

  Trajan laughed. “Put with such politeness. For a foreigner, your Latin is virtually word perfect, you were taught very well.”

  “Thank you. I have the benefit of speaking several languages. It means I can travel safely without standing out.”

  A muffled snort from Gaius indicated his response.<
br />
  “I do believe your guardian disagrees,” Pompeia raised an eyebrow.

  “Well, I would be able to if I wasn’t such a beacon for trouble. For some reason people tend to see me as a helpless target.” She gave a mischievous smile. “I soon correct their misguided view.”

  “Yes, your unique fighting style,” Trajan nodded. “General Dexter is looking to include some of those moves in the Praetorian’s training.”

  “If he is looking for a trainer, I saw two very good fighters from the Orient yesterday. Chang and Leng are their names.”

  “Who taught you to fight?” Pompeia was curious.

  “My father. He was very gifted with a sword, but felt I should be able to defend myself against all manner of attacker.”

  “Such a shame he has passed on, I would very much liked to have met him,” Trajan sighed a little wistfully. “Had I raised a daughter, she probably would be as feisty and as outspoken as you.”

  Jenna picked up the smallest of atmosphere between husband and wife, perhaps the talk of children was upsetting to Pompeia as she had borne him none.

  “Have you had many more visits to the Senate?” Jenna changed subjects.

  “I am desperately trying to evade them. But you did start us down an interesting path.”

  “I did?” Jenna was curious

  “Yes. Pompeia has a new project she is working on,” Trajan smiled fondly at his wife.

  “It was mention of what that woman does in the Via Lata to feed all those hungry children that got me thinking,” Pompeia was looking very animated as she spoke. “It is wrong for one young woman to take on the monumental task of feeding Rome’s starving children. We need to do more than supply her with food. I am therefore proposing the city builds a series of shelters in the poorest regions which will feed the hungry children of Rome. I have asked Maia to help me with this as it is she who will oversee the running of the shelters.”

  Wow, Jenna thought, the first official food shelter in Rome was set to be under way. “That is such very good news.”

  “Yes, it is. Now I don’t believe we ever found out how you came to be serving in Apollo’s temple?” Pompeia continued her questioning.

  “I wanted to spend some time studying Rome and the safest place to do that as a lone female is from a temple.”

  “And Apollo held your interest?”

  “I would have preferred to serve Mars but he only has male attendants,” Jenna glanced at Gaius who just shook his head. “And Apollo had an opening.”

  “And how are you finding Rome?”

  “Fascinating,” she responded dutifully.

  “Have to you been to the Colosseum and Circus Maximus yet?”

  “I was lucky enough to watch a race at the Circus Maximus not long after I arrived.” Jenna did her best not to make eye contact with Gaius, she knew he was scowling at the memory.

  “But not the Colosseum?”

  How to put this politely, Jenna sighed. “I hope I do not offend either of you, but I am not particularly fond of a sport where people die purely for the crowd’s entertainment.”

  Trajan tilted his head, a little bemused by her response. “People die at the Circus Maximus, and you enjoy that?”

  “Ultimately it is a horse race, and yes, people can die along the way, that is the nature of the sport. That is what gives it its excitement. We have similar sports like that at home, where challengers can get themselves killed if they do not take care. At the Colosseum, it is kill or be killed, and whilst I appreciate a very well matched sword fight, I fear there are not that many.”

  “So you do not like our bloodthirsty ways, eh?” Trajan was seemingly amused by this revelation.

  “Not really,” Jenna winced.

  “So how would you have us dispose of our troublesome convicts or Christians?” he challenged. “We could just put them to the sword, but by forcing them to fight in the arena, they are doing one good thing for Rome.”

  “That is not for me to say. In Arula, our past record on dealing with those from a different faith has not been too good either. And I am not going to let you draw me into a long battle of the rights of a condemned man.” She fixed him with a hard stare.

  Trajan laughed. “I might have to insist you attend the Colosseum just to get over your prejudice. Once there, I am sure you will enjoy the spectacle.”

  “And that would be a most sneaky manoeuvre as you know I could not turn down an Imperial invitation.”

  “Do behave, Trajan,” Pompeia flapped her hand at him. “You will have to forgive him, child, he can be quite mischievous at times.”

  It was something Jenna had never envisaged; Emperor Trajan having a playful side. And sitting there being teased by her idol was kind of surreal.

  Trajan glanced up to see General Dexter hovering. “Sadly, I do believe the General is here to escort me to my next meeting.” He stood up and stretched. “It was delightful meeting with you, young lady, and I hope to see you in my box at either the Circus Maximus or the Colosseum.”

  Jenna shivered, hoping it would be the former.

  CHAPTER 16

  Jenna seemed to be getting very little down time. Racing from her meeting with the Emperor to dinner with Marcus, she was fast becoming quite the social butterfly of ancient Rome.

  “How was it?” Cassandra asked as she tore into the temple.

  “Really cool,” Jenna beamed.

  “Cool?”

  “Yeah. Trajan is amazing. Pompeia’s alright too.”

  “You met his wife?”

  “Yes. They were like your typical married couple, gently bickering on and off.” Jenna bent down and picked up Ares who was scampering around her feet. “And how is my little ball of fur?”

  “He bit Amelia again so his days are numbered.”

  “You bad little kitty,” she rubbed her nose against his. “It must have been provoked, he’s normally such an angel.”

  “Have you been taking some hallucinogenic?” Cassandra laughed. “That kitten is the spawn of the underworld.”

  “Don’t listen to that nasty lady,” Jenna covered that cat’s ears. “Talking of Amelia, is she out with Augustus?”

  “Yes. That poor centurion has it bad for her. He is going to be devastated when she has to leave.”

  She’s not the only one, Jenna thought to herself as she started to change into another outfit. Marcus said he had two friends attending tonight whom he wanted her to meet. It was the first time she would meet friends of his and was curious as to what they were like. She didn’t imagine in his line of work he made too many close friendships. She hoped they could get through the evening without a major falling out; that seemed to be happening a lot recently.

  Fiddling about trying to arrange an ornate hair do was a lost cause without Amelia; besides what was the point in trying to emulate Roman hairstyles when she clearly wasn’t Roman. She gave up and pinned up her hair with an ornate clasp, leaving a few curls hanging down. She was torn between the ivory or pale blue dress and in the end opted for the ivory one. Simple elegance was what she was going for. Well, she could pull off the simple at any rate.

  Applying make-up was difficult when Ares decided he was going to perch on her shoulder and kept swatting at the brushes. Luckily, she only needed the vaguest hint; it wouldn’t do for a temple handmaiden to look like a painted lady.

  “I’m glad to see you survived the palace,” Amelia appeared in the back room.

  “We only got into one sticky moment over the Colosseum, but I think I’m still a free woman.”

  Amelia glanced at Ares. “Most people have parrots on their shoulder. And we definitely need to rename him fang.”

  “Not my little cutie,” Jenna rubbed his ears affectionately.

  “Well, your escort for the Marshall’s villa is outside.”

  Jenna stood up and looked in the mirror. “Not altogether a total disaster.”

  “You need my expertise in hairstyling,” Amelia shook her head as she surveyed the mess on
Jenna’s head. “It looks like a bloody bird’s nest. Sit down for a moment.” Amelia plonked Ares in Jenna’s lap before working her wonders and a few minutes later, the hair looked for more like a noblewoman’s.

  “You’re a miracle worker.”

  “True. My bill will be in the post.”