Chapter 29
As dusk fell, Kallias lit the lamps in his office.
There was a small blessing in being prevented from attending the games, though he would have given anything to see Lea.
But with the emperor away all day, he’d had plenty of time to tend to others in the palace.
He’d dealt with a recurring itchy rash, a case of stomach flu, an infected tooth, and several other ailments.
The work helped distract him from his worry about Lea. But now, as the day waned, his self-reproach crept back. He had to figure out some way to see her.
Kallias debated scaling the walls, as she’d done once to see him. He was taller than her, even if he lacked the strength of a gladiator. Surely it couldn’t be that difficult.
But if he were caught…The prospect made icy fear run down his spine.
He took a deep breath. Lea did brave things every day. If he could do one brave, terrifying thing for the chance of seeing her…
Yes. He was going to do it. Scale the walls, go to her, attempt to explain and hope she forgave him.
Kallias took a step toward the door.
A knock sounded.
Kallias tensed. It must be someone else seeking his care. Hopefully, it would be quick, and then he’d be on his way.
He opened the door to see a petite young woman, swathed in a cloak with a wicker basket over her arm. She definitely wasn’t one of the palace staff, but she also looked familiar…
“Hello, Kallias,” she said brightly. “I’m not sure we’ve been formally introduced. My name is Velia.”
Recognition hit him as she spoke; he’d seen her from afar at Lea’s ludus, often in the company of the ex-gladiator Ferox.
But even as he realized who she was, her presence here scrambled his mind with questions.
He beckoned her inside, then closed the door.
“Did Lea send you? Did she get my note? How did you get in here? The guards—”
She proffered her basket. “I told them I had a delivery of herbs for the physician and they walked me right to your door.”
Kallias glanced at the greenery filling the basket. “Are those…carrot greens?”
Velia shrugged, setting her basket on the edge of his worktable. “They didn’t seem to know the difference. As for your note, I found it outside her room when we returned from the games. It must have arrived after we’d already left. I read it—sorry—and thought I had best come see you.”
“Did Lea read the note? Was she very angry? I couldn’t explain everything, but I promise you, I had no choice but to stay here.” In a few words, Kallias told Velia of the events that had forced him to remain here yesterday and miss the games today. The tale made her eyes widen.
“I was actually just about to attempt to climb the walls before you arrived,” he admitted.
“Really?” She cocked her head. “I have to confess that I didn’t give Lea your note. She wasn’t in any condition to read after what happened today.”
His stomach dropped, and he went rigid. “What—”
Velia held up a hand. “She’s all right. But she lost her match. She was wounded. A blow to the head.”
The thought of Lea, hurt—it stoppered his breath, froze every muscle in his body.
“She seems all right now,” Velia added. “Our physician said nothing was broken. She just needs to rest.”
“She’s awake?” he managed through the panic choking him. “Talking?” Some people who sustained blows to the head simply never woke up.
Velia nodded. “Not much, but that’s just Lea.”
“I have to see her.” Kallias grabbed his satchel and hurried between his shelves, hastily stuffing several things into the leather bag.
“I think I can help with that,” Velia said.
“Or at least make it so you don’t break your ankle falling off a wall.
” She dumped the carrot greens from her basket onto his table.
“There was only one guard at the side entrance where I came in. I can distract him easily enough for a few moments. You can slip out behind him.”
“I couldn’t ask you to risk yourself—”
She waved a dismissive hand. “It’s for Lea. You have what you need?”
Kallias looped his satchel over his shoulder and nodded. He blew out his lamps, then left the room with her.
They crossed through the hallways until they reached the turn which led to the exit. Velia paused. “Give me a few moments. I’ll draw him away from the door.”
“Are you sure about this? If I’m caught, you’ll be implicated.” His heart pounded. Suddenly, this scheme seemed infinitely more dangerous than his prior plan of climbing the walls.
“Trust me, medicus, when it comes to distracting men, I know what I’m doing.” Velia gave him a saucy smile, then disappeared down the corridor, balancing her now-empty basket against her hip.
Kallias remained out of view of the doorway, but he could still hear Velia’s voice as she engaged the guard in conversation, chattering so fast he bet the man could barely keep up.
“Do you have to stand out here all night? It must be very boring with no one to keep you company. And, oh, just look at all that armor. It must feel so nice to take it off at the end of the day.” She giggled. “Especially that sword, so big and heavy. Do you get the chance to use it often?”
The guard uttered a stammering reply. When Velia next spoke, her voice sounded quieter, further away.
Kallias dared a quick glance and saw that she’d lured the guard a few steps away from the door.
Just enough space for him to slip out behind the guard’s back.
If he was lucky, if he didn’t make a sound, if the guard didn’t turn his head at the exact wrong moment.
For a moment, fear held him in such a tight grip he couldn’t move. If he were caught sneaking out of the palace, it was all over. He’d never make it out of here again.
Still chattering, Velia allowed the shoulder of her dress to slip down, exposing her collarbone. She hooked a finger beneath the fallen fabric and drew it back up, her finger grazing her skin with languid, sultry slowness.
The guard took a step closer to her, as if drawn by some enchantment.
Kallias forced himself to move, to take a step. He steeled himself, quickened his pace, and then he was out the door, an arm’s length from the enraptured guard. He held his breath and darted down the side of the building, expecting every moment to hear a shout as his flight was noticed.
Kallias didn’t exhale until he was around the corner, cloaked in shadows and fully out of view of the guard. Then he let his breath out in a shuddering rush.
Beneath the pounding of his heart, he could still hear Velia laughing and chatting with the guard. Once he was sure his departure hadn’t been noticed, he slipped down one of the side streets that led toward the ludus.
Velia caught up with him before he made it more than a block. “See? Child’s play.” She grinned with satisfaction.
Residual fear was still coursing through Kallias’s body, but he tried to absorb some of her confidence. “Thank you. That was very, er, effective.”
“Oh, it was fun. Though I was worried I’d be rusty. Ferox requires very little charming these days, you see.” She chuckled.
Kallias interpreted that comment to mean she was in a relationship with Ferox, which explained why he’d seen them in each other’s company in his few visits to the ludus.
A match between this effusive, bold woman and the grim, silent ex-gladiator seemed rather incongruous, but Kallias wasn’t one to judge.
That very same ex-gladiator accosted them as soon as they stepped foot within the ludus. “Where have you been?” he demanded of Velia, ignoring Kallias entirely. “At this time of evening? You can’t just disappear like that!”
She stood on her tiptoes and gave him a quick kiss, then gestured at Kallias. “I had to fetch him for Lea.”
For the first time, Ferox looked at Kallias, but his gaze quickly shifted back to Velia. “Did Lea ask that of you? I’m going to have a word with her, I don’t care if she’s injured—”
“She didn’t ask me,” Velia interrupted. “But I knew she’d want to see him.”
Ferox cast a baleful glance at Kallias. “He has two working feet. Surely he didn’t need your assistance to get here.”
“He did, actually. It seems he was being kept in the palace against his will. So it just took a bit of distraction to sneak him out.” She fluttered her eyelashes in an imitation of how she’d enraptured the guard and smiled slyly. “It was almost too easy.”
“We’re going to have a long talk about this,” Ferox muttered, pulling her into his arms. Kallias could tell he was trying very hard to be angry at her, but there was an unmistakable tenderness in the way he held her.
“Oh, I hope it’s very long.” Velia leaned into his embrace and looped her arms around his neck. Then she glanced back at Kallias, as if she’d only just remembered he was there. “You know how to find Lea’s room?”
“I do,” Kallias said. “Thank you again.” He nodded to them both, then made his way toward the barracks building. His speed increased with each step until he was half-jogging through the narrow corridor inside the building until he reached Lea’s room.