Chapter 17 #2
To the south, Lucius could see Sorcha had dismounted. Adler offered her something he pulled from around his neck, but she waved it away and turned in Lucius’s direction. He began to walk towards her.
She moved forward, leaving Maximus with Adler.
With their every step Sorcha drew nearer.
Lucius strode briskly, closing the distance between them, anxious for reassurance that she was unharmed.
He trusted his brother, but still… did anyone really know another person, truly?
Finally, he could see that she looked unharmed, defiant, proud.
The ball of fear wound tight inside him began to unravel.
She strode towards him in her strong and confident way, as though she ruled her world—which indeed she did. Her hips swayed in that womanly way under her tunic. Her vibrant hair flowed in waves around her shoulders.
The only thing different was her missing weapons. That loss was both unsettling because of its unfamiliarity, but comforting because it meant she was less of a danger to him. He snorted at that irony.
Five more steps and they would be within reach of each other.
Her gaze was riveted to his.
Four steps.
She smoothed her tunic.
Three steps.
Her teeth worried her bottom lip.
Two steps.
The corners of her mouth lifted in a tentative smile.
One step.
“You are well?” he asked. He couldn’t keep a tremor from his voice.
“Unharmed.” Her voice was strong and sure.
He believed her.
“I’m surprised that it is so,” she said.
“Don’t be. Adler is my brother and a gentle soul.”
Her eyebrow shot up. “Your brother? I did not realize. But he serves Rome, so I could not trust him.”
That fact confused Lucius. On his death, his will deemed Adler was to be freed. Lucius frowned at the conundrum but dismissed it for later thought.
Right now, all that mattered was that he must farewell Sorcha, the barbarian woman he had come to love. The realization filled his heart with warmth and aching pain.
He hardly knew how it had happened. They had travelled from sworn enemies, contemptuous of each other’s worlds, to grudging admiration, friendship, and lastly to lovers, in a few short months.
Now they must part, if not forever, then until they met across siege lines as the might of Rome continued to grind Britannia into submission.
He could only hope that a treaty would be made between these Durotriges and the Empire.
Dread squeezed his chest like an iron band, cooling and tightening around a chariot wheel.
For now, there was only this moment that must be savored. He reached for her.
In the middle of the open slope with all eyes upon them, they stepped into each other’s arms.
He clasped her athletic body to his, savoring its now-familiar form. His mouth sought hers. He kissed her with all the passion, longing, and relief from extinguished fear that pulsed through his body.
Her lips answered his. It was impossible for him to doubt that she felt as much for him as he felt for her. Lucius wanted this moment to go on forever. For his life with this woman to continue.
Something shifted inside him. He was no longer a Roman citizen foremost, above all things.
He was a man who loved and knew there was another perfectly fulfilling way of living outside the precepts of the Roman world.
A simpler life, full of freedoms and family.
Far from the pressures of Rome and fighting its wars for wealth and power.
But he had been traded back to Rome for Sorcha’s life. A life now more precious to him than his own. He could not betray that agreement.
He must swallow his anguish and step away from Sorcha and the future he longed for with her. He broke their kiss and rested his forehead against hers. “I will remember you until the day I die,” he whispered.
“And I you.” Emotion clogged Sorcha’s voice. Tears glistened in her eyes.
“Farewell, Chieftain of the Durotriges of Dun Creg. I will do all I can to turn the army from your remote piece of Britannia.”
“For that I thank you. And for all you have done to save my peoples’ lives and my own.
I will never forget you, Lucius Gallus Antonius.
Never.” Her voice caught on that final word and it shattered his heart.
A lone tear rolled over her cheek. He brought his hand up to cup her face, wiping the tear away with his thumb.
They eased back one step, their hands sliding down each other’s arms until only their fingers were entwined.
Lucius raised one of Sorcha’s hands to his lips to press a kiss on its palm, and then repeated the gesture on her other hand.
Her eyes widened, and she looked at him with longing.
He released her hands, and she raised them to her cloak, where she withdrew a gold pin that Garamaros had created for her. “Take this to remember me by.”
He clenched his hand around the keepsake. He had nothing to give her, stripped as he was of all embellishments. “I’m sorry I have nothing for you.”
“You have given me my life, memories of happiness and of love. I need nothing else. I hope only to see you again, if not in this world, then in the next.”
He reached for her again, but she stepped back. “If you touch me again, I will never let you go.”
He nodded. She was right. “Farewell, my love.” His heart cleaved in his chest.
Something lit in her eyes at his words, and a sad smile formed on her face. She walked around him and headed to the fort. He watched her go, willing her to turn once more to him, but she didn’t. That revealed her inner strength.
Now he must show the same fortitude.
He pivoted toward the woods and whistled for Maximus. Adler dropped the horse’s reins, and he trotted to meet Lucius.
Lucius greeted his old friend with pleasure. Within moments he was mounted and trotting to greet his brother. A rush of warmth at seeing Adler again flowed through Lucius. He held out his hand to take his brother’s forearm.
Adler’s arm shot out towards him, but did not grip his in greeting.
Adler’s fist connected with Lucius’s jaw, the momentum of the blow rocking him in the saddle designed to hold its rider firmly within its four pommels.
Pain exploded across Lucius’s face. Maximus snorted and sidled at his unexpected movement.
Lucius recovered his seat and his gaze flew to his brother as his hand felt along his aching jaw. “What have I done to deserve that greeting, brother?”
“Your ‘death’ did not free me as you promised. I am still enslaved.”
“How can that be? My will is clear.”
“Not clear enough. You are considered missing, presumed dead only. I have served the Legate, Titus Flavius Vespasian, since your capture. And now you are not dead.”
Confused by this turn of events, Lucius wanted answers, and they needed to be good ones. “When the engineers and I did not return, was a search party sent to look for us?”
“Yes, but it was abandoned after the bodies of the engineers were located. Tracks heading north were also found, but Vespasian called off the search, saying he would deal with the natives who had you after the great hillfort was defeated.”
“I could have died in the meantime.”
Adler shrugged. “It appears you have enemies a lot closer than Rome.”
“You don’t sound very glad to find me alive.”
“That is not true, brother. I want my freedom.” Adler’s words were quietly spoken, as always, but they stung Lucius’s heart.
“I shall honor my promise. Take me to Vespasian.”