The Gladiator Prince (11 page)

Bahar took her shoulders in his hands and peered into her face. “Tell him.”

A kind of surrender seemed to settle into Phaedra’s shoulder and she nodded. He let her go to tend to the horse, and she again squared herself in front of Thane. Her eyes smoldered up at him, but she kept her tongue until she got it under control. A vast sadness veiled her face for a moment, but she buried it by looking down. It was as if he were looking at a different woman. He was losing track of who she was from moment to moment, and it gave him a headache.

“I was in the bathhouse,” she said to the ground without looking up. “I heard what you and Queen Delia said. I know about your daughters, and unless you are ready to kill me, I have every intention of going with you to
Rutupiae
so we can return to Rome. What you do once we are there is your business,” she added quietly still not looking at him.

Her tone suddenly changed, and for a moment Thane felt his anger slip. “I will protect my brother no matter what else happens, gladiator. If you have any feelings for him, then you will help us.” Swallowing, she finally pulled her eyes up to him, and the sight sent tendrils of compassion through him, an emotion he had not had in his heart for a very long time. “Please,” she whispered.

“Why would Abella hurt him?”

Phaedra’s mouth moved, but nothing came out. She rubbed her arms and turned away from him. “Would you have anyone know of your daughters?”

Anger flared again, making his voice tight. “If you breathe a word about my…”

“Then you will understand that some things are best left unsaid. Suffice it to say that I know in my heart that father would destroy us both if he knew the truth.” She crossed to Bahar and put a hand on his shoulder. He laid his on top of hers, and they passed a look. “I have no friends on this accursed island, gladiator…” Phaedra continued, “…only enemies. Rome is the only option I have to save him.” She swallowed and tilted her head. “Will you help us?”

Fighting down the impulse to simply turn around and leave, Thane studied their upturned faces a long time, knowing that, if he refused, they would only follow him. He doubted Phaedra had the stamina to keep up on the road, though Bahar might manage it. There were a million reasons for sending them back, but only one for helping them. He knew he was going to regret his decision.

“Here are the rules,” he stated flatly.

Phaedra blinked back at him. “Rules?” she grumbled. “There will be no…”

“Here are the rules,” he repeated with more force, and Phaedra’s mouth snapped shut. Thane ticked them off on his fingers one by one. “I am in charge. There will be no questioning of my decisions or arguing with me.”

Phaedra’s brow furrowed and her nostrils flared, but Bahar put his hand over her mouth before she could speak. “Agreed,” he said quickly. Phaedra tried to bite him, and he snatched his hand away.

“If I tell you to hide, you disappear into the woods without a sound and do not come out until I call you. If I tell you to, you run as far and as fast as you can.”

“Agreed,” Bahar said, nudging his sister in the ribs with his elbow.

“Agreed,” she added reluctantly.

“When we get on the boat, if we have not been caught or killed, then the partnership is ended.”

Both of them nodded.

“All right. Give me all your coins and valuables.”

“Why?” snapped Phaedra.

“Because slaves do not carry money.” Thane watched the color drain from Phaedra’s face.

“What do you mean slaves?”

Phaedra’s look of terror went a long way to appeasing Thane’s curiosity. He would get the truth out of them one way or the other. In the meantime, he knew of only one way of getting them through the countryside without losing their lives. “Who else would be serving a Briton merchant?”

Bahar broke out laughing, but Phaedra was not amused. She tossed her hair out of her face and glared back at him, too angry for words.

“Come here, girl,” Bahar said with authority, “my feet are dirty.”

Unable to control herself, Phaedra pushed laughing Bahar and tromped off into the woods.

Thane knew he had a lot to do if her disguise was going to hold up even under the slimmest scrutiny. Taking off his pack, he followed her into the woods.

“Where are you going?” he shouted.

“What do you care?” she snapped back impatiently. A tangle of brambles took hold of her cloak and every move she made tightened their grip. By the time Thane reached her, she was hopelessly bound by the prickly bush, her clothes up and wrapped tight about her body.

He reached down to dislodge one of the larger branches, pulling the bundle of clothes up until her naked backside presented itself to him. The sight, though brief, triggered sparks at his center. He had to bite his lip and forced his eyes to the bright red face staring back at him. He let go, but for a moment, he could have sworn there was passion in her eyes.

She shoved his hands away. “Stop it!” she said and meant it.

Thane ignored her outburst. He grabbed the garment, and in a few seconds, he had her untangled. “There,” he said inspecting her clothes.

Phaedra crossed to a log and sat, folding her arms and looking away from him.

Bahar entered the clearing with a lantern. Only then did Thane realize the extent of her wounds. Two deep scratches darkened with blood as he watched, but the stubborn lips drew into an angry pout.

When Bahar stood by his side, he made a decision. Getting down on his haunches, he was now eye-to-eye with her, and he worked to keep his voice quiet.

“If you want me to help you, you have to do as I say.” He gently took her chin in his fingers and turned her face so she could see he was earnest. She tried to take it back, but Thane had a good grip. “Otherwise, I turn you over to the next traveler I see and send you back to Abella, regardless of what you tell him. If anything happened to you…” She opened her mouth, but Thane held up a hand and released her chin. “I will help you,” he said to her then glanced at Bahar, “both of you. These roads are treacherous and filled with dangers you could not possibly comprehend. We are out of range of any of the tribes or the legion here and will be until we reach Londinium. If we work together, I think we can make it to
Rutupiae
without incident.”

Bahar touched her arm. “I think I know what he has in mind, big sister. You know what is at stake. I think I know the prince well enough,” he added, taking her hand. “I swear to you, I will make sure nothing happens to you. On my life.”

Phaedra turned to her brother and touched his cheek, then gave Thane a withering glare. “I will not be your slave, gladiator,” she hissed, but then her face softened when she turned it to Bahar, “but I will do what I have to.” Tipping her head to the ground, she pulled a parcel of air into her lungs and blew it out. “Tell us what to do, Prince, and I will follow.”

“Good.” Thane knew he sounded harsh but did not amend it. The woman needed to learn discipline and humility if she wanted to survive.
Woman.
It was the first time he thought of her in that light, and the revelation stunned him, but he forced it down. He was half-tempted to put her on the horse and return her to Abella without her brother. Bahar would be a welcome companion, but he knew with certainty that Phaedra was going to be trouble. He half wished he had given her that spanking yesterday.

Standing up, he turned and did not look back to see if they followed. They did.

When he reached the road, he went to the horse, pulled off their pack, and tossed it on the road. “He will have to go back on his own,” he called over his shoulder. “Can he be trusted to find the way?”

“Back?
Doctores
, we need him to…”

“A horse will prove too tempting. They bring great prices with little work. We will not make it two miles with him before we are set upon.”

Bahar came up to the horse and ran his hand over the snout. “I thought he would make our passing faster.”

Thane turned his head toward Phaedra who was squatting next to the bundle. “He will not carry three, boy. Or had you not thought of that?”

Bahar nodded quietly, but did not look very pleased. “If you think it best,
Doctores
.”

“I do… and you must not call me that. From this point on, I am Teutorigos, a Briton trader from the
Corieltauvi
. You are my apprentice, and the girl is our slave.”

“Yes, doc… I mean, Teutorigos.”

“Then what should I call you?” Phaedra snapped.

Thane resisted his first impulse to tell her to call him master, knowing that would only start another argument. The flash in her dark eyes set off ripples through his groin, and he had to turn away to relieve it, furious with himself for his lack of control and the madness that at one moment made him want to break her neck and the next throw her down to ravage her. He must keep his personal desires cool, which was proving difficult. “Sir will do for you,” he said stiffly reacquiring her gaze just to prove to himself he could. “You need to address us both that way.”

Thane could see the shaking hands and the clench of her jaw. He hoped to the gods they would not run across anyone on the road. It would be worth their lives if she did not play her part and play it well.

He pulled the thick blankets from the horse’s back and threw them to Phaedra. “These we can use. Split the supplies into three equal piles. I will take the heaviest. Add mine to it as well.” He pointed to the pack and was pleased when Phaedra obediently retrieved it. With a loud
heya
he slapped the horse’s rump to send him back home.

Bahar’s eyes followed the horse until he was out of view around a corner. “I will miss him.”

Thane hit the boy on the back. “You will find another in Rome. Now, we must get back on the road. We have much time to make up.” Bahar joined Phaedra to sort out the bundles, and Thane scouted the road ahead.

He could not see far, but here, at least, it was wide and open, well away from the woods. Watching the brother and sister sorting the clothes, the burden of their safety suddenly weighed down on him. Thane knew he would fight for them, but he also knew if it came to his own children, he would abandon them in a heartbeat.

Chapter XI

Two hours down the road, Phaedra breathed heavily, the clouds of cold obscuring her vision. A heavy fog had moved in, making the temperature drop and the road treacherous. The oiled cloak weighed down her shoulders; it seemed to be carrying a grudge, letting every icy gust through.

The only relief had come when the rain stopped, but she was now soaked. The frost creeping along the road accentuated the biting cold, setting her teeth chattering. She pressed her teeth into her lip to still it, not about to give the gladiator a chance to berate her again. She would show him how tough she could be. Fatigue, thirst and cold stole her dignity, but she plowed on behind them, fighting to keep up. Her insides felt full of bronze.

Suddenly, Thane held up a hand and ordered them into the woods by pointing sternly. She struggled to get through the stiff brush, tearing a hole in her cloak, but she did not utter a sound. The brush and fog obstructed the view of the road, but she could see where Thane held the lantern.

He spread his feet wide grinding his sandals into the ground probably to make sure he had purchase. The muscles on his thighs glistened in the lantern light when he tightened them and bent his knees in ready stance, sending an unexpected flash of heat through Phaedra’s exposed center. Even cold, frightened and exhausted she could not get the sudden memory of his touch out of her head. She cursed the traitorous cupidity for its betrayal and buried the nails of her right hand into her left. The pain helped.

Soon, she could hear the sound of tackle jingling, and Bahar squeezed her arm. They both held their breaths.

Out of the eastern darkness, an old wagon materialized out of the mist as if by magic.

The wagon was not large, but Phaedra had never seen its like. It was built out of a light wood, possibly ash or poplar, with slats that ran from bottom to top stretching into a high arched roof. The wheels were tall and well built with iron strips around each. Tied all the way around the wagon hundreds of objects hung, obscuring much of the wood beneath them; pots, pans, utensils, strange crockery with worn corks and sacks in all shapes and sizes, in shades from yellow-white to aged brown. Several tall rusted
pilas
fenced the wagon at each corner.

At the front hung a bright lamp, throwing shadows of a dark figure onto the cobbled roadway. He sat hunched and large, his face and body buried inside a black cloak. In his gnarled rag-wrapped hands he held reins that went to a single ox, a huge black beast with slopping shoulders, short flattened horns and mournful eyes. His underbelly swept the ground as it pulled the wagon forward.

“Hello,” Thane called out.

The figure pulled up on the reins hard, but it took a moment for the ox to stop. It labored on for several steps, protesting its treatment with a harsh roar that filled the woods around them with a ghostly sound that sent shivers up Phaedra’s arms. She made the sign against evil and scooted closer to Bahar. The beast twisted its head to the right then the left, shaking it so hard that the tack rattled loudly and the wagon seemed to teeter to the side, sending the assorted wares clattering against one another. The beast stopped so close to Thane, the white misted breath from the ox’s snort ruffled his hair.