The Gladiator Prince (22 page)

“It was the eleventh summer of Nero’s rein. Abella traveled to Egypt, leaving his young wife behind to manage the gladiators he owned, with the help of his trusted
primus palus
, a young Roman gladiator named Marcus.

“That summer my mother fell in love.” Bitterness crept up her throat. “They were very discreet, but a slave saw them one afternoon in the throes of passion in one of Abella’s stables. When Abella returned from Egypt, my mother was pregnant.”

She felt suddenly very tired, and Thane turned to look at her. “He found out. The slave who told him received death as payment for his loyalty. That turned out to be the height of Abella’s compassion. He went mad.

“I was only a small child, barely five summers, yet I clearly remember that day.” The memory of it crushed against her chest, and hot tears flushed her eyes. “My mother’s screams filled the house, from garden to vestibule. Althea scooped me up and left the compound before Abella saw me.

“When Abella found out mother was pregnant, he did not end her life, though she wished in the months to come that he had. Marcus and two other gladiators, who knew of the affair, were flayed until there was no skin left on their backs. Marcus was then hung upside down on a cross planted outside my mother’s room. His screams echoed through the streets surrounding our home. No one dared to ask why.” Her throat tightened. “It took him days to die.

“Althea brought me back to the compound three days later, and we went straight away to my mother. She had been beaten half to death. Abella ordered Althea to attend him immediately, and she left me with mother; she dared not disobey him.

“Althea was told to heal my mother. When she denied the healer’s gift, he laughed at her, telling her he knew of her witchery. If she did not obey his commands, she would be burned. She was to heal the mistress and care for her with upmost diligence. Then, upon her labor, Althea was to bring the child forth. If it was a boy, it would be lifted to the world as his own seed. If a girl, Althea was to smother the child. Her disobedience would bring death to the mistress, herself and his daughter, whom he now doubted belonged to him.”

Her throat suddenly dry, Phaedra swallowed. The words were knives inside her mouth. “What was Althea to do? On the night of Bahar’s birth, Abella had left the compound to go to the arena, but he ordered his personal slave to witness the birth. The child was born, a girl, and so the lie began. It was a simple thing to deceive the slave; a potion mixed in his wine.

“That night, as Althea slept with the child in her arms and I by her side, that same servant brought my mother a draught of water. The poison worked quickly; when we awoke the next morning, mother was dead.”

Thane stood up, looking down at her, but she had no heart to return it. “Althea perpetuated the lie day by day, year by year, raising Bahar as if she were Abella’s son. You have no idea the elaborate preparations required to continue the deception. Only Althea attended to Bahar. Then, when I was able, I helped her, even learning to make the potions she sprinkled on Bahar when she was young. The potions made people stay away from her.” Her eyes shifted to Thane quickly then moved away. “I do not know how they worked and was too frightened to ask. Althea did not suppress the truth from Bahar; she has known her whole life how dangerous it would be to reveal who she is.”

She finally lifted her eyes to look at him. His pity hung like a mask from his face. Phaedra did not want his pity, his compassion. She did not deserve it. “We did not lie to you,” she said suddenly very tired, “we lied to
everyone
. If Abella finds us, he will kill us both. As he killed my mother… as he killed Althea….

“So you see?” Her lips began to tremble. “Like my mother, I have fallen in love with a gladiator, a slave…” It was too much. Everything inside her succumbed to grief, and she curled into a quivering ball around it.

Thane’s hands were hot against her skin as he lifted her. She threw her arms around his broad neck, afraid to let go. He carried her deeper into the cabin and placed her gently behind several amphorae. When the door of the cabin banged open, he drew his sword and whirled around. It was only Bahar, her eyes as wide as saucers, her sword drawn at her side.

“Come here, quickly,” Thane barked, but Bahar did not move.

“The ship…”

“That is why I want you to come here. You need to hide.”

Bahar’s shoulders straightened, and her face turned hard. “I will fight by your side,
Doctores
, as I always have.”

Thane looked from one to the other confused.

Phaedra touched his hand. “Nothing has changed. Bahar is as she has always been. Use her skill. Save us.”

With a sharp nod, he pushed Phaedra back as far as she would go behind the amphorae, pulled his sword and the two of them left, slamming the door behind them.

Chapter XXIV

Thane leaned against the railing with Bahar next to him. The galley had fallen back from them, the east wind finding strength in the linen sails whipping above their heads. He began to relax, knowing it was just a matter of time before they outran the smaller vessel.

In the lull, he glanced at Bahar, but found it almost impossible to speak. The boy… that is the girl took on the silence. “I know how you must feel,
Doctores
.” How Thane had ever missed the femininity in her voice was beyond him. It was now obvious. “You have been a mentor, a teacher to me for all these years, even trained me when no one else would; and I have repaid you with betrayal.”

Thane finally moved his eyes to take in the slight figure at his side. The thin bones, the wiry frame, every inch he had attributed to lack of development and late adolescence were now so clear to him. “You did not betray me, Bahar.” He turned to the sea and watched it splash against the wooden hull. “The fault is not yours, it belongs squarely with your… with Abella. I have always known him as a harsh man, a cold bastard, but this…” A long breath gave him time to think. “I promise you,” he said to the sea, “…if I can, I will make it my mission to lift this curse from you and your sister, no matter what it may be.” He turned his head to the girl and forced a smile to his lips. “You are still the greatest young fighter I have ever trained. I will not take that from you regardless of your sex.”

Bahar replied with a stiff nod, but said nothing. Thane stood in silence with his young protégé, knowing the future would be difficult, at best.

At length Behar stirred. “Do you love her,” she whispered at Thane’s side.

“What was that?”

“Do you love my sister?”

The question caught Thane off guard. “I… I suppose…”

Those bright brown eyes whirled on him, the fire hot and serious. “She loves you, Thane, and yet she is frightened. She told you of my father… my real father?”

“Yes.”

“Then you will understand her fear. There is nothing I would not do for Phaedra, no place I would not go, no deed I would not do to protect her, as she has protected me. But in this, I am helpless; I cannot protect her heart. Only you can do that. Will you?”

The question was abrupt, the face sincere, and it sent tremors through every muscle in Thane’s body.
Will I?

“I owe you honesty, Bahar.” Thane leaned against the wooden rail and flexed his hands. “I think I might love her, but I cannot see a clear way for either of us. I am a gladiator. I will always be a gladiator. My loyalties, my oaths were forged long before you came into my life. I will not abandon them…” Bahar opened her mouth to protest, but Thane held up a hand. “No more than I would abandon Phaedra or you. The gods help me, Bahar,” he added with a chuckle, “I think I do love her in ways you could not possibly imagine. So, yes, as I can. I swear to you I will protect her heart… if she lets me.”

With another stiff nod, Bahar watched the disappearing stars in silence. When the ship lurched, it nearly knocked them over.

The ship slowed. Sails once pregnant with wind, went limp, ropes lost their rigidity, the riggings slammed against wooden masts. Thane shot a glance behind them, watching the galley doubling its speed. The slave rowers must be close to exhaustion.

He darted to the back of the ship and joined the captain who was watching the other ship closely. Bahar came up behind them.

“How much time?” Thane demanded.

The captain shook his head. “Not much. They are rowing like mad men.”

“Is your crew armed? Do they have swords?”

“Some do. Most do not. We did not come prepared for a fight. As far as I knew there were no pirates in these waters.”

“It looks as if there are now. I have two more swords. What is their compliment?”

The captain’s brow winkled, and he rubbed his hands. “Perhaps thirty men, maybe forty oarsmen. The slaves will not fight; hammered iron holds them to the benches.”

Thane could now make out the intricately carved lion’s paw on the bow of the galley. It was white, but Thane had no illusions about its purpose; beneath the white would be heavy bronze. They would ram the ship and cripple her before they boarded. The merchant vessel lost hundreds of feet of distance in moments as they watched.

“Line up your men!” he called to the captain and sprinted for his pack.

Pulling out two swords, he looked up at Bahar. “Do you have more weapons?”

“No,
Doctores
. Only what I hold.”

Thane gave the swords to a passing man who took them to the others. The captain was at the tiller, swinging the ship around, broadside to the galley, then joined his men on the deck facing the speeding galley.

Thane looked over his shoulder at the captain as he gathered his men around him. “They will not stand, Bahar. The ship is already taken. Do you understand me?”

Bahar’s eyes went wide, and her mouth opened, but nothing but a breath came out. She looked so young.

“Back to back at the cabin door. We will hold them as long as we can. Can you do that?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Good girl. It will not be long now.”

Chapter XXV

Phaedra sat in the dark. The ship had gone quiet. She could hear the sound of her heart hammering in her chest.

It seemed like hours had passed. The ship had taken a sudden lurch, sending bags and amphorae flying. There had been a desperate moment when the stack she was behind began to topple, but the surge of the ship corrected it swiftly. The light had gone out at the same time.

She had heard shouts, then silence. A loud crash had come soon after followed by the cries of men and the clash of weapons. The door had opened once then slammed shut; she swore she heard Thane’s voice then, but was not certain. Then complete quiet.

Unable to stand it any longer, Phaedra pulled herself out from behind the amphorae, using her hands to find her way in the dark. Just as she reached the door, light flooded the room, and she had to cover her eyes. There was a figure standing in the doorway, and she instinctively stepped back.

“Thane?” she whispered, and there was a laugh.

“I am afraid not, little bird.”

A hand grabbed her wrist, pulled her through the door, and into a strong set of arms. When her vision cleared, a smiling dark face stared down at her. “Did you think you could get away from me so easily?”

Phaedra stared into Hasani’s face, and her heart ached. She tried to pull out of his arms, but he was too strong.

“Let her go, Hasani!” Bahar cried, struggling between two men holding her. There was blood on her shoulder and across her front. At her feet were two dead men Phaedra did not recognize. The captain of the merchant ship and his men were on their knees, their hands tied behind their backs. She looked around frantically for Thane, but he was not there.

“What have you done with the gladiator?” She struggled against his embrace and the men surrounding them laughed.

“Nothing, my sweet. He is on our ship… resting. It took six of us to subdue him.”

“What do you want?”

The handsome white smile framed by his dark skin flashed to the group of ten men at his back. All of them were rugged, worn and as rough and base as Phaedra had ever seen. The contrast to the immaculate Egyptian was stark. A cold chill went over her skin, and she shivered in his arms. It seemed to please him because he laughed and let her go, taking her hand in his.

“Take the boy to the galley; he can join the gladiator at the oars. The same for the crew.”

“No,” Phaedra protested, throwing a frantic glance at Bahar. “He is too young. He will not survive the oars. Please, do not do this. Let him go.”

Hasani ran two fingers down her cheek and examined her face. His silence filled her with terror.

“What about the ship?” one of the sailors asked.