'No, seriously, why are you here? You generally avoid these gatherings like the plague. Your views and Maia's are the same—maudlin overblown spectacles that demean the dignity of the gladiator.'

'I've made an exception, at Strabo's insistence. He is our manager after all.' Valens raised his cup to the lanistra, who waved back from where he lounged, surrounded by young men. 'These parties are not the way I want to relax before a bout. But the paying guests will want the top of the bill, according to direct orders from Caesar. Who am I to disobey?'

'You delight in talking riddles.' Tigris poked a finger at Valens's chest. 'You may want to believe that, but I know you are here for another purpose.'

'Believe what you like,' Valens said and put his cup down on the table, disturbed that Tigris had read him that easily.

'Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll leave. I have fulfilled my contract, Strabo has seen me and I can now look forward to the bout tomorrow without worrying about my fee being docked for non-attendance at the feast.'

Valens looked around the hall at the gambling and the women. He counted at least six men who could recognise him from his youth. The only thing that might prevent a confrontation was the story of his death. 'There are too many shades of my misspent youth here.'

'You might have cause to linger.' Tigris leant forward and whispered 'She's here, you know. I saw you searching for her earlier. You can't fool me, old friend, with your talk of counting gladiators and orders from Strabo, I know you too well.'

'Who's here?' Before he finished forming the words, Valens knew who Tigris meant—Julia.

'Julia Antonia, the woman you proclaimed you were finished with. The woman you stood transfixed by this afternoon, or so Maia tells me. I recognised her from Maia's description. Shaking your head in disgust at me will do you no good,' Tigris laughed and then sobered. 'But if you want her, you'll have to move fast.'

'Why?'

'It appears Aquilia has taken you at your word and is treating her as fair game.'

Valens's jaw clenched as he followed the line of Tigris's finger. There in a knot by the door stood Aquilia speaking to a vision in rose-pink.

Despite the stylised hair and the gown so thin it left little to the imagination, he knew from the way she tilted her head that it was Julia—a suspicion confirmed when he heard the echo of her laughter over the din of the crowd.

As he watched, he saw Julia try to disentangle herself from Aquilia's heavy grip, only for the former pirate to wrap his arm around her waist.

Their eyes met, and Valens fancied he saw desperation in them. Why had she approached Aquilia? She knew what he was like. Aquilia was not the sort of man to pay attention to any woman's wish. Nobody would come to her rescue, not here, not at this feast. More likely they would be wagering on whether or not she'd manage to take him to bed. Anger at Julia, at Aquilia and most of all at the system washed over him. He squared his shoulders and started towards the pair.

'Valens, what are you going to do?' Tigris grabbed on to his arm. 'Remember, Strabo gave you clear warning to stay away from Aquilia. He will find another to amuse him shortly.'

'Would you be so quick to find excuses if that was Maia?'

'The lady might welcome his attention…' Tigris began. 'You did say you two were finished. Perhaps she merely wants a gladiator…'

His voice fell silent as Valens glared at him, feeling the anger surge through him. He was uncertain whose neck he wanted to wring more—Aquilia's or Julia's. Although he was pleased to see her, she should know better than to be here.

'That is what I am going to find out.' Valens shook off Tigris's arm and took another stride towards the couple. 'She appears to be in need of assistance and I intend to offer it.'


Chapter Fifteen


Julia tried to disentangle her hand from Aquilia's broad one for the third time. Talking to this overgrown cretin had been Poppea's idea. Ask him where your gladiator is, she had hissed with a giggle and a hard shove to her back.

Before Julia could explain or interrupt Claudia's discussion with a soldier about the merits of extra armour on the torso to ask her to explain, Poppea had simpered up to the man, spoken to him and then had pushed her forward. With a flick of his wrist, his paw had closed around her arm. His eyes glittered with the same intensity as they had after the weapon-giving ceremony.

She felt her backbone begin to give way, then she thought of how he liked to see women cowed. She refused to allow him that satisfaction. She lifted her chin into the air and stared directly back at Aquilia.

'Please release my hand,' she said through gritted teeth.

Aquilia showed no signs of granting her request. His meaty breath assaulted her nose, and his eyes held a distinct leer to them.

'Do I need to repeat myself? Let my hand go.' She heard her voice rise and a tremble of fear appear in the last word. This whole feast idea was a grim mistake. Between the crowds, the noise and now Aquilia's behaviour, she would be hard pressed to think of a less pleasant way to spend an evening. Thus far, she had not seen one glimpse of Valens.

Her heart sank further. Perhaps he had already been and left. Her entire journey would be for nothing. The oniy thing she would be able to do would be to perch in the stands and pray that she would have a chance to explain and to put things right between them.

Aquilia seemed to notice her discomfort and laughed. He put his hand on her waist.

'You are very pretty. I am a gladiator. We go somewhere, yes?'

'No. I need to find my friends. They are in the crowd. I told you that.'

Julia jerked her hand away, and the force she had to use propelled her into a large object. She put out her hand to steady herself as warm fingers grasped her elbow.

'We meet again, Julia Antonia.'

Julia looked at where her fingers were—not grabbing on to a marble pillar as she had first hoped, but clutching on to fine wool material. Her heart sank to the tops of her sandals at the sound of his rich voice. She froze, refusing to believe that this could be happening to her. She was supposed to be calm and poised when she met him, not grabbing on to his tunic for dear life.

Her whole body trembled at his light touch. She swallowed hard and attempted to regain some dignity. The way she had imagined they would meet again, her carefully planned speech about why she was here, the one she had practised three times in front of the mirror, vanished from her mind, leaving only a feeling of overwhelming happiness that he was here.

'Valens, what an unexpected pleasure,' Julia said and forced her hands to let go of his tunic. She raised her chin a notch. 'I was hoping to see you.'

Valens gave a brief nod of his head, but his eyes remained cool, assessing her.

This evening is the biggest mistake I have ever made, Julia thought.

'The evening is made all the more pleasurable by your presence.' Valens captured her hand and raised it to his lips.

Julia tried to ignore the sensation that ran from his lips up her arm, infusing her whole body with warmth, a body which remembered each touch of his fingers and the taste of his skin. She could see the faint shadow of stubble on his chin and remembered the feel of it against her cheek.

'Charming party, don't you agree?' Julia heard her voice say from a long way away. She waited for a heartbeat before continuing. 'So many gladiators all in one place…'

'Mine. I saw her first,' Aquilia grunted, drowning out the last part of her sentence. 'You find another woman, Valens. You are finished with this one.'

'I think you are making a mistake here, Aquilia.' Valens's tone was even, but his eyes glittered gold. 'The lady and I are already acquainted. Intimately acquainted.'

Several people turned towards them. Julia saw one woman whisper behind her hand to a fat senator, pointing directly at her. With a few simple words, the gossip would be revived and Sabina would have her reason to find another marriage for Julia.

'I beg your pardon,' Julia said quickly, trying to ignore the thump of her heart. 'What in the name of the Good Goddess are you talking about?'

'At last you arrive, Julia. I have been looking everywhere for you.' Valens put his arm around her waist and drew her close. His lips brushed her hair and his scent of sandalwood enveloped her, reminding her body of all that they had shared. 'I have been counting the hours until we could meet again.'

'You, his woman?' Aquilia asked, his eyes narrowing as he fingered the knife that hung from his belt.

Julia opened her mouth to protest, but decided to smile enigmatically instead. 'I know Valens. Why should I deny it? He was billeted at my father's house.'

Valens's eyes darkened. She found it impossible to tell if the emotion was passion or anger. He placed a possessive hand on her shoulder and drew her close.

The veins on Aquilia's neck bulged. 'I remember you and your dog. Greyhounds have such slender necks.'

Julia went cold, despite the warmth from Valens's body.

'I believe you were warned, Aquilia,' Valens growled. 'To stay away from me and mine.'

Julia glanced from one gladiator to the other. Where she had been afraid of Valens, now she realised his anger was directed towards protecting her, not hurting her. Her breath stopped in her throat. She watched Aquilia's hands to see if he would draw his eating dagger. Aquilia blinked and seemed to reconsider. Julia felt the tension ease out of her.

'I look forward to meeting you in the ring, Valens,' Aquilia said before he turned on his heel and stalked away. 'You will not be able to hide behind the skirts of your woman then.'

Julia waited until Aquilia had moved off before she removed Valens's hand from her waist and stepped away from him. A slight amused male grin played on his lips, giving him a distinct resemblance to Bato after he had thieved and eaten an entire leg of lamb. Her earlier anger and fear returned as she realised she was no longer in physical danger. How dare he treat her like that! There had been no need to say those things.

'What do you think you are playing at?' she asked, crossing her arms.

'Rescuing you.' Except for the twitching corners of his mouth, his face was the picture of injured innocence. 'What does it look like?'

'Rescued, is that what you call it?' Julia raised her eyes to the bronze gilded ceiling. Her lips ached for his touch, but not like this, not here. 'Proclaiming to all and sundry I am your woman! Feeding the gossipmongers' insatiable appetite.'

'I never said that. I implied we were acquainted,' he answered quietly.

'I was playing along,' she said quickly as she felt her heart begin to race. 'Aquilia frightens me and I wanted to be rid of him as quickly possible. Now that he is gone, I can drop the pretence, go about my business and try to determine just how much damage has been done, if anyone has started to gossip. What we had was a brief meeting.'

She turned to go, but his hand reached forward and grabbed her elbow. Julia's heart thudded in her ears and her throat went parched from Valens's look. A look that devoured her. A look that bored deep into her soul.

'Why are you here, Julia? This is the last place I would have expected to see you, particularly dressed like that.'

Julia looked down at the rose pink gown with its gold belt looped just below her breasts. Normally, she'd have worn a white wool long-sleeved undertunic with it, but Poppea had assured her that the fashion at these parties was to wear gowns on their own. Her arms felt bare, exposed. She didn't want to expose her heart. She tried to think of a suitable explanation, one that would not give a lie to her statement about not being his woman.

A scantily clad serving girl came by with a tray of cups filled with wine. Grabbing one, Julia took a long drink of the wine and felt the fiery sweetness trail down the back of her throat, giving her courage. She refused to tell him her true feelings, and risk being laughed at or, worse, pitied.

'The same reason everyone else is here—to see the gladiators as they feast for one last time,' Julia said with far more conviction than she felt. She gave a slight cough as the wine went down the wrong way.

His eyes became hardened points of rocks. 'Why do I have a difficult time believing that?'