Page 16 of Ensnaring the Dove
Strangely, her verbal duel with Aedan had energized her. All her senses were alert, and her earlier fatigue had lifted. But as invigorating as poking the viper with a stick was, it served nothing. Instead, she had to focus on where she needed to be.
The nightmarish attack on the convoy still haunted her—Flavia and Atticus had been with her for years—yet she had to reach the Wall.
Speaking about Linus earlier had renewed her sense of purpose.
“I need your help, Aedan,” she said after a pause. “Will you escort me to Onnum?”
He tore his gaze from where he’d been staring moodily at the fire and scowled.
“I’ll make it worth your while,” she added, holding his eye. “I’ll ensure you’re paid well.”
His mouth tightened. “I don’t want your money.”
He was lying—she could tell by the glint in his eye—yet he was too proud to admit it. Everyone needed coin; he and the outlaws hadn’t attacked that supply convoy for entertainment, but for the riches it was transporting.
The reminder of who this man really was made her pulse quicken. Although she was reassured he wasn’t going to rape her, he was still a brigand—and he’d killed Roman soldiers.
“No,” she replied evenly, “but it might come in useful.”
Aedan tossed another handful of twigs on the flames. “Did you think I’d abandon you out here?” he asked roughly.
Colombia suppressed a shiver. If he did, she was done for. “I don’t know what to think,” she admitted softly. “Fortuna threw us together today, Aedan. You owe me nothing.”
Their gazes locked, and silence settled over the glade. Long moments passed, and then Aedan huffed a sigh. “You’re right, I’m not in your debt … but I didn’t make myself an enemy of my own people only to throw you to the wolves.” His mouth quirked. “And I could do with some coin too. Fear not … I shall take you to the Wall.”
“Time to go,” Aedan’s voice shattered the morning’s stillness.
Colombia jolted awake. Groggy and disoriented, she pushed herself up into a sitting position, rubbing at her eyes to clear her foggy head. Curse him, did he have to wake her so rudely?
She could have slept for a while longer. The ground, which was covered in knobbly roots that stuck into her back and side, hadn’t been a comfortable mattress. Nonetheless, the exhaustion that had claimed Colombia had been so heavy she’d fallen asleep shortly after stretching out, placing her stola over her as a blanket.
Glancing around, she saw that, indeed, dawn had risen. Pale light filtered through the surrounding trees.
Aedan was kicking earth over the smoking embers. “It’s still early,” he announced. “But we need to move. We’ve got quite a distance to travel.”
Colombia stiffened, alarm rippling down her spine. “I thought we were only a day from Onnum?”
“Youwereyesterday,” he answered, glancing her way. “However, we traveled some way south to escape our pursuers. The safest route north is a roundabout one … it’ll take us three and a half to four days to get to the Wall.”
Colombia’s stomach clenched. She then struggled to her feet and pulled on her crumpled stola. The garment was still slightly damp, yet she would have to wear it. “That long?”
He nodded. “Unless you want to meet trouble. It’s not just the outlaws you have to worry about either … a Roman woman traveling with a Brigante won’t impress any Roman patrols we encounter.”
The knots in Colombia’s stomach tightened. She hadn’t considered that. Of course, without her escort, she was no longer a respectable lady. If they encountered soldiers, she could tell them she was Severus Juventus’s daughter—but what if they didn’t believe her?
Until yesterday, she’d felt supremely confident in the world she inhabited and her role within it. But this morning, she wasn’t quite so sure of herself. She still didn’t believe that his people truly resented hers, yet she decided to let the matter lie.
Aedan’s expression was unreadable this morning. His voice was polite, yet a little off-hand. She wouldn’t have been surprised if their barbed exchange the evening before had made him wary of her.
That suited Colombia. At least he wasn’t mocking her this morning.
For her part, she wasn’t interested in locking horns with him any longer. She just wanted to focus on getting safely to Onnum.
“I don’t want any trouble,” she admitted after a pause.
“Good,” he replied. “Neither do I.”
VIII. BAD BLOOD