Page 76 of Ensnaring the Dove
Alarm jolted through Aedan. They couldn’t get inside the vicus—if they did, it would be carnage. He might have resented the Caesars, yet he didn’t want to see Onnum destroyed.
The commander dealt with the warrior swiftly, driving his gladius through his throat as he lunged for him. However, he had no time to recover, for two more men leaped from the wall, the whites of their eyes gleaming in the firelight.
The blaze in the vicus was so bright now that it illuminated the wall in sharp relief.
Aedan glanced around him in search of a weapon. Before coming to live at Onnum, he never went anywhere without a dagger strapped to his thigh and a sword at his hip. But a carpenter’s apprentice didn’t need to go about armed.
A violent scuffle was going on just a few feet away, and he had nothing to defend himself with.
Severus Juventus was in the midst of it, sweat gleaming off his bare upper arms as he stabbed viciously with his gladius.
The man might be a supercilious bastard, but he could fight; Aedan would give him that.
Juventus dealt with the attacking warriors before bellowing orders to his men. The legionaries formed a line, shields interlocking, just as another hail of arrows hit the wall.
Cursing, Aedan ducked low, flattening himself against the palisade.
He needed to find himself a blade.
A few feet away, a legionary took an arrow to the throat. The soldier crumpled, choking. Aedan crawled over to him and relieved the dying man of his gladius and shield. He thenunbuckled the soldier’s pugio and fastened it around his own waist.
Launching himself to his feet, Aedan turned to see a tide of Brigante warriors spill over the edge of the wall.
XXXII. CLOSE THE RANKS
“THE FORT IS under attack.” Marcus’s announcement made Colombia’s breathing catch in her throat.
The sounds of commotion on the street outside the praetorium had woken her. Dressing, she’d wrapped a palla about her before venturing out into the courtyard.
There, she’d found her father’s household—Marcus, Claudia, and Moira—gathered in a huddle, their faces ghostly in the light of the braziers that lined the portico. They all wore strained expressions, their gazes shadowed.
And now Colombia knew why.
“Where’spater?”she asked.
“He’s joined his men,” Marcus replied. “The vicus is on fire, and there’s a horde attacking the outer palisade.”
Colombia breathed a curse at this news, her gaze cutting to the two soldiers who still guarded the entrance hall. Spines ramrod straight, plate-armor gleaming, they held pilums at the ready.
Curse it, she needed to get out of here—needed to find Aedan.
If the vicus was ablaze, he and Keir would be at risk.
But she couldn’t go anywhere, not with the exit blocked by her father’s men. Shouting rang across the fort then, followed by the clang of clashing blades. And then howls and screams of agony rent the air.
Colombia froze.
The sound was feral. A few feet away, Claudia let out a whimper, wrapping her arms about her thin frame to still her shaking. Moira moved close to the cook and placed a reassuring arm about her shoulders.
Colombia’s heart started to pound. What was she thinking? Did she really want to go out in that?
Aedan was a warrior; he knew how to handle himself. She couldn’t help him now. And if she went into the vicus, she’d get herself into trouble. Instead of thinking about escape, she needed to focus on managing her father’s household and keeping everyone calm.
Marshaling her thoughts, she turned to Marcus. “They’re not in the compound, are they?”
The steward’s throat bobbed before he shook his head.
Spots of water wet Colombia’s cheeks then. She’d noted a misty rain was falling like a gentle veil when she’d emerged into the courtyard—but as she raised her face to the sky now, fat drops started to fall.