The Centurion's Woman

Chapter 5

ALEX FUSSED AT Max longer than she should have to avoid being alone with Ixillius. The mare shoved in for more attention and Max backed up, knocking Hades off balance from his perch on the stallion's withers and making the crow flap and caw angrily. Alex figured that these guys would all be okay without her as long as someone kept them fed and watered. After the past month, Ixillius and Brasus were both familiar enough for that.

        A few people started gathering on the Training Ground, a sign that she'd been out here too long. The people on the Ground seemed unsure if they should greet her or not, and Alex wasn't interested in playing politics tonight, so she smiled brightly at everyone and ducked into Verus's tent. Let the rumors stew on that. Alex let the flap fall behind her and braced for the expected tirade from her husband that had been brewing since yesterday.

                                                                ***

        Once Verus fell asleep, Ixillius sat on the rug and went through the first few pages from inside the satchel. Most were meaningless notes in another language and simple items drawn from different angles. A few pages were covered in short sentences he could read, poorly written and corrected by Verus's writing, and Ixillius realized that Alex had been teaching herself to write. He went back over the first pages with the notes and drawings and saw a pattern emerge in the lines of notes. Not notes, numbers. Lines and lines of different numbers – but not all different, he saw, some numbers were the same in specific positions in the first line of each pattern. Where there were sketches of simple things, all the lines followed similar patterns on each page... calculations.

        His hands shook slightly as he replaced the pages back into the satchel.

        Ixillius stood and walked to the table to prepare what Alex would need for cleaning Verus's wound tonight, giving his hands something to do so his mind could settle. He'd been there when Verus was unloaded and brought into the tent, and had stayed while Alex inspected the wound for any changes from the day's rest. The red still touched all of the ink lines that Alex had made, stubbornly remaining in place even though the wound was improved. Alex had been visibly frustrated and disappointed, and had left the tent without saying a word.

        She was still silent when she came back. The greeting he wanted to say died in his throat under her wary glance, so he said nothing. She folded her cloak over a stool and went to sit by Verus. Ixillius bristled that she glared at him now with distrust, but had smiled so openly at the Auxiliary Legate the night before.

        "How long has Verus been asleep?" she asked, stepping near the table, but not close to Ixillius.

        "Only the past few minutes," Ixillius answered. "Do you want help?" he added, noting she'd taken off her weapons belt and was unfastening her armor.

        "There is no need," she replied, pulling off and setting aside the bronze-plated leather.

        "Quintus already helped," he scoffed, willing her to fight with him, look at him with anything but the wariness that had fallen on him since last night.

        "I did not make the difficult fastenings this morning," she replied quietly.

        Her words hit him like a blow. She didn't have anyone to check her armor this morning with Verus being sick and had gone the entire day without being properly fastened. How many times had he passed or walked beside her today? What if there had been an attack and her armor shifted and interfered with her swing or... He cursed silently at himself. There was little wonder that she stared at him warily and smiled at Heliodoro.

        "We will need to discuss..." he swallowed the lump that blocked his voice. "There will be rumors that my word to leave you –"

        "That started," she interrupted, flicking a hand as though knocking the words out of the air. "Marcus told me this morning, our cloaks smell of sex."