He frowned. “Go, sleep with Shayla then, or Thais...”
She looked at him, her lips parted. “I'm not into women...”
Kyle smiled bitterly. “Me neither…”
Lis’ face fell. “Oh... so you’re not going to...”
“No.”
“Why? You’re stupid if you think your master is not banging every camp whore he can find... soldiers get very lonely...”
Kyle swallowed but held tight. “I don’t care... get out of here, please?”
She got up, blazing. “Fine! I won’t ask again.”
She banged the door shut, and he lay back, sighing, his mind on her words.
Winter passed slowly with endless chores, Seraphina wanting everything repaired, repainted, rebuilt, new mosaics laid on the floors.
The crude physical work had thickened Kyle’s muscles, and his boyish looks started wearing off as he aged, his jaw more chiseled, his face taking on the looks of a handsome young man. Seraphina had calmed down a bit, her belly growing, making it increasingly difficult for her to whack them around.
She walked down one of the corridors and spotted Kyle sitting on the floor, working on a mosaic, his brows furrowed with concentration. Half of it had been done already, intricate patterns weaved in the stones with vivid colors.
He was following a drawing she had had made, working on Hercules fighting the lion, carefully selecting, and hammering the tiny stones. It was backbreaking, and he wiped his brow, unaware that she had walked up to him.
“It’s going to be very nice.”
He jerked his head up, alert, waiting for her to go into one of her fits, but the sarcasm was missing from her voice, her hand on her growing belly. She almost looked tame, but he stayed on his guard. He knew her too well to let it down.
Seraphina looked at him, her dark eyes scanning his body. His hands had become stronger too, and she watched them move over the colorful stones, rubbing them, his muscled fingers coated with dust. She smiled to herself.You want your boy back, my dear? But I’ll give you back a man...
When the weather warmed a bit, the promise of spring in the air, she made Kyle go to the market with Sixtus, making sure he always had plenty to load onto the cart, then she sent him on errands, to deliver useless letters, buy things she wanted, making him climb all over Rome’s hills and streets. He had gotten lost more than once but managed to find his way, and he knew now the city by heart, his stamina growing, not breathless anymore when he’d climbed a hill to one of her friends’ villas. And of course, the renovation and decoration works remained, keeping them busy.
Sixtus made sure Kyle was fed more, worried at his workload, but the slave didn’t complain, mindlessly obeying Seraphina in everything. She often pushed him to the brink, making him work until he shook from exhaustion, getting up at dawn to go to a market further away just to make him stay up late again with some kind of dinner party she’d organized.
And of course, she still managed to whip him around, lashes which didn’t even register anymore, not even if he took them in the face. His grey eyes remained calm, his fear wiped, the constant beatings becoming a part of his life, the pain just another part of his exhausting days.
He didn’t miss sex anymore, either. It had been torture at first, restless, sleepless nights tossing in bed, dreaming of Marius’ body hovering over him, his mouth eating him up. This was gone now, a vague souvenir of the pleasure still there, but Marius’ face had blurred in his mind, and he struggled to remember his features sometimes. His body had switched that drive off, concentrating on other tasks which required his whole being.
Spring slowly crept through the winter sky, and Marius had just arrived back from an exhausting ride down that damned road when a messenger arrived in full galop, handing a letter to him in the fort’s yard.
“General, a letter from the emperor.”
He raised his eyebrows, unfurling the scroll, and his heart beat faster. He called one of the soldiers over. “Get centurion Clavius.”
He ran, and Marius waited, inhaling the crisp mountain air.
Clavius arrived, worried. “What’s up?”
He grinned at him. “We’re going home!”
Clavius’ face lit up. “What?”
“Yes, my fucking imperial uncle is graciously allowing me to be present for my child’s birth.” He could barely believe it,almost a year...
They rushed packing to leave the next day. He dispatched a letter home, although he suspected that Seraphina already knew. It didn’t matter. He was going home to Kyle.
Seraphina knew, of course, and she smiled thinly, walking down to the atrium, the early spring air flowing through the house. Her belly had become huge, making it difficult for her to be everywhere, but she still managed to walk around to check on the works.
