And shake him. Would Rufus have been unlucky enough to come under Silvanus’s power and killed if Daphnus hadn’t cursed him? Curses were tricky things, not to be undertaken lightly.
Regulus was the only one who hadn’t stopped by. He’d been helped back to the ludus by Livius’s guards to sleep off the poison and his adventure. He’d no doubt blame me for the entire episode.
But I’d forgive him. Regulus had saved us tonight when he’d kept Vestalis from rushing for help while I battled with Silvanus. I’d thank him later and be amused when he spit at me.
As dawn neared, Cassia shooed everyone out. They left cheerfully, the ladies still dancing after they’d hugged and kissed Cassia and then me goodbye. Gaius led them away, and Helvius went with them, the lot accompanied by Aemil and Marcianus, who’d see them home safely. Aemil was already growling at the girls to cease their prancing and pay attention to where they were going.
Cassia closed the door and leaned against it, letting out a breath.
We studied each other for a time. There was much to say, and yet much I should not. We had spoken all the words, and Cassia had written many of them down.
I made for my bunk and fell upon it. I closed my eyes then snapped them open when I was instantly transported back into the cell where I lay immobilized in the dark.
Cassia removed my sandals and draped a blanket over me, setting the burning oil lamp on the windowsill above me.
“We’ll keep this lit for a while.” She straightened a fold of the blanket. “Good night, Leonidas.”
I mumbled something in response. Cassia drifted off to put the room to rights, singing under her breath.
I didn’t need the light, I realized as I closed my eyes again. The lamp would burn out in time, but it didn’t matter. Cassia’s voice would carry me through any darkness.
* * *
In the morning,we ate breakfast as though nothing had happened, breaking the bread Cassia had fetched from Quintus the baker.
Afterward, she drew out tablets and scrolls, as usual, ready to make her notations for the morning.
“What will you do today, Leonidas?” she asked, pen poised.
“Visit Gnaeus Gallus.” I shoved in the last of my bread and washed it down with very diluted wine. “And tell him I will join him in whatever building job he wishes.”
“I thought you might.” Cassia smiled in satisfaction. “Will you have a reading lesson first? I think you are ready to write out the letters on your own.”
I set down the wine cup and flexed my hand. “I know how to wield a sword, not a stylus.”
“You did fine with the board. Now you will simply trace the same letters on the wax.”
I was doubtful, but I let her set an open, unused tablet before me, the leather hinges uncreased, the yellowish wax pristine and unmarred. Cassia pulled her stool beside me and laid the wooden board with the alphabet nearby so I could refer to it.
“We’ll start with something simple. You can learn to writeLeonidas.”
I studied Cassia in her plain tunic, neatly belted, her black curls caught at the back of her neck, every thread of them in place. The curve of her cheek, her crooked nose, and her dark eyes had been a beautiful sight as she’d burst into the cell last night, crying out when she’d seen me struggling to move.
“No,” I said in a quiet voice.
Her brows went up in perplexity. “No?”
“Teach me how to write the nameCassia.”
Cassia gazed at me for a long moment, her lips parted, then she flashed me a sudden and warm smile and guided my hand to form the letterC.
