Chapter 19
Thesunbeatdownas Max and Volusia made their way through the city gates of Rome. A steady flow of people proceeded through the gates, mostly farmers, craftsmen, and merchants come to sell their wares to the urban population. Max and Volusia blended into the crowd.
Max’s jaw tensed as soon as the walls of the city were behind them. He’d grown up in the city, yes, but ever since he’d experienced the fresh air and expanse of the countryside, merely stepping foot in the city made him feel trapped and suffocated.
Max dismounted, then helped Volusia down. They’d need to walk the horses through the busy, twisting city streets.
Volusia was quiet as they walked through the city, proceeding from the outskirts to the more central neighborhood where her family lived. He guessed she was bracing herself for the reunion that was about to come, and all the emotions it would entail.
He didn’t speak, but kept a gentle hand on her elbow, guiding her around potholes and piles of refuse in the streets. Most well-bred Roman ladies traveled solely by litter, so he doubted she had ever actually walked the streets of the city in which she lived.
They passed several blocks teeming with over-crowded apartment buildings that always seemed at risk of toppling—similar to where Max had grown up—and crossed into the more fashionable neighborhood on the Caelian Hill where Volusia’s family lived. The streets were wide and quiet, swept clean in front of each house by household slaves.
When they reached her family’s house, Volusia stopped short. Leafy cypress branches, just beginning to brown, were nailed to the door, a sign that death had visited this family.
Max secured the horses' reins to a post outside. Volusia reached out a trembling hand and knocked on the door. A moment later, a slat in the door slid back, revealing the face of a young man. He stared at Volusia, blinking, for several moments, as befuddlement spread across his face.
She smiled uncertainly. “Hello, Orion.”
The young man finally found his voice. “My lady! Is it really you? We thought—”
“Yes, I’m afraid there was a misunderstanding. I’m not dead, as you can see. Now, may I please come in?”
“Of course, lady.” Orion’s face disappeared from the small window, and there was a scraping sound as he unbarred the door. It swung open, and Max followed Volusia into the shadowy antechamber.
Memories of the last time he’d been here flooded back: the night she’d kissed him and he’d subsequently been thrown out by her stepfather, Rufus. So much had changed since then. His adolescent infatuation with Volusia had been tempered over their decade apart, like molten metal hardening into a finished object, but it had never left him. Now, after all they had been through, all he had sacrificed for her, his love for her was stronger than ever. The pain of their imminent parting already sliced at him, mingling in a bittersweet jumble with the satisfaction of bringing her safely home.
Orion ran off to fetch Volusia’s parents. Max and Volusia crossed into the atrium. Max eyed a column on the other side of the room. Behind that column was the spot they’d first kissed, ten long years ago.
Hurried footsteps sounded, and Volusia’s stepfather burst into the atrium, closely followed by her mother, Sabina. Rufus’s scrawny frame seemed to have become even thinner since Max had last seen him, and dark shadows hovered beneath his eyes. Despite Max’s deep dislike for Rufus, he couldn’t help feeling a twinge of sympathy for how the news of Volusia’s apparent death had affected him.
Sabina, too, looked pale and exhausted. She stopped short, and a small cry flew from her mouth at the sight of Volusia. She faltered for a moment, and Rufus caught her elbow. His gaze lit on Max with incomprehension, then passed over him to fasten on Volusia.
Volusia launched herself forward, and both parents swept her into an embrace. Max hung back, trying to fade into the shadows of the atrium. A flurry of weeping and half-gasped questions sounded from the cluster of people. Volusia answered, explaining an abbreviated version of the events which had led them here.
“They will pay for this,” Rufus growled, still clinging to Volusia. “To treat the wife of a governor thus—” His eyes, usually so cold and ruthless, shone with tears, and Max felt another unwilling stab of compassion for the man.
Another figure entered the room, a small boy who had to be Volusia’s son, Lucius. He had Avitus’s gray eyes and dark hair, but Volusia’s fair complexion and slender build. He blinked at the scene before him. “What’s going on? You’ve interrupted my lesson.”
Rufus and Sabina released Volusia, who turned to see her son. “Oh, my darling,” she whispered, her voice shaking.
“Mama?” He stared at her. “Grandfather said you were in Hades. Did you escape? Did you see Cerberus? Does he really have three heads?”
Volusia’s lips twitched in a smile even as a tear trickled down her cheek. “There was a mistake, my love. I wasn’t in Hades. Just Gaul.”
“Oh.” The child looked a trifle disappointed for a moment, then ran to Volusia and hugged her tight. She dropped to her knees and wrapped him in her arms. Her frame shook gently with sobs.
Lucius pulled back from the embrace, his eyes lighting with excitement. “Does this mean Papa isn’t in Hades either? Is he coming back too?”
Volusia kissed him on the forehead. “No, my darling. I’m very sorry, but Papa’s not coming back.”
“Oh.” His lips trembled, and he sniffled. Volusia folded him into her arms once more.
Max’s throat tightened at Volusia’s reunion with her son. Watching them together, he suddenly felt out of place. He was intruding on a moment that didn’t belong to him. No one seemed to notice him; Volusia’s entire focus was Lucius, and Rufus was holding Sabina, who was sobbing against his chest.
It was time to leave. He had fulfilled his mission of bringing her home. She was back with her family, and she no longer needed him.
Max slipped out of the atrium and nodded to Orion, who had resumed his post by the front door. “Please tell her I returned to my family. She can reach me there if she needs me,” Max said.
