“My headache is almost completely gone,” she murmured against his chest. “You really are the best physician in the city.”
He gave a weary chuckle. “Shame I can’t offer all my patients that remedy.”
They lapsed into silence. Lea must have fallen into a doze, lulled by the lingering effects of the poppy and the contentment wrought by their coupling.
She woke to Kallias stroking her hair.
“It’s nearly dawn,” he whispered. “I need to leave.”
She raised herself into a sitting position. Every fiber in her being urged her to protest, to think of something, anything, that would allow him to stay here with her. But her mind was empty.
He rose from the bed, donned his tunic, and gathered his things into his satchel. She gingerly stood, and he wrapped her in a tight embrace.
“Be careful,” she whispered. It was the only thing she could trust herself to say without collapsing into a weeping, pathetic mess. She could already feel tears pressing behind her eyes, threatening the return of her headache.
He kissed her, first her mouth, then her forehead, his lips tender and reverent. “I will come back,” he said. “I swear it.” His words had the weight not just of a promise, but of an oath, something binding and unbreakable. “In return, I want you to promise me something.”
“Anything.”
His gaze turned from devoted to stern. “No fighting,” he said firmly. “You need to rest. Your wound is going to heal fairly quickly, but inside”—he brushed a hand over her forehead—“will take longer. I’ll leave the poppy with you for the headaches.” He gestured to the tiny vial, still sitting on her table. “Only a drop or two at a time.”
His care made her smile, despite the pain gripping her heart. Of course his final words to her would chide her not to rush her recovery. “I promise.”
She gave him one last hug, then forced herself to release him and stepped back. He slung his satchel over his shoulder, gave her one last glance filled with longing, then opened her door and disappeared.
32
Thatafternoon,sixPraetoriansshowed up at the ludus, demanding to search the premises for the emperor’s missing physician. Lea was resting on a bench outside in the sun when they stormed into the practice area, putting an abrupt stop to the training exercises in progress.
Earlier, Lea had told Jason and Ferox the broad strokes of Kallias’s plan to disappear. As soon as the guards appeared, Jason materialized at her side, shooting her a look of concern.
Lucullus, summoned from his office, faced the Praetorians with an expression of polite curiosity on his lined face. Velia flanked her uncle, which meant Ferox hovered at her shoulder, glowering at the guardsmen.
“Is there some service I may render the emperor?” Lucullus asked, his tone entirely neutral. He knew nothing of Kallias, so there was nothing for him to give away.
“The emperor’s physician has disappeared,” the guard who appeared to be in charge declared. “We must search your premises.”
Lucullus raised a gray eyebrow. “What reason would an imperial physician have to be in a gladiator ludus?” His cool tone was edged with disdain, as if that were the most ridiculous thing he’d ever heard.
“We know he’s made severalvisits here.”
Lucullus nodded. “Yes, he was treating one of my gladiators. At the emperor’s command.”
“Is the emperor in poor health?” Velia asked innocently. “We’ll be sure to make some offerings for his swift recovery.”
The guard exchanged a glance with his comrades. “Of course not,” he said. “Gaius Caesar is blessed by the gods. He’s in perfect health.”
“So why does he need a physician?” Velia pressed.
The guard shot her a glare, but quickly found something else to look at when Ferox placed a possessive hand on her shoulder.
“We have been ordered to conduct a thorough search of the premises,” the guard said. “As well as to make inquiries of the gladiator named Penthesilea. Where is she?”
Jason immediately moved in front of her, as if to hide her, but Lea rose to her feet and pushed him aside. Her head spun; she’d been experiencing spells of dizziness and blurred vision since her injury yesterday, but she took a deep breath and steadied herself. “Here,” she said.
The guard moved toward her, but Lucullus raised a hand. “I will permit you to search the ludus, as we have nothing to hide—certainly not an imperial physician—but you may not interfere with my gladiators. Penthesilea”—he turned to address her—“do you know anything of this physician’s whereabouts?”
Lea shook her head. “No idea.”
