The only thing Eirene could be sure of was the ache in her heart as the little nightingale lay still and cold in her upturned palm.

She and Aisha had been tending the formal flower beds in the garden that sprawled lushly in the centre of the villa complex, walled in on all four sides by the smooth sandy stone of the dwelling. A veritable trap for the afternoon sun, it was looked out upon from the peristylium colonnaded walkways. They had been supervised, as always, by Phoibe who mostly sat snoozing in the shade of a cypress tree with her ample bottom spread out on the cool marble of a curved bench. Eirene had been slipping earthworms into the folds of her toga as she scrabbled around between the blooming lilies, much to Aisha's disgust, and had waited until the gentle snores of the old woman reached her ears before downing tools and slipping off to her cubiculum. Aisha had watched her go without comment, simply shaking her head as she trimmed off a handful of thyme from the wiry plant that grew along the edge of the lily bed.

Eirene had rushed along the mosaicked hallways of the villa, leaving a trail of crumbled earth behind her, hoping to feed the nightingale and get back to the garden before Phoibe woke with a grunt to find her missing. She had knelt down beside the golden cage that sat on the floor at the foot of her bed, nibbling her lower lip in worry as the little bird didn't hop joyfully over to her on his good leg as he usually did when she entered the room. The small feathered body, dusty brown against the yellow straw, lay unmoving with tiny black eyes that were lacklustre and dull. Very gently Eirene had lifted him out from the cage, the handful of worms she had pulled out from her toga were massed in a forgotten, wriggling pile on the unadorned stone of the floor.

'Oh no,' Eirene whispered softly, feeling the coldness of death seeping through the feathers as dry as old leaves to taint her hand. The absence of the bird's tiny, fragile heartbeat was almost deafening to her. Alexis had been right. For three days she had needlessly dragged out the poor creatures suffering for her own selfishness. One finger stroked the creamy coloured feathers of the nightingale's upturned belly as it lay on her hand. Why had she been so stubborn?

'You did your best, Eirene; no one can fault you for that.' Alexis' warm tone drifted in from the doorway, the thin curtain bunched in one of his large hands as he held it to one side.

'Master!' Eirene exclaimed in surprise as she jumped to her feet, unfortunately standing on the little pile of worms she had left on the floor. They felt cold and slimy as they squirmed beneath her bare toes but she barely flinched, hardly noticing as she looked up at the handsome Alexis. The gloom that had engulfed her heart at finding the nightingale dead was suddenly lifted at the unexpected appearance of him. 'I thought you and the Mistress were dining with Senator Cato this afternoon?' Alexis let the curtain drop, the plain white wool finely woven swung back to fill the doorway as he came to loom over Eirene.

'Eirene, you are standing on your earthworms,' he remarked, gently lifting the bird from her loose fingers to examine it more closely. The girl hurriedly lifted her foot and scooped the somewhat crushed but still writhing worms into her hands before scattering them out of the window to the dry earth below. Eirene stayed where she was, her back to the casement, facing the room as she fidgeted nervously with a fold of her simple, draping toga that was twisted and secured at either shoulder with a plain silver broach. She hadn't seen Alexis since the fateful day that he had given the nightingale and its golden cage to her. Aisha had reliably informed her a few days ago, having heard it from the lips of Liviana, that the Master would be in and out of the house for a while on business with the Senator and that a lavish dinner was planned at Senator Cato's villa on the conclusion of this commerce. This was a huge relief to Eirene who hadn't savoured the thought of serving Cato at a feast since the last debacle. Liviana had taken to lounging luxuriously in the vine hung pergola of the pleasure garden, or retreating to her cubiculum to pout at being excluded from her brother's business and refusing to be served by none but Aisha. That morning the favoured slave had spent even longer than usual curling and coiffing the Mistress' golden hair into an elaborate up-do, studded with blush-pink pearls and caught up in a shimmering silver net as fine as a spiders web. She had helped Liviana to slip into a delicate silk toga of pure white, decorated with twists of silver thread woven intricately into the fabric itself and connected at the shoulders by two strings of small, ivory pearls. A glittering silver snake with two grass-green emeralds for eyes lay around her neck, dipping into the plunging neckline of her toga before looping up to engulf its own tail; another gift from Alexis that had convinced his narcissistic sister to stay in Rome longer than already promised. It was a method that never ceased to fail; no matter how many times Alexis used it. Aisha had described Liviana to a wide-eyed Eirene earlier that morning as they began work in the garden. Phoibe had walked Liviana through the winding streets to the large, though less sumptuous villa that belonged to the Senator before the old woman had bustled back to supervise the two girls outside. Both Alexis and Liviana hadn't been expected back until later that evening and so the Master's sudden appearance in her room had startled Eirene into silence. She watched as Alexis ran a thick finger along the unruffled feathers of the nightingale still laid in his palm.

'I'm sorry, Eirene.'

'I should have listened to you, Master. You said he wouldn't last. It was my own stubborn pride that made him suffer.' Eirene bit her lower lip again, dark eyes lowered as she shook the wild tangles of her long hair from her face.

'It was your stubborn pride that gave the bird a chance, Eirene. That was a very compassionate thing to do. You gave him a little spark of hope. Most people wouldn't care enough to try for a creature so small and worthless.' Eirene's slight shoulders were lifted in a shrug.

'No creature is worthless, no matter how small,' she replied, hotly, causing Alexis to smile. 'But, what will you do with him, Master?' she asked softly, raising her eyes enough to take in the tiny feathered form on his hand.

'You tended him, what would you like me to do with him?' A solid hush hung between them for a moment as she met his gentle gaze. Though Eirene had never spoken to her Master about his spiritual beliefs and she still put much store by the old gods, she had heard Alexis' doctrine from Phoibe. There was something dangerously exotic about one all powerful and sometimes kindly God. The Father, Phoibe had referred to him as, the Father of all creatures, big and small. The idea that this little, insignificant creature would be welcomed into the afterlife with open arms appealed more to her than offering him up to the fickle, self-satisfying nature of the gods she had been born to. Rome was changing, she could feel it.

'What would you do with him, Master?' she asked with her voice a trembling whisper.

'Bury him; say a little prayer for the safe deliverance of his soul into Gods hands.' Eirene nodded and the smallest of smiles played on Alexis' lips. 'You would like to do that, Eirene?'

'Yes. But… I don't want anyone to know,' she swallowed a lump in her suddenly dry throat, imagining the look of disdain etched on Aisha's face if she knew Eirene was turning her back on her religion. Aisha held strongly to an unwavering love of the old gods and had professed her need to die first before ever shifting her alliance. 'Please. I would rather Aisha believed he has flown away. It would break her heart more than mine to know he didn't make it, Master,' which was quite true. Eirene had on occasion over the past few nights found Aisha knelt at the foot of her bed in front of the gilded cage, crooning to the little bird some soft and gentle lullaby from her childhood as she petted his tiny head through the bars and slept. Alexis' gaze lingered over the pleading girl for a moment.

'Very well,' he said, crossing the small room in two long strides and pulling back the curtain that hung at the window. Alexis poked his head out, judging the distance from the sill to the ground below. The window faced out of the back of the villa where a few old olive trees spread their branches and the fertile soil of the trailing vineyards lay, secluded from the main pleasure garden that nestled in the centre of the complex. This part of the land could only be accessed by walking the whole perimeter of the villa outside, through the kitchen door or out of the window of Aisha and Eirene's cubiculum. Alexis obviously thought it sheltered enough and so slipped deftly out with the bird cupped carefully in one hand. Eirene followed him without hesitation, jumping down from the window to land lithe and silent at his side. Alexis appraised her landing and muttered, 'You've done that before.' Eirene offered an uncertain smile. 'I know you were in town again last night,' he continued, crouching at the base of the thick olive tree that cast a dappled shadow on the ground. He had found a large, flat rock beneath the scrubby branches of a little bush and had begun scraping at the ground to form a little hollow in the earth, the bird placed tenderly to one side. Eirene took the rock from Alexis, kneeling beside him. She didn't like the thought of seeing smudges of dirt on the white toga he wore, which was shorter than her own but far more elegant in its style. His red cloak was still attached with a heavy gold broach at his right shoulder and his long silver sword was settled in its scabbard still strapped to his waist. Eirene noticed he still wore his outdoor sandals, the wide strips of brown leather crossed and wound around the sculpted muscle of his calves. Alexis must not have been home long before coming to her room.

'Please, Master, let me do that,' Eirene dug at the dirt with the stone, widening and deepening the little hollow Alexis had begun. He watched her for a moment.

'I said I know that you were in town again last night,' he said again, crouched beside her on his strong haunches.

'Should I make it a little bit deeper do you think? It's already wide enough.'

'Eirene, stop. Look at me.' Alexis caught the girl's wrist in his hand to prevent her from striking at the ground again, lowering his head to catch her eye. His tone was firm, commanding and Eirene blinked slowly, twice, before reluctantly meeting his gaze. 'I know you're trying to find something. You're searching for something, or someone. But you've got to stop. It's too dangerous out there for you. If Liviana sees you one night she'll have no hesitations in having you branded as a runaway on the spot and I don't want that.' Eirene pulled her wrist away from him and reached down to pick up the little bird. She laid it carefully in the shallow grave and used both of her hands to cover it over again, pushing the earth back into the hole and patting it down gently.

'Germanus,' she said softly, smoothing the soil with her hand so that it formed a little mound.

'A lover?' Eirene didn't see the spark of emotion that flared in Alexis' eyes, but she clearly heard the twinge of jealousy in his almost dangerously soft voice. She smiled.

'My brother.'

Alexis picked up the flat rock that Eirene had laid down as she filled up the grave and placed it, point down, at the head end to mark the spot.

'This is the exact same place that I found him,' Eirene said, sitting back on her heels as she absently traced a little pattern in the dirt that now covered the bird. 'I should have left him. Or let you kill him. He must have been in so much pain but I thought I could save him,' she muttered bitterly.

'You can't save everyone, Eirene. You might want to but sometimes you just can't. Man's fate is destined already. Paths have been chosen and though sometimes man may stray from those paths, free to make his own choices, the destination is already set and so the end result is essentially the same.' Alexis said as he stood up, looking down at Eirene as she knelt at his feet and contemplated his words.

'I don't understand,' she said, finally. Alexis motioned to the tiny grave beside her.

'The nightingale, for instance. If you hadn't found it the bird would have died much sooner from its injury. It could have lain here undiscovered by you and been targeted by a larger predator. I could have ended its life, if you'd let me. As it was, you found it and you nursed it, which helped prolong its life for a few more days but it still died. You see, no matter which path any of us would have chosen, the ending would be the same because the birds life had already been mapped out.'

'You can't know that. People make their own destiny. There isn't a set path for anybody.' Eirene stood, brushing the dirt from her knees and eyeing him warily as Alexis pressed his palms together and mumbled something. An incantation it sounded like, or a prayer, but his words were spoken too quietly for her to be sure.

'You're right. I can't know for sure. Only God knows that.' Eirene pressed her full lips together, crushing them in a strained line, but she said nothing. The soft, serious tone lifted from Alexis' voice as he moved on in a brusquer manner. 'This brother of yours, Germanus, do you know where he is?'

'No. I think he was sold at the auction before me. The men were bid on first so I don't know where he ended up. On a farm somewhere I'm sure. I've been going into the town to see if I can find out anything about who bought him. I know I'm not supposed to leave the villa without your permission, Master, but I was afraid you would forbid it.' The wild fire in her eyes suggested to Alexis that she would continue to go, whether it was forbidden or not.

'I do forbid it.' Alexis said, rubbing one hand over his clean shaven jaw. 'Unless I am with you. I will escort you into the town and we will search for Germanus together. But you are not to go into town unless I am with you. Do you understand?' Eirene shuffled her bare feet, playing with the hem of her toga like a child being reprimanded as she studied the dull green leaves of the olive tree.

'Eirene! Do you understand?' Alexis barked, guiding her chin back down with the lightest touch of his finger so his beautiful eyes could lock with hers.

'Yes, Dominus.'

'Alexis. Alexis Caelum!' The exquisite tone of Liviana's voice rang out tunefully clear, reverberating from the stone walls and reaching them outside. The sharpness of it caused Eirene to jump slightly and Alexis stiffened minutely, his eyes hardening as he turned bodily towards the villa.

'We will let anyone who asks know that the nightingale was released today. And you will not venture into the town or out of this villa without my permission and my company.' Alexis turned to stalk around the perimeter of the villa in the direction of the front entrance. Eirene stood where she was for a moment, watching him until he was out of sight. She frowned, feeling the hot sun beating down on her dark hair which hung loose and heavy on her neck, untamed as usual. Straining her ears for Liviana's voice again but hearing nothing, Eirene made a running jump for her bedroom window, pulling herself up into the cool room beyond.

'Where's Phoibe?' Eirene enquired, crouching in the fragrant herbs beside Aisha when she reached the garden again, who was methodically trimming a basil plant and placing the deep green leaves into a basket at her side. The black girl spun around with eyes the colour of a stormy night, as hostile as they had been the first time Eirene had met her. Eirene dropped the sprig of rosemary she had half-heartedly plucked, missing the basket.

'What?' she asked Aisha, defensively. Aisha's eyes fell to Eirene's dirt smeared hands.

'The Mistress is home,' was all she said.

'No, Alexis, I will not have it. I won't!' Liviana's sharp words reached them from the tablinum, breaking the sleepy hush of the garden paradise. The girls looked at each other in alarm, startled by the distress they could hear in the voice. They sprung to their feet and kept pace with each other as they ran down the twisting mosaicked pathway, darting around the piscana fountain, a rather lifelike bronze casting of a giant scaled fish that spouted water from its mouth, coming to a halt in front of the heavy, closed doors of Alexi's study that led in from the garden.

'You will not take them away from me. This isn't like you at all; I just don't understand what has gotten into you. It's this place isn't it? Rome. I told you we should have moved on, we should have left here months ago, Alexis.' Liviana's tone switched from angry to desperate to soothing as she spoke.

'It has nothing to do with Rome, Liviana,' came Alexis' solid, more rational tone. 'If you remember correctly it was you who was so keen for us to move on. Our lease terminates at the end of this week and we will leave. Everything will be staying here, as per your instructions, Liviana. Everything.' Aisha and Eirene heard Phoibe utter a half sob, half gasp through the thick door and they turned to look at each other with eyes that reflected the same fear and confusion.

'Everything but the girl,' Liviana hissed.

'Eirene, yes.'

'Why, Alexis? Why?' the Mistress painfully implored, her clear bell-like voice heavy with emotion.

'You know my reason, Liviana. We shall not speak of it.' His quiet words were cut off by a sudden tinkling laugh from his sister. In any other circumstances the carefree sound would have lifted the atmosphere and chased the shadows from any room. In the bright heat of the sun warmed garden however, following Alexis' words, it merely highlighted the cold hand of dread that had settled around the hearts of the two girls.

'You love her.' Liviana said, icily, realisation slowly creeping into her voice. 'You have fallen in love with her, Alexis, haven't you? Haven't you Alexis?!' Aisha turned to look at Eirene again, her full pouting mouth was gaping slightly but Eirene's wide blue eyes only echoed her surprise. The door that they were listening at, their ears pressed close to the smooth wood, was suddenly pulled open from the inside to reveal the strikingly tall figure of Liviana, stunning in her shimmering silver silk. Her honey coloured hair had come loose from the pearly net that had contained it earlier and it fell in a gentle encompassing wave to her hips. To the befuddled Eirene the magnificent woman appeared to be an apparition of Diana the huntress, sheathed in silver moonbeams. She certainly had the gleam of a hunter in her eye as her golden gaze fell upon the small figure of Eirene. The Mistress' long fingers snaked out to snare themselves in Eirene's hair and the hand cupped the girls chin as her hard eyes studied Eirene's face, roaming down the curve of her neck to skim the circlet at her throat. It was an adornment, a sign of ownership that also graced Aisha and Phoibe, the latter of whom was stood to the left of the door, wringing her hands and moaning softly as her wrinkled face was twisted with worry. But Eirene's circlet was the only one that had been engraved.

'Noli me tangere,' Liviana spat through distorted lips, reading the delicate inscription on the even metal surface as it caught the sunlight. 'I should have known from the first moment. She is just like all the others. In every other city we have visited you leave behind you a used up trail of infatuated broken girls, Alexis. I'm surprised you have limited yourself to just one this time.' Her cool hands turned Eirene's face this way and that, examining her smooth skin bronzed by the Rome sun, her large cerulean eyes as dark as sapphires framed by a thick wave of curling lashes. Liviana tightened her fingers in Eirene's abundant hair, such a heavy shade of brown it appeared almost black as it fell past her shoulders in tousled tangles. 'There is an unremarkable earthly beauty about her, I agree, but she is no different to any of the other woman you have had in your time here.'

'Petra!' Alexis inexplicably bellowed in a terrifying voice that made three of the four women jump. Eirene's heart raced, her scalp burning from Liviana's unrelenting grip on her hair. One of her hands was raised, covering the Mistress' hand to press it to her head and relieve the pulling. She knew it was futile to try and untangle those fingers if the vice-like grip on her chin was anything to go by. Liviana's perfectly manicured nails were digging little half-moons into her cheeks, making Eirene wince as her gaze stayed locked on the Mistress' livid eyes. Liviana hadn't so much as blinked at the incensed words from Alexis, too lost in her own outrage and disbelief.

'Petra Quil-Ya!' Alexis snarled again, softly and dangerously, his large hand shooting out to grab at a handful of Liviana's unbound hair to wind it round his palm. Phoibe wailed and Aisha hung her head silently. 'Let go of her. It is done. The women will go to Senator Cato early this evening.' Liviana released Eirene, who darted quickly through the door to throw her arms around the sobbing Phoibe, seeking to soothe and to comfort before she could be grabbed again. Liviana spun to face Alexis, her silken hair slipping from his grasp like dew from a petal as she beat her fists fiercely on his broad chest.

'Why? Why?!' she cried. Although she almost matched her brother in height Liviana evidently did not possess his strength as Alexis easily held her at arm's length to prevent any more pummels from her fists landing on his torso.

'We will speak of this no more. It is done.' He said with an air of finality. Liviana fell still instantly, her lovely face impassive with only the slightest of furrows marking her brow as though they had been merely disagreeing on the weather.

'So this is the secret business you've been doing is it? Breaking my heart behind my back, brother?' Liviana asked quietly, her voice settled back to its usual level pitch.

'We both know you have no heart, sister.' Alexis retorted as he turned away from the strikingly beautiful blonde to walk back into his study. 'Eirene, come,' he said without waiting to see if the girl would follow him as he continued through the doorway and disappeared through the curtain and into the atrium. Eirene gave Phoibe's shoulders one last squeeze and shot a fleeting look over at Aisha, who was too busy trying to console the Mistress in much the same way, before she slipped out in Alexis' wake. He was pacing, tall and imposing, in front of the trickling dolphin fountain. The fading afternoon light that spilled abundantly through the open roof gilded the water and sent it sparkling as it tumbled from the dolphin to the pool into the wide basin at the bottom. His heavy footsteps ceased as he sensed Eirene hovering a few feet behind him and he whirled around to face her, his fierce eyes softening at once. Eirene felt a hot blush rise to her cheeks, her lower lip caught between her teeth. The ferocious atmosphere that still clung to him, crackling like lightening, only seemed to enhance his strong, handsome features and Eirene suddenly felt very aware of her own awkwardness. She was instantly reminded of the time she had stood here, almost exactly in that very same spot, naked and frightened with everything about her old life stripped from her. Had it really only been a few short months since then? Now it seemed her life was teetering on the edge of being turned upside down once more.

'This is all moving faster than I had anticipated, Eirene. I am sorry for that. I wanted to speak to you before Liviana found out. She wasn't supposed to speak with Cato until later today. I will come with you to your room so you can gather your things and you will move into my room. It's probably best you stay close to me now.' Eirene shook her head silently, dazedly, sapphire eyes dizzy and confused. 'You don't want that? We will go into town then and I swear to hand you into the care of your brother, if that is what you wish. Neither of you will want for anything, I will grant you your freedom, but you must leave Rome.' He took her hand, his words as hurried as his movement as he began to pull Eirene to the villa door.

'No!' Eirene yanked her arm back from him, her bare heels sliding across the polished surface of the marbled floor. Alexis stopped and looked back at her in surprise. She was angry and confused, he could see as his eyes narrowed with a confusion of his own and his wide shoulders set with a sadness that suddenly engulfed him like a cloud at her refusal. 'Please, Master, just explain to me what's going on. I don't understand.' Alexis took her hand again and pulled her towards him suddenly, his thick arms crushing her gently to him as he lowered his angelic face to breathe in the sunny, wild scent of the garden that still clung to her dark hair.

'I've been a fool, Eirene, an ignorant fool. We have fallen too much into the way of Rome and I underestimated her intellect as easily distracted as she was by material things,' Alexis said, half to himself as he held Eirene away from the solid warmth of his body to run a hand lovingly along the side of her face, his eyes desperately searching hers for a flicker of something. 'I thought I knew your heart from the very first moment I laid eyes on you, Eirene, but if I have it wrong you must say. I was in awe of your pride, your strength as you stood on that auction block so vulnerable and alone in front of that leering, baying mob. I was sent for you, I knew you needed guidance but I didn't think for a moment you would be quite so petulant about receiving it,' he almost grinned but Eirene looked utterly bewildered, capturing his hand and trapping it beneath her own to keep it pressed to her cheek, suddenly finding herself fervent for his touch as it seemed to be the one tangible thing she could cling to as his words did little to clarify matters for her. 'It isn't just your beauty that bewitches me, Eirene. It is your entire soul, your compassion and your gentleness, as wild and untamed as it all is. I have never had the privilege to be so near to a soul as innocent and uncorrupted as yours, it is so open it is almost childlike.' His fingertips skimmed every inch of her face, over her eyes, along the delicate slope of her nose to the soft curve of her lips, Eirene's own fingers entwined with his as his hand moved to trace each feature, as though she were suddenly afraid to break contact with him. 'I want you, Eirene. Truly. Every fibre of my being burns to be near you. I couldn't bear to cause you pain, so if you do not wish to be here I must let you go, but either way I vow to keep you safe,' his voice was thick and husky, strained as Alexis fought to keep control of his emotion.

'The others, the other women,' Eirene said, her eyes still closed as she felt afraid to let Alexis see the desire his words had awoken, but she could not help but recall Liviana's mention of previous girls. Not that he had to explain himself to her, a household slave who was little more than property. But still, she found the thought of him with other women stirring the beast of jealousy in her heart.

'Mistakes I cannot undo,' Alexis answered, honestly. 'Though I wish to God I could.' Eirene nodded, lifting her head so that he could catch the spark of hurt in her understanding.

'You love me because I am here and because you are in Rome now. It will be different when you are in a new city with new women to choose from.' She bit her lip hard as the words escaped her before she had the chance to think them through. 'But know this. I am not a conquest. I have never given myself to a man and I do not intend to waste the precious gift of my purity on one who does not intend on holding my heart now and forever. I will not let the fickle emotion of desire cloud my judgement, Master.' Her eyes were like two chips of blue glass, hard and uncompromising as she stared at him.

'A wise move, little one. Very wise, nor would I want to take anything from you, ever. My love for you is real whether you are here and I am someplace else, or you are with me. I cannot escape my feelings for you. I am not perfect, I have made mistakes but one day I hope to prove to you that I am worthy of your love. I will prove to you that your heart and soul are destined to be with mine, even if it takes a lifetime.' His words were ardent and hushed so that Eirene had to lean up towards him to hear them, but the intimacy of his tone sent a shiver down her spine. 'How could he prove that?' she wondered silently, gasping as another thought suddenly flooded her mind and forced its way through the delight and uncertainty.

'Phoibe, Aisha, what of them?'

'Always thinking of others before yourself… It is safer for them to leave our household,' he answered carefully.

'Safer how? You have sold them to a beast of a man, a lecherous old drunk who will make their lives miserable. You would have done better to grant them their freedom as you threaten to do to me!'

'Threaten, Eirene?' Alexis asked with surprise at her choice of language. The girl blushed and turned away from him quickly to stare intently at the rippling surface of the pool gathered beneath the bronze dolphin.

'I don't want to leave you, Master. I wish to find my brother, with all my heart, to know that he is safe, but I also wish to stay with you.'

'And if I was to give you three wishes, Eirene, what would the third be?'

'I want one wish, Master, just one.'

'Which is what?'

'To be with you.' Her colour deepened but she turned back to face him with honest eyes.

'Then so be it,' Alexis smiled gently, reaching out to wrap his arms around her once more and his breath caught in his throat as he felt her arms creep around his waist in response, hesitant and trembling. Eirene pressed her cheek to his chest and he could feel her warm, sweet breath through the light fabric of his dalmatica. 'Do not worry about Phoibe and Aisha, they will be cared for. Phoibe has been a slave for too long to be given freedom now, it is in her blood to serve others and she would be broken without a Master. Aisha will flourish in the new household. Iulius is a good man, Eirene. His wife passed away a year ago, leaving him with three small girls to look after and no female influence in his life.'

'Iulius? But I thought you were sending them to Senator Cato?' Eirene asked in surprise, leaning back to look at him, dislodging his hand from the top of her head where it had settled with a sudden movement that caused Alexis' fingers to stroke through her tangled hair.

'I am, in a sense. Cato was my contact. I do have eyes and a lot more sense than you might credit me with, Eirene. Iulius lives outside of Rome but he has been staying with Cato for the past few days. I spent the whole of yesterday with him and his daughters, which was long enough for me to establish that he is a kind and honest man. I wouldn't have sent a dog to live with the Senator, let alone a human.'

'But I don't get why you've sent them away in the first place.' Alexis sighed heavily, sadly.

'It is bad enough that I have turned you into a pawn without tangling in another two innocent lives.' His hands moved to rest upon her shoulders as he looked straight into her eyes, the confusion she still felt reflecting in the inky depths. 'It was always our plan to move on from Rome, in fact it was my sister who at first begged for us to go. I was going to tell her about my feelings for you after we had moved on, though the plan was always to guide Phoibe and Aisha to their new home. You too have a path that should not lie with me… and so Liviana will try and use you now that she knows my true feelings for you. I can see the jealousy that has begun to consume her. She has been made weak by our gluttonous lifestyle here which is why we must move on. Once we are out of Rome and back on the path we came to follow I hope that her emotions may settle somewhat… until that point it is safer for you to stay by my side. If you want.' Eirene smiled, her skin tingling with the thought as she nodded obediently.

'Yes, Master,' she said, closing her eyes once more as she tightened her arms around him, causing Alexis to do the same. At that moment, in the thrill of the admission of his feelings for her, Eirene could think of no other place that she would rather be.