'Are you hungry? ' Jinn sat beside Eirene, perched on the edge of her bed as she remained still curled sleepily beneath her blanket. His warm fingers caressed her dark hair, tucking a lock behind her ear.

'No, I'm not hungry, Master.' Eirene sat up, pulling the blanket around her as she shivered at the fresh morning breeze that blew in from the docks and crept through the gaps around the window shutters that were still closed. Eirene had slept fully clothed that night, more from the effects of the alcohol on her consciousness than from any kind of prudery. She was glad of the extra warmth that morning though, as she thought the air was colder here. Or was it just the snippets of remembered conversation that had chilled her bones? He, this devastatingly handsome man had been sent to lead her to her death.

'Jinn, please. Call me Jinn,' he insisted for the umpteenth time. Eirene half smiled, half frowned.

'But it seems so disrespectful. Even my father was 'Master' to me,' she said. Her words were brushed aside by Jinn's soft lips trailing over hers and the sudden contact sent a delicious and unexpected shiver along her spine.

'Then call me whatever you wish, it matters not to me.' Jinn touched Eirene's flushed cheek with the back of his hand, trying to catch her lowered eyes with his own. 'Are you alright, Eirene? What's wrong?' Eirene caught her lower lip between her teeth, drawing her knees up to her chest.

'I've just been thinking about my brother,' she said. 'It means so much to me to find him. We've never been apart until now and this separation pains me.' She thought she caught a flicker of a shadow passing in Jinn's eyes as she looked up, but it was gone just as swiftly as she had noticed it and could just have easily been the changing of the light as the sun climbed higher outside.

'Dear heart,' Jinn breathed near her ear, before leaning back against the wall where the head of the bed rested and opened his arms to her. Eirene went to him without hesitation, her cheeks reddening as she glanced up in awe at his handsome face before she settled her head on his shoulder. He smelt of warmth, of the earth and sweet air that seemed unaffected by the pressing scent of fish that presided in the Tavern and the rooms for rent upstairs and her lips rested lightly against his pulse as it throbbed rhythmically in his throat, reminding her of the little flutter of the nightingale's heartbeat against her fingers. How could anyone so human be something so… otherworldly, she wondered. His skin, pressed so nonchalantly against her own felt familiar and welcome, thrilling her. Eirene gave a heavy sigh and closed her eyes again.

'I need to find him,' she muttered softly. 'And what I heard Liviana say last night has unnerved me.'

'Ah,' he said when she eventually braved a look up at him. She thought the sound held some raw emotion, sadness or regret maybe? But regret for what, she thought. That she had heard their conversation, or that he had taken part in it? 'I'm going to call her by her true name now, it's time we dropped the charade, Eirene. Her name is Petra and she is just as petulant as a spoiled child denied a treat at the moment. She is trying to force my hand with threats but it will not work and she knows that now. I don't think we have anything to worry about from her, she'll lick her wounds and find another distraction soon enough.' His fingers caressed the length of her spine as he spoke, causing Eirene to stretch like a cat seeking more petting, aching for more of his touch.

'But my brother, she mentioned Germanus.' Jinn's hand slid from the base of her neck to her chin, gently reorienting her face so that his soft indigo eyes could look into her sapphire ones.

'I have my suspicions, Eirene, about where he may be but you must trust that I know what I'm doing. There is a little more at play here than I can explain at the moment but you have to know that I will never do anything to hurt you. I love you with every fibre of my being and it is my duty now to protect you from harm. I would fly with you to the end of the world and back if that is what it takes.' His tone had become hushed; coarse with emotion as he spoke lowly and close to her ear again.

Eirene had relaxed back into his arms and found the reassurance she realised she had been seeking in his words and in his solid warmth as he held her. Petra, that beautiful embodiment of Diana herself had threatened to blow out the tiny spark of belief Eirene held in Jinn's feelings for her. She had given much thought over the past few days to every action and word he had spoken since he had led her back to his villa, naked and shivering with uncertainty and she had come to the conclusion that perhaps Jinn really did care for her. But how could he, when she was barely worthy to stand in the dazzling shadow of that angelic woman? She was but a grain of sand to the glittering jewel that was Petra, a dull and clumsy rock to her finely polished diamond. Yet she had heard with her own ears the night before as Jinn declared his love and spurned the obvious advances of the golden goddess.

'You love me,' Eirene muttered softly, as though just hearing those words for the first time and realising the true meaning of them. Jinn couldn't help the grin that slipped over his lips at the wonder her tone held.

'Yes, but I have told you that already, dear heart.'

'You've never shown anyone your wings before, yet you showed them to me.' Eirene turned in his lap, one leg either side of him to stabilise herself as her arms rested on his shoulders and her fingers skimmed the hard muscles above his shoulder blades. Her mind's eye conjured the huge, feather-soft wings that had burst seamlessly from his flesh a day or so before but yet now left no trace. Jinn nodded silently and reached up to stroke her cheek before his hand was caught by Eirene's and pressed palm-up to her lips.

'You love me,' she said again with a smile at the bemused expression on Jinn's face. His hand fell to drift over the collar at her throat. Noli me tangere.

'Let me free you,' he offered suddenly, quietly.

'No.' Eirene stilled his wandering fingers with another warm kiss as she lowered her mouth, stretching her lithe frame out beneath the blanket again so that she lay flush against Jinn who was taking up most of the room in the low, narrow bed. Each unyielding beat of his heart thrummed in her own chest as she pressed herself against him. 'I am yours. Always. Jinn.'

'And I am yours, Eirene. Forever.' He smiled and kissed her gently. Her hands found themselves tangled in his short, black hair as one of his arms encircled her waist and the other carefully cupped her chin. Eirene's heart pounded in her ears echoing the beat of his at it hammered loudly, pulse by pulse, chest against chest as Jinn pulled her more firmly against his body. She was the first to break the seal that their lips had formed; though her eyes were locked on his and her face remained only an inch away.

'I trust you,' she whispered, trembling.

'I'm glad,' he replied just as softly, smiling as he cradled her as gently as though he were half afraid she would shatter against him. One of his hands moved to brush over her shoulder, his thumb skimming the delicate arch of her throat and his fingers seeking the unblemished flesh that lay quivering with response beneath her tunic.

'I want you, Jinn,' Eirene uttered breathlessly. 'I need you. But I don't want…' her cheeks blazed and her sentence hung unfinished between them. Jinn sat up, pulling her with him and once more tilted her head so that he could peer deep into her eyes, instantly reading the reluctant insecurity there.

'Shhh…Take your time, Eirene, there is no rush. We have our whole lives together now if that is what you wish. I will not do anything that you are not ready for.' He could feel the tension seeping from her tensed muscles and heard the barely audible sigh that she breathed as he caressed her dark hair and she turned a beautiful smile up towards him.

'Thank you.'

'You have nothing to thank me for,' Jinn countered.

'I have everything to thank you for and I will never forget it. I owe you my life.'

'And I've told you I will protect it with my own, little one. Now, to business then.' He slid himself out gently from beneath Eirene and stood up, crossing the room to where a rough and unadorned dish stood on a table. Jinn lifted the plate to show Eirene the coarse bread and two bunches of purple grapes he had bought up from downstairs. 'It's the best this place had to offer for breakfast I'm afraid but I want you to eat and drink something whilst I settle up downstairs.'

'We're moving on,' Eirene stated, sitting up and swinging her bare feet onto the floor.

'Yes,' Jinn placed the food on the bed beside her.

'We need to get as far away from Rome as possible?' she asked, remembering what he had said to Petra.

'Yes,' he said again, pausing at the door.

'Why?'

'I'm not sure I really know myself. All I do know is that the best thing for us to do now is to move on. But first,' he cast a critical eye over the stained and torn tunic she wore, made shabby by their long walk from Rome. 'I think we need to sort some new clothes out, for the both of us.' Ever ready for action, Eirene leapt out of bed with a chunk of bread in one hand and dangling the sorry looking grapes from the other.

'I'll eat on the way,' she promised, taking a huge bite of bread to emphasise her point. Jinn smiled at her enthusiasm and cast a swift, critical eye over her.

'Perhaps we need to visit the baths too, while we're at it?' Eirene frowned, remembering the last time he'd decided she needed a bath. She hastily smoothed down her sleep-rumpled hair and left a trail of crumbs in the wake of her fingers. Her feet were dusty and black from the road but the dirt concealed the blisters that were forming on her soles and she was afraid he would insist on slowing the pace of their journey to wherever it was he thought they needed to go if he saw them. He laughed at her expression and held the door open for her.

'Come, let's go.' Eirene followed Jinn down the cool stone stairs that came out at the back of the tavern that was already bustling with dockworkers and their families fuelling themselves up with breakfast, ready for the day ahead. Eirene could see that a grey misty morning had broken outside; the dull, steely sky blending seamlessly with the equally dull sea that stretched out as far as the eye could see and disappeared into the horizon. The tavern front faced out towards the sea, balanced precariously on the shoreline that heaved and teemed night and day like a great lumbering beast, it was never still. She stood behind Jinn, passively chewing on a few grapes and the bread she had taken from upstairs as he fell into conversation with Balbus, who still managed to slide his shifty eyes in a slimy way over her body in a way that made her skin crawl.

She turned away from the two men and went to stand in the doorway of the Tavern where she could watch the incessant activity that buzzed busily beyond the relative quiet of her sanctuary. In doing so, however, she missed the folded piece of papyrus that passed from the puzzled owner to the equally bemused though somewhat suspicious Jinn, who tucked it hastily beneath his dalmatica. A sudden glint of gold turned Eirene's eyes to the far left but like the dip of the sun behind a cloud the gleam was gone as soon as she tried to locate it. A young boy was hefting a crate load of glistening fish, his child-sinewy muscles taut with strain as his load slapped and slithered about against each other seemingly gasping for breath, splashing droplets of seawater up into little glittering arcs that reflected the grey dawn light. Perhaps that was the flicker she had seen, she wondered, unsettled as her thoughts turned back to the striking figure of Petra who had almost illuminated the alleyway with her radiance the night before. The sudden touch of Jinn's hand on her shoulder made her gasp, jerking her out of her reverie as she whirled to face him having half expected to see the heavy figure of the Tavern keeper bearing down on her.

'Peace,' Jinn smiled, though Eirene noticed there was a tightness about his lovely eyes that hadn't been there moments before. 'Eirene, something's come up. I have some… business to attend to before we leave here.' He held his hand up to halt her words as her mouth opened to volunteer to accompany him. He looked worried, she thought. 'This isn't something you should really be involved in, as much as I want to keep you by my side. Will you stay here and wait for me?' Eirene raised her gaze to meet his but said nothing. 'You won't wait here,' he said, seeing the look in her eyes with something that was almost amusement. 'What happened to the obedient slave that obeyed her Master without question?'

'I don't believe I know that slave, Master,' Eirene almost returned his ghost of a smile. Her eyes flickered to the rotund figure that was slopping up a bowl of something hot and steaming to a man lounging at the counter, but his sly features were definitely pointed in her direction.

'Is it Aelia, Master?' she asked, absently rubbing the small gold ring that still remained on her thumb, being too big for any other finger. She half-remembered the conversation about the jewellery maker from the night before. Jinn had pledged money and assistance, if she remembered rightly. But why would that make him so agitated? It didn't really add up to her…

'No. You will stay in the market square then until I return,' Jinn admonished, resignedly. He took her elbow and guided her gently out into the stream of foot traffic that swallowed them up immediately, engulfing them in the squawks of the sea birds that cried expectantly at the sight of the mornings catch and the gruff bellows of the dock-workers already sweating from their labour. Eirene could taste the tang of the salt lacing the brisk breeze that blew in off the waves turning constantly in the harbour. They walked together through the winding little side streets that led further in land, away from the docks and the life that beat along the water's edge.

'Here.' As they rounded the corner of a tall sandy coloured building out of the view of the market mere feet away, Jinn pulled Eirene close and pressed something heavy and clinking into her hand. 'I want you to buy some things for us. Spend as much as you wish,' he smiled, brushing his fingers over her delicate features as his eyes lingered on hers with something like longing. He pulled her towards him again, arms wrapped tight around her. Eirene, clutching the coin purse he had given her in one hand slipped her arms around Jinn's neck in return as she tilted her head up towards his and smiled against his warm lips.

'I don't want to leave you,' he said without pulling away from her, his words distorted by the contact his lips still had with hers as he held her for a moment longer than was necessary.

'Then don't,' Eirene whispered, her eyes closed as she kissed him. She could feel the sudden tension building in his muscles as she stretched up to hold him tighter and it puzzled her. Drawing back so that she could see his face more clearly, Eirene lowered her arms so that her hands lay lightly on his broad chest. 'Master? Jinn? What's wrong?'

'Something just doesn't feel right. Things shouldn't be happening the way they are,' he told her.

'What things? Where are you going?' Eirene asked. Jinn cupped her face with his hands.

'I can't tell you, not yet. I know I keep saying that but there is someone I have to see alone. After that I hope that I can tell you everything. Until then you must trust me and promise you'll stay here in the square, don't leave here with anyone no matter what happens, ok?' He stared intensely at her and Eirene thought she saw a spark of something akin to real fear cross his startlingly beautiful features. 'Eirene!' he barked a little more sharply than he meant to, seemingly panicked by her lack of response. Eirene didn't intend to make any promises to him that she wouldn't be able to keep and she was keen to explore the harbour of Ostia, especially with a purse full of coins.

'I will wait in the square for you,' she managed eventually, though they were both aware of the lack of promise in her words. Jinn frowned, unsatisfied, but Eirene's jaw was set and so he knew it would be futile to argue with her and his heart would not permit him to order her to obey.

'I suppose from you, my little flightless bird, that's as good as a promise as I'll get,' he said as he kissed her briefly. Eirene thought there were so many raw emotions in that kiss; longing, frustration, love, but the bitterest taste that left her head reeling with confusion was the hint of helpless terror that she had already seen in his eyes.

'I love you, Jinn.'

His smile was genuine. 'I love you too, more than anything.' He took one last deep breath, inhaling the pure, wild scent of her as he pulled the girl even closer wishing he never had to let her go. And then he was gone as quick as that, melting into the maze of buildings that surrounded them and leaving Eirene to frown at his absence. His going was as swift, sudden and as gentle as a feather dragged briefly over bare flesh. She felt her heart sag just a little, but the busy sounds of the market reached her ears now the musical notes of Jinn's voice had faded away and it wasn't long before her feet had carried her off to explore the enticing scents that drifted to her on the sharp breeze.