Page 15 of The Sorcerer of Shadowholde

Vita

THE DAY WAS LONG, with no trips to the market to see her friend.

Praetor Amulius had been away from the villa on business for most of it, so at least that was a slight relief. Still, she did her best to avoid the Domina’s gaze, unable to look her in the eye after what had happened with her husband in the wee hours of the morning.

Vita wracked her mind, trying to remember when she had ever given the Praetor any sign that she was interested in him. She’d certainly never regaled him with any of the flirtations she reserved for prospective partners.

Even if he wasn’t such a loathsome man, even if he had never laid a hand on her, he was still married. She wasn’t a seductress trying to steal someone else’s husband.

Domina Amulius kept her busy with chores around the villa and garden. The pull to the gate—to visit Verian—was strong, but she couldn’t just leave in the middle of the day. By the time the Praetor arrived home and she’d served dinner, she was exhausted, retiring to her room after a simple meal with the other servants.

Vita paced, the warm night air blowing in through her cracked window. Darkness had set in as she walked back and forth, jumping at every creak of the house, certain that the Praetor would come back for her tonight.

Thoughts of the kiss made her stomach roil, the memory of his hands tangling in her hair and tunic tightening a knot in her throat. She closed her eyes, trying to will the image to be of someone else,anyone else. Anyone other than her married employer who could sneak into her room at any time.

Enough of this.

Vita wore her typical work garments, a sand-colored tunic that skimmed the ground and a blood red palla to cover her shoulders. She added her belt, cinching her waist tightly in a manner she’d been uncomfortable wearing around the house as of late.

At this point, it didn’t matter if she got caught; she needed to get out of the villa. She needed to talk to Verian.

Sleeping on the first floor made it easy enough to shimmy out of her window. She paused, straining her ears for any unusual noise from inside the home, before hurrying off down the road. Perhaps he would be at the gate, though she doubted it, as the night shift was usually reserved for the newest guards, fresh out of collegium.

The humid air reminded her of the rose garden, though the road to Shadowholde was no formal villa, honeysuckle and lilac wafting past her nose in all its wild fragrance.

Her suspicions were soon found true as she approached the gated archway.

Two guards she had never met before.Lovely.

The young men appeared to be hardly twenty years of age. One was short, with dark skin and hair, the other tall, blonde, and pale. They wore the same sage tunics, the uniform of all the city guards, glancing at each other quickly before turning their gazes back to her.

“Good evening, gentlemen,” Vita said with a curtsy, putting on her sweetest smile. “What a lovely night it is.”

“Domina, you should not be out so late,” the short one said, his voice deep and melodious.

“Especially not alone,” the tall one added, with just the hint of a smirk.

Domina, as if she were a lady of a villa instead of a servant girl. They were just being polite, respecting their elder even though she was only twenty-five.

“Oh, but I’m not alone, am I? I have two handsome men here with me.”

Vita was laying it on thick, though she’d learned that often it was the best way to go about things.

Sometimes you had to be obvious to get a man’s attention. She stepped closer to them, though kept her hands visible so they could see she wasn’t a threat.

“I was hoping to see my friend Verian. I’m sure you both know him.”

She twirled a strand of her hair around a slender finger, tilting her head down to look at the men through hooded eyes. Better to let them believe she was Verian’s than to think they had a real chance with her. Still, a little harmless flirtation didn’t hurt, could hopefully smooth her way into the city.

The men glanced at each other once more, trying and failing to stop the grins from forming on their faces. It seemed like her plan was working. Surely, they wouldn’t halt an illicit rendezvous between their brother in arms and his lover.

It took everything in Vita’s power to stifle her laughter, instead setting her face in a coquettish smirk.

“You arefriendswith Verian?” the short one asked.

“I am. Do you know where he is at this time?”

Things would be difficult if he were back at his quarters, one he shared with other city guards.

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