Page 19 of City of Secrets and Shadows
“And after?” she asked. “If there is an after?”
The question held a fragile hope I hadn’t dared to consider. “After is for you to decide,” I told her. “I’ll follow wherever you lead.”
She stood then, moving around the table to stand before me. I rose to meet her, hardly daring to breathe as she studied my face, her expression softening for the first time since she’d recognized me.
“Welcome back, Marcus,” she said simply, and stepped into my arms.
I held her carefully, as if she might shatter — or more likely, change her mind. But her arms came around me with surprising strength, her face pressed against my chest. I buried my face in her hair, breathing in the scent of her, feeling the solid reality of her in my arms.
I didn’t deserve this moment. Didn’t deserve her forgiveness, if that’s what this was. But I would spend whatever time we had left proving myself worthy of the second chance she’d granted me.
6
The apartment was small but clean, tucked away on the third floor of a narrow building in the merchant district. Marcus led us up the creaking wooden stairs, past doors with peeling paint and the occasional suspicious stain. Not the seediest part of the city by far, but not somewhere imperial patrols would bother with either.
“It’s nothing grand,” Marcus said over his shoulder, a touch of embarrassment in his voice. “But it’s safe.”
“Anything with four walls and a roof is luxury after the ludus,” I replied, following close behind him. My heart still hadn’t settled after our reunion at the tavern. Marcus, here. Marcus, alive and searching for me. Marcus, whose absence had left a hole I’d tried to fill with vengeance and the company of the two men trailing behind us.
He paused at a door near the end of the hallway, fishing a key from his pocket. “Octavia’s probably waiting up. She’ll be overjoyed to see you.”
Before he could turn the key, the door flew open, revealing Octavia — thinner than I remembered, her dark eyes wide with anticipation.
“Tavi,” I breathed, hardly able to believe it.
“Livia!” She threw herself at me with surprising force, nearly knocking me backward into Septimus. Her arms wrapped around me so tightly I could barely breathe, but I didn’t care. I hugged her back just as fiercely, burying my face in her shoulder as tears threatened.
“I thought I’d never see you again,” she whispered, her voice breaking. “When Marcus said he’d found you, I couldn’t believe it.”
We clung to each other a moment longer before she pulled back, holding me at arm’s length to examine me. “Look at you,” she said, smiling through tears. “Still in one piece somehow.”
Then her gaze moved past me, registering the men behind me. Her smile faltered slightly at the sight of Tarshi, but she recovered quickly, stepping back to usher us all inside. “Come in, come in. It’s not safe to linger in hallways.”
The apartment was simple but surprisingly homey. A small main room with a sturdy wooden table, a few chairs, and a worn couch. A cooking area in one corner, a narrow doorway presumably leading to a bedroom. Someone — Octavia, I guessed — had hung faded fabric along one wall in an attempt to brighten the space. A half-finished basket of weaving sat beside one chair.
“It’s not much,” Octavia said, echoing Marcus’s earlier sentiment as she closed and locked the door behind us. “But it’s ours. For now, at least.”
“It’s perfect,” I assured her, meaning it. After weeks of sleeping on the ground or in filthy inns, this modest apartment felt like a palace.
An awkward silence fell as the five of us stood in the small space, suddenly aware of how cramped it would be with all of us living here. Marcus cleared his throat.
“The women can take the bedroom,” he said. “We men will make do out here.”
Septimus eyed the narrow couch dubiously. “All three of us?”
“There are blankets,” Marcus replied, gesturing to a corner where I could see rolled blankets stacked. “We’ll manage.”
Tarshi remained near the door, his posture slightly tense. I knew that look — he was calculating exits, assessing potential threats, preparing for rejection. The same wariness he’d shown when first brought to the ludus. My heart ached for him, but I couldn’t cross the room to offer reassurance. Not with everyone watching.
“You must be exhausted,” Octavia said, breaking the tension as she took my arm. “Come, I’ll show you the bedroom. We can talk while the men sort themselves out.”
I allowed her to lead me through the narrow doorway into an even smaller room dominated by a bed just wide enough for two people to sleep comfortably if they didn’t mind touching. A small window overlooked an alley, and a chipped basin for washing sat atop a three-legged table. Like the main room, Octavia had done her best to make it welcoming — a pot of scraggly wildflowers sat on the windowsill, and the bed was neatly made with what looked like freshly washed linens.
“I changed the bedding this morning,” she said, following my gaze. “I always hoped...”
She didn’t finish the sentence, but she didn’t need to. I understood. She’d been preparing for my arrival, never giving up hope that Marcus would find me. The thought sent a wave of warmth through me.
“Thank you, Tavi,” I said softly, squeezing her hand.
