The Blood Crows (Roman Legion 12) Read Free Page B

for power and no mercy would be shown to those on the losing side, nor to anyone associated with them. If Britannicus lost the struggle, he was doomed, and Narcissus with him.
    Since both Cato and Macro had served the imperial secretary well, albeit unwillingly, then they, too, would be in danger. It would be better if they were fighting on some far-flung frontier when the time came, beyond the vengeful attention of Nero’s followers. Even though Cato had only recently saved Nero’s life, he had crossed the path of Pallas, the imperial freedman who was the brains behind the prince’s faction. Pallas was not inclined to forgive those who stood in the way of his ambitions. Nero’s debt to Cato would not save him. So, barely a month after the marriage had been celebrated in the house of Julia’s father, Cato and Macro were summoned to the palace to receive their new appointments: for Cato, the command of a Thracian cohort, and for Macro the command of a cohort in the Fourteenth Legion, both units serving with the army of Governor Ostorius Scapula in Britannia.
    There had been tears when the time came for Cato to depart. Julia had clung to him and he had held her close, feeling her chest shudder as she buried her face in the folds of his cloak, the dark tresses of her hair falling across his hands. Cato felt his heart torn by her grief at separation, which he shared. But the order had been given, and the sense of duty that had bound Rome’s citizens together and made it possible for them to overcome their enemies could not be denied.
    ‘When will you return?’ Julia’s voice was muffled by the folds of wool. She looked up, her eyes red-rimmed, and Cato felt a rush of anguish flow through his heart. He forced himself to smile lightly.
    ‘The campaign should be over soon, my love. Caratacus cannot hold out for much longer. He will be defeated.’
    ‘And then?’
    ‘Then, I shall await word of the new Emperor, and when it is safe to return I will apply for a civil post in Rome.’
    She pressed her lips together for a moment. ‘But that could be years.’
    ‘Yes.’
    They were both silent for a moment before Julia spoke again. ‘I could join you in Britannia.’
    Cato tilted his head to one side. ‘Perhaps. But not yet. The island is still little more than a barbaric backwater. There are few of the comforts you are used to. And there are dangers, not least the unhealthy airs of the place.’
    ‘It doesn’t matter. I have experienced the worst of conditions, Cato. You know I have. After all that we have been through we deserve to be together.’
    ‘I know.’
    ‘Then promise to send for me as soon as it is safe for me to join you.’ She tightened her grip on his cloak and stared intently into his eyes. ‘Promise me.’
    Cato felt his resolve to shelter her from the dangers and discomforts of the new province dissolve. ‘I promise.’
    She eased her grip and shifted half a step away from him, with an expression of pained relief, and nodded. ‘Don’t make me wait too long, my dearest Cato.’
    ‘Not one day longer than necessary. I swear it.’
    ‘Good.’ She smiled and stood on tiptoe to kiss him on the mouth and then stepped back and gave his hands a last squeeze before straightening her back. ‘Then you must go.’
    Cato took one long last look at her and then bowed his head and turned away from the senator’s house and marched along the street that led in the direction of the city gate where he would take one of the boats down the Tiber to join Macro at the port of Ostia. He looked back when he reached the end of the street and saw her there, standing at the door, and forced himself to turn and stride out of sight.
    The pain of their parting had not dimmed over the long journey across the sea to Massillia and then overland to Gesoriacum where they had boarded the cargo ship for the final leg to Britannia. It felt strange to return to the island after several years. Earlier that day the cargo ship had