The Centurion's Woman

Chapter 24

        Then her thoughts turned to the letter that Verus had sent to Ixillius about Mark. She didn't know what it said, but had watched Ixillius read it three times then set it aside so guessed it was just a narrative of the events with Big Man Max. And he'd said that it was a situation that was to be dealt with today, so at least there wasn't immediate trouble. She'd been relieved that Ixillius hadn't been mad at her for going out – she was going to have to let him know why she'd left the room, and thank him for sending Quintus. The soldier who'd called her Mrs. Traversi ...

        There were too many things going on inside her head. The here and now with Ixillius was pretty awesome, but it didn't feel like a reality she could trust because she wasn't able to be honest. Her gigno had traveled ahead in time, she was certain of it, but she didn't know how or why. She was now certain that Mark had traveled ahead as well, no how or why there either. She had traveled back in time, to the same era that her dad was from, but she didn't know what year it actually was in the time she was in right now, and still no how or why. Her gigno could be here, or long dead – or not even born yet! – for all she actually knew. But now Mark had also traveled back, and he'd somehow brought Max, pinpointing exactly to when Alex was here. That meant he had a deeper knowledge of the how, and maybe an answer to why.

        A sick feeling settled in her gut that maybe being able to hop times was a family thing, and then she remembered that her gigno had no family of his own when he'd married her momma, and had sometimes worried about his lack of siblings and cousins causing problems with his father's property. If it was a family thing, at least it was a distant family thing. Still pretty gross, though. She had a lot of questions that she was going to need to sort out, and then try and figure out how to get invited to help find Mark so that she could get her questions answered once she had them figured.

        She needed to clear her head so she could get her thoughts straight. Ixillius woke up as soon as she started moving to try and untangle from him. It took a few minutes of gestured conversation and physical maneuvering to get out of bed and convince him to stay in it. She knew it was too early to be awake, he had to as well, and if the news yesterday that had kept him out so late was any guide, he would need what little sleep he could get. He didn't look happy about staying put, but at least he quit arguing with her.

        Alex filled the wash basin and cleaned the nightmare sweat off her skin and out of her hair. She still felt injured today, but better after washing. Most likely she could thank Ixillius for the sleep she had gotten. She doubted she'd feel half as good in a few hours when the exhaustion kicked back in, but right now she needed to get her body moving to try and pace her mind. She did some light stretching to settle her racing thoughts and dry off her skin, then got dressed.

        Ixillius was still awake, watching her. She chided him lightly as she came close to the bed, trying to convince him to go back to sleep as she picked up the collar from where he'd dropped it last night. No good forgetting to be wearing it when Brasus came by with breakfast, she didn't need anyone beyond Quintus and Ixillius doting on Ixillius's affections for her.

        His hand shot out from under the blanket and closed firmly around her wrist, stopping her from being able to stand. He regarded her strangely, letting her straighten after a moment, but not releasing her. She tugged gently to pull her hand back, holding the collar, but he still held on. He tried to pluck it out of her hand, so she closed her fingers into a fist around it.

        "Alex, non," he said, irritated. He sat up and threw the blanket off, glaring up at her. "Domina Traversi."

        "You're seriously going to start that shit again?" she asked, meeting his glare with one of her own. She rolled her wrist out of his hand, just like every self-defense class she'd ever taken or taught had demonstrated, and stepped back. She wasn't out of his reach, but she was out of his hand. The look on his face immediately registered from irritated to 'challenge accepted' and he stood up.