He pulled her roughly into his body, so they stood fused to each other as he used the thickness of the mast as a makeshift shelter. Shock coursed through her as she realised how close they were, breast to breast, hip to hip, thigh to thigh. If it had been any other situation she’d found herself in, she would have been mortified at the intimacy of their embrace.
But this was survival. Pure and simple.
Deep in her heart, even though she didn’t want to acknowledge it, she knew he had lied to her. There was no way he would be able to go back and fetch Magia. The sheer ferocity of the storm would make it a suicide mission, and if she was brutally honest with herself she didn’t want him to release her. She knew her only hope of survival lay with him. Tied to him – literally.
As the howling winds screamed above their heads, the storm raging all around them, Livia burrowed deeper into the solid strength of the man who held her. She had never been so frightened in all her life as wave, after wave, of ice cold water crashed over them time and time again, battering them both with its intensity and ferocity.
“If we get washed overboard, you must kick out as hard as you can. If you don’t, you will drown. Do you understand?”
Livia heard his words shouted above the cacophony of noise which swirled around them, as the storm lifted the huge ship higher into the night sky before a great swell rolled in once again from the dark depths of the ocean.
“Yes!” She shouted, just before another deluge of icy water washed over her, choking her, salty water filling her mouth and nose, threatening to suck the very life out of her lungs.
The crest of the wave passed beneath them, and the massive ship dropped like a stone, and water once again cascaded down the length of the deck. Then, as if things couldn’t get any worse, another massive wave tore through the ship, and this time the stranger’s strength wasn’t enough to protect them as they were washed along the length of the ship, powerless and totally at the mercy of the mighty storm.
Livia screamed with terror as they were tossed into the air like leaves blown about by the wind. For a moment she felt free as she flew through the air, but the feeling came to an abrupt end when she fell into the freezing cold sea, salt water once again filling her mouth, rushing down into her already tortured lungs.
She felt herself being pulled up, against the force of the water, and then she remembered she was still tied to the man. The rope tightened as he pulled her towards him, his arm wrapping around her waist as he lifted her above the crashing waves, enabling her to draw in a vital breath of air. For a moment she felt safe in his arms, but it didn’t last long as another wave washed over them.
“Kick!”
The order permeated her frightened subconscious, and she did as he ordered, trying her best to kick as hard as she could, even though the fabric of her silk gown clung to her, hampering the movement of her legs.
She didn’t know how long they stayed in the water, both of them kicking frantically against the massive waves. The blackness of the night overwhelmed her, and she wondered if she would die tonight wrapped in the arms of a total stranger. A man whose name she didn’t even know! And with that thought, she felt the urge to laugh, as a feeling of hysteria consumed her. But when a dark shape shot out of the ocean and hit her, striking her on the temple, she mercifully felt herself slipping into blessed darkness.
It was the groans which woke her. A slow, painful, awakening, she did her utmost to fight, the pounding in her head so severe, she never wanted to open her eyes again. She didn’t want to wake up; didn’t want to face the all-consuming fear she had felt when she had been thrown into the icy waters of the ocean. She wanted to sleep forever, safe in the cocoon of her dreams-
“Shh. Lie still or you will injure yourself.” The whispered words soothed her fear, as they permeated her foggy mind. Comprehension dawned, when she realised the moans she had heard, were in actual fact her own.
She tried to open her eyes, but her eyelashes seemed to be stuck together, and she felt a moments panic at the thought of never being able to see again. Then, as if she had somehow managed to communicate her distress, she felt cool water trickle over her face washing away the salty residue. She flicked out her tongue, eager for the cool water to assuage her dry throat moaning again, this time in relief.
“Quiet now. Can you open your eyes for me?”
She recognised the voice as being the man who’d taken her from the cabin. Opening her eyes she blinked at the brightness which assaulted her pupils. It was several moments before she was able to focus on the shadow of a man next to her. She couldn’t see any of his features as the fierceness of the sun above her cast his profile into shadow. For several seconds she lay there letting her eyes adjust to the brightness, until she was able to make out his features.
He was leaning over her, a frown of concern on his face, and instinctively Livia raised a trembling hand up to his face, tracing a finger across the thin line of his scar. She saw the pupils of his eyes dilate at her feather light caress, saw the grey of his eyes darken at her touch.
“What is your name?” She heard the huskiness in the tone of her voice and swallowed hard, winching at the soreness in her throat. It felt as if she had swallowed a cup of metal shards. Then she saw him frown, obviously taken aback by her question, before he leaned back on his haunches, the movement causing her hand to drop away and fall back down onto the ground.
For several long moments he looked down at her, and Livia wondered whether he was going to ignore her question, but then he replied, “Metellus. My name is Metellus.”
Livia smiled slightly, and closed her eyes once more, turning her head away from the searing brightness of the sun. “Metellus,” she whispered. “Thank you. Thank you for saving me.”
The next time Livia woke, her headache was still there, but not as painful as before.
Again the intensity of the bright sunlight caused her to blink, and for a few minutes she had to let her eyes adjust to the brightness. As she lay there, she could see she was sheltered under the shade of a tree whose leaves danced above her in the slight breeze.
She was content to watch the branches sway high above her head for a moment, sunlight bouncing off the leaves in bright bursts of colour, their movement’s hypnotic. She didn’t know what type of trees they were, as they were nothing like the pruned ornamental ones which grew in the peristylium and atrium of her family home.
Thinking of her life back in Rome caused tears to clog her throat. Not because she missed it, but because she knew without a shadow of doubt that Magia was dead. She swallowed hard, blinking away the tears that fell. She lifted her hand and wiped away the dampness, but the small movement was enough to cause a blinding pain to crash through her head, and she gasped out loud.
For a long moment she closed her eyes once more, and lay still, letting the pain subside, content to listen to the wind blow through the branches of the trees overhead, before she stretched her hand out, encountering the softness of wool under her fingers. The fabric protected her skin from the abrasiveness of the sand beneath, and she felt a warm glow flow through her at the kindness of the person who had taken the time to shield her from the elements.
After a few more moments of rest, she forced her eyes to open once more. This time the pain wasn’t so brutal, and she moved her head, until she was able to look around her.
She was in some sort of makeshift camp, high up on the shoreline, to her right she saw the beginnings of a large forest. Draped over the branches of some of the trees she saw several red woollen cloaks drying in the breeze. She recalled seeing the cloaks being worn by a small unit of soldiers who had boarded the ship the same time as she and Magia had. They, like her, had been on-route to Alexandria. Livia shivered, wondering where the men were, and whether they had survived the storm.
Supressing