The Champion by Carla Capshaw Read Free Book Online

doubtful. Velus views strangers as though they’re hornets come to sting. I expect he’s sent the whole lot of them on their way by now.”
    His lack of complete certainty renewed her anxiety, but she accepted the situation without further comment. She’d done all she could to buy herself time when she fled her father’s home. Either Tiberia was at the
ludus
or she was not, but given her sister’s tenacity, it wouldn’t surprise her if Tiberia decided to wait at the
Ludus Maximus
all afternoon. There was no way to know until they arrived and learned the truth one way or the other. Her future belonged to the Fates.
    Considering the circumstances, the fact that she’d enjoyed even the smallest respite from her worries was a wonder due entirely to Alexius, she acknowledged with a frown. Whenever he was near, she had difficulty thinking of anything but him. Troubled by such an unwelcome reality, she took a deep breath to clear her head.
    The mustiness of the tunnel mixed with the faint smell of hay the closer they climbed to the surface and the stable at ground level. “If I were to guess,” she said, trying to lighten the atmosphere between them. “I’d say you have a black stallion—maybe one of Caros’s Iberian champions—with a gleaming saddle and—”
    “Wings?”
    “You
are
Greek.” She laughed. “Wouldn’t it be a delight to have a
pterippus
like the Pegasus?” she added fancifully. “If I had a winged horse to do my bidding, I’d have it take me far from Rome.”
    “Rome? Or just your father?”
    She stroked the top of the cub’s smooth head and pretended a keen interest in the path’s dirt-packed floor. “Mostly my father. Although, I must admit, a fresh start far from the city’s gossips and expectations holds almost as much appeal.”
    “You must visit your cousins in Umbria someday,” he said, leading her up the final stretch of stairs.
    “I have. Once, two years ago I was invited to join the party when Tiberia and her husband sojourned with them in
Iguvium
for the summer. Truthfully, I’venever seen a more beauteous place. It’s no surprise their friends Quintus and Adiona bought their own villa and vineyards nearby. I understand you have a farm there as well.”
    He nodded.
    “Your trainer, Darius, said your description of the area has given him the hope of settling his family there someday.”
    “Yes, on its worst day
Iguvium
is far better than Rome on its best.”
    “Then why do you stay here when it’s clear your heart is elsewhere?”
    He opened the door without answering and waited for her to precede him through what appeared to be the back entrance of the busy stable. The strong odors of horseflesh and leather overpowered the rectangular space constructed of stone and rough-hewn timbers. Stable hands filled troughs with buckets of water. Horses, crowded into stalls lining both walls and the center of the long hay-covered floor, ate from feed bags or flipped their tails to clear the air of flies.
    “Wait here,” Alexius said tersely.
    As she idly petted the drowsing panther cub in her arms, she watched Alexius from beneath lowered lashes while he conversed with one of the Egyptian stable hands. It was widely known that women flocked to Alexius and after less than a day with him she understood why. Tall and broad-shouldered, he was not only physically arresting but possessed an inborn strength that was both undeniable and irresistible.
    She leaned against the wall of the tack room and closed her tired eyes. Judging by his sharp tone when he left to seek out the groom, she’d somehow offended him with her chatter. Leave it to her to annoy a malerenowned for his tolerance and good humor—at least outside of a fight. Unfortunately, it wouldn’t be the first time she was deemed too inquisitive when she was simply trying to make conversation, but it
was
the first time she wished she’d learned the art of acting serene and mysterious like her sister. If her experience with men