Before he completed his sentence, however, another senator walked up behind them, dressed in the same white-and-purple toga. He was a round sort of man. Round eyes, round nose, and a round belly that probably consumed more cakes in a day than I had seen in a lifetime. Valerius greeted him as Senator Horatio, then quickly faced me forward again. He placed a hand over my torn tunic, covering the scratch. It sparked when he pressed down on the wound, and I winced, but with his other hand, he squeezed my arm, warning me to stop moving.

“How much is it to buy this boy?” Valerius asked the guards. “Who is his owner?”

“You wouldn’t want him,” Senator Horatio said, speaking of me. “This boy is filthy. Show us your teeth.”

I’d heard how slaves were treated at auction, and this small taste of it was bitter in my mouth. They didn’t even bother talking to me, and spoke about me as if I wasn’t right in front of them, hearing every word they said. I clamped my mouth closed and tried to turn away, but Valerius’s hand was still covering the scratch on my shoulder and he pulled me back. I wished he wasn’t holding me so tight — the sting in the scratch was getting worse — but he wasn’t giving me any room to squirm free.

One of the guards stepped forward. “He belongs in the mines south of this lake. We must bring him there for punishment.”

Senator Horatio’s only interest was in punishing me now. “Show me your teeth!” he demanded.

“Show me yours,” I muttered. Once we returned to the mines, Sal could give me whatever punishment he wanted. It would be a pleasure compared to any service of this gasbag ructuose pig.

Despite both Valerius and Crispus persuading him to move on, Senator Horatio was becoming angrier. “I am the presiding magistrate of the Roman Senate,” he said. “You will obey me!”

“He isn’t worth your trouble,” Crispus said dismissively. “If this boy was obedient, he wouldn’t be here right now.”

That caused Horatio to pause, and privately, I rejoiced. If my lack of obedience caused him to leave me alone, then it had just become my finest trait.

Without another glance at me, Horatio arched his neck. “Senator Valerius, this entire day has been a waste of our time. Those rumors of a discovery of Caesar’s treasure were clearly false. I will return to Rome at once.”

“Of course.” Valerius gave him a curt bow but still did not release me. After Horatio was gone, Valerius then stepped toward the guards. “Perhaps we can arrange a deal. For enough money, you might forget you ever found this boy, or saw me here.”

The guards blinked at one another as if they were considering his offer. Not that I had much choice in the matter, but I was considering my options too. Sal was at the mines. But then, so was Livia.

One of the guards finally brushed the senator’s hand aside. “We’ll return this boy for his punishment, or else we’re the ones to receive it. You can negotiate for him back at the mines.”

“Very well.” Senator Valerius leaned down to me and whispered, “I am your friend, but do not trust that anyone else in Rome will feel the same way. I will try to get to the mines before dark. Until then, understand that the mark on your back is no scratch. It doesn’t matter how you got it, only that there are people who will kill you if they see it.”

Despite the rudeness of looking directly at him, my eyes met his. “Why?” I asked. “What’s there?”

But there was no time for him to answer, for the guards grabbed my arms and pulled me into the wagon. The last thing I saw before we rounded a corner was his son, Crispus, who merely shrugged apologetically at me. Maybe because of Horatio’s rude behavior. Or more likely, because he knew his father had just attempted to buy me in order to save my life. And failed.

As we rode back to the mines, the guards joked at the various punishments Sal might give me for running, but I hoped they were only jokes. Sal knew the truth about how I had come to be so far away. Less certain was whether the truth mattered to Sal.

Once we arrived, the guards shouted out for Sal to come, that they had found me. I heard my name being called like an echo around camp, and within minutes, I heard Livia’s voice behind me. I squirmed around until I saw her.

Livia looked like a younger version of our mother, which made it hard to look at her on the days I missed our mother the most. Livia was tall for her age with gentle features and kind eyes. She had a round face with curly golden hair that she usually bunched up in a knot at the base of her neck so it didn’t get in the way of her duties. Just as my mother had done. Despite the hard work and worries of a life in the mines, Livia was uncommonly pretty. I supposed that was its own sort of curse, because it drew Sal’s attention to her, something she hated almost as much as I did.

Tears were running down Livia’s face and they only increased when she saw me. I hated seeing her so upset and wished she could’ve hidden her feelings better. Because unless we escaped, I would die in the mines anyway, and when I did, my last thought would now be the picture of what that would do to my sister.

Sal came from the other direction and the guards pushed me out of the wagon and then set me on my knees. I immediately noticed that Sal was limping and his cheek was badly bruised. I wondered if those injuries had come from Radulf after Sal lost me in Caesar’s cavern.

Sal greeted me with a kick directly to my gut. I had expected something like that and, frankly, was glad he didn’t do worse. I took the kick with my eyes down and tried to recover my breath without falling over. The bulla was as heavy as it had been when I tried to run with it inside the cave, far heavier than gold should be. If I was going to take a beating for the bulla, then I figured that confirmed my right to keep it. So when I sat up, I angled my body to hide it better from him.

Livia was closer to me now. I only saw the edge of her skirt, but her cries rang in my ears. I tried telling her to leave but still didn’t have enough breath for words. All I had to do was explain myself. Things would return to normal.

“So you’re alive?” Sal didn’t sound entirely happy about that fact.

“He was trying to escape,” a guard said. “We found him near the lake.” They didn’t mention our encounter with the senators. Neither would I.

“I was only eating berries!” I looked up now. Sal’s face was bruised worse than I had first thought. No matter my feelings for him, I still wouldn’t have wanted him injured for something I’d done wrong. “When the entrance collapsed, I had to find another way out, and I did. I would’ve come back here.”

“Why would anyone return to this place?” Sal said. “You’re not only an escapee, but a liar too.”

My eyes darted over to Livia, whose face had drained of color. She often told me that if I ever had the chance to escape, I should do it, even without her. I always replied that I wouldn’t leave her behind.

“I belong in these mines,” I said. “This is my life.”

“There’s no life here, Nic! When will you understand that?” He was screaming at me now, but I had to let him do it. Once he calmed down, he’d allow me back in.

I nodded toward the guards. “Have them untie me and I’ll go back to work right now.”

“Are you asking me to forget about your disobedience before? Or your attempted escape?”

Well, no, not asking in words. Though it would’ve been nice.

He continued, “And what happens if I return you with the other slaves, with your story about an exit deep inside the mines, and your belly full of berries? What will they think of that? What will they believe about their own chances to escape?”