FEROX WOKE WITH hair in his mouth. For a while he just lay on his back and felt the wiry strands on his lips. There was a weight resting against him and something over him, but he was comfortable and did not mind. Above was the high thatched roof and there was a dull light, which made him suspect that the morning was well advanced. The fire had died away to nothing sometime during the night and his eyes did not want to do any hard work, so he let them close and only now and again looked up at the roof. There was movement there, probably the usual roaches or other vermin in the thatch, but the more he stared up the more he became convinced that this was not the hut he had occupied with Vindex and Masclus. It was smaller, for one thing, and the gentle sighing breath beside him did not sound much like either man.

The centurion blew the hair out of his mouth. It was long and raven black. He licked his lips and squinted to see the long slim arm draped over his chest and outside the warmth of the furs covering them. Turning as gently as he could, he twisted his head to see the mass of long raven-dark hair sprayed out like a great fan. Most of the owner’s face was covered as she rested, but he could see the outline of a pale cheek and full lips that seemed very red in contrast. It was the woman embraced by the high king at their first meeting – a day, and what seemed like months ago. She was naked, for he could feel her bare skin on his under the coverings. The woman stirred slightly, murmured something, and hooked one long leg over his.

There were worse ways to wake up, far worse, but he could not remember anything after the feast. This was surely the hut given to Crispinus and the woman here to offer the hospitality of the royal house to the honoured guest. Was it all a mistake, and he had been carried here instead of the young tribune? That seemed unlikely, for the high king struck him as a deliberate man, which meant that there must be a reason why he was here, lying with this woman. He doubted that anything had happened, for he had drunk far more than he had done since the ambush over a month ago. Yet someone had undressed him, and as he lay he felt the warmth of his companion. She was a royal favourite, and the way that Tincommius had embraced her made it obvious she was his lover, whether mistress or one of his wives.