Callistus snorted and tossed his head. If I could speak unicorn, there was probably meaning in that snort. Of course, I'd learn to speak unicorn years before I ever learned to speak girl.
"Nicolas Calva!"
I stiffened, recognizing that voice. Magic immediately filled my arms and hands, uninvited and unwelcome. Aurelia had warned me twice not to destroy her home, so I had to assume she'd meant what she said.
"Go away, Sal," I muttered.
"You're giving the orders now?" He tsked with his tongue. "I suppose I might've expected that from someone who's become so famous in Rome." He moved closer. I knew because his rancid breath always arrived sooner than he did. "Or are you infamous, perhaps? I've heard that our new emperor
views you as an enemy."
"If I were an enemy, Rome would know it," I said, still unwilling to turn and face him.
The narrow alleyway widened behind Aurelia's home, enough for Sal to pass me while still keeping what he considered a safe distance. If only he knew how far he'd have to go before it was safe between us.
As he walked past me, Sal took in the unicorn and my finer tunic and sandals. I'd always been barefoot while a slave and had always worn shredded tunics with more holes than thread. Beneath those rags, I was mostly skin and bone, whereas I looked much healthier than ever before. For that matter, he'd never seen me as clean as I now was.
"I always knew you'd make something of your life," he said. "And I don't say that only because of what your magic could do to me. I say that because it's true. You were always different. I thought maybe, if you survived the mines, one day you'd become a supervisor. I didn't expect this, I admit."
Despite the tension in every muscle of my body, I couldn't help but snort out a laugh. "I never expected this either."
He scratched at a balding patch on his scalp. "Late last night, Aurelia sent a message asking me, as the head of her household, to do a service for her. It's against my better judgment, but I have no power to stop her." Sal's bloated face somehow widened ever further. "Trust me, I tried."
"Nobody ever changes Aurelia's mind. What was her request?"
"Two requests, actually. For the first, I want you to know she paid me very well, but not as much as I could have demanded."
I sighed, growing impatient. "What did she ask, Sal?"
"I went to the magistrate this morning and paid the tax to have you and your sister officially freed. You're no longer a runaway slave, or any slave at all. You are free and a citizen of the empire. You are a Roman now."
He said the words so casually that I almost didn't pay them any attention. Now I stood frozen in place, replaying his words in my mind, trying to figure out where I had heard him wrong. Finally, I turned to him, unsure of what to say. This didn't seem like a trick, but I couldn't imagine why he would've agreed to Aurelia's request. He said he did it for less than he could have demanded.
"You freed us?" I finally mumbled. "Why?"
"When we were in the amphitheater together, you saved my life." He shrugged. "Why?"
Maybe asking the question was all either of us would ever get from the other. Maybe that had to be enough. I nodded at him and stretched out my hand.
"Nic, don't!" Aurelia yelled.
Sal and I both turned, and from the panicked expression on her face, I thought she believed I was about to attack him. But instead, when Sal looked at me again, I placed my hand on his shoulder. He did the same to mine.
"I hear people talk about you," Sal said. "I know that none of what they say is true."
For once, I felt no need to lower my eyes when I spoke to him. "Thank you, Sal."
"That was unexpected." Aurelia walked forward, holding a satchel in her hands. It was made of thick gray cloth and bundled with a rope at the top. She swung the loose half of the rope over her shoulder but kept it close to her body.
"What's in there?" I asked. "Is it your other request to Sal?"
I looked to him for confirmation of the answer. He merely nodded and then disappeared back within the home.
"I'll tell you what's in here later. For now, let's go." She started toward Callistus, but I called her name and she stopped.
"Sal just told me I've been freed." I still couldn't believe it. "Is that what you meant, about how you'd use your inheritance?"
Her feet shifted again beneath her. "He paid the tax from his own savings. He told me a while ago that he wanted to do it ever since you rescued him in the arena. I just paid him enough to be sure he got it done today."