My eyes were closed, so I didn't see exactly what happened next, but I did hear a voice, speaking out loudly and with perfect clarity to the executioner.
"Stop this!"
Silence fell amongst the crowd, and footsteps padded toward me, though the soldier still held my arms down and I could not raise my head. It was a woman's voice, but not Aurelia's. The crowd would never fall silent for her, and even in her gentlest moments, Aurelia's footsteps were never soft upon the ground.
The executioner lowered his blade, and I heard him kneel behind me. "Domina, this boy --"
"This boy will come with me."
I knew the voice now. It was the old vestalis I had last seen in the arena, warning me not to attack Brutus.
"He has been convicted," the executioner said. "Sentenced to death by Emperor Probus himself."
The vestalis's voice strengthened. "I am a holy woman of Rome, and you will honor me as such! If the gods have brought me here to save this boy, then you will respect my word. A vestalis can free any condemned prisoner. You know this, and you will not question me further. Release that boy!"
The soldier removed his hands from the chains at my wrists, allowing me to sit up. I did, slowly, but I could not look at her. If it had ever been difficult for me to find the proper words to speak, it was nothing compared to what was happening now. I wasn't sure if I had ever known how to speak at all.
"Break those chains," the vestalis told me. "You are strong enough to do that now."
I widened my arms, holding my wrists straight, and the bit of magic in me responded, snapping the chains. Perhaps in another few minutes I could separate the metal of the cuffs and be rid of the chains entirely. But not yet.
The executioner had backed away from me, so I felt no fear when I stood beside him. My attention was across the comitium to the rostra where Emperor Probus had been. He was still there, also standing. But he only shook his head and walked away. Not exactly a pardon from the empire, but he wasn't challenging the vestalis either. I doubted he could.
After he disappeared, I still remained on the platform. Not because I was particularly eager to be near a blade that only seconds ago had had my name on it, but because I knew my legs would likely crumble if I attempted to go down the stairs. Instead, I gave the vestalis a respectful bow and left my head down.
"Do you still speak?" she asked. "I trust the empire didn't take your tongue."
"What you've done for me ... no words exist --"
"Of course they exist. The words are 'thank you,' and I accept them. Come down from that platform. We have things to discuss."
I obeyed her, vaguely aware that Crispus was still holding Aurelia back, and acutely aware that my legs were shaking. When she gave me the warning not to kill Brutus in the arena, maybe the vestalis had known how this would all end, but I didn't. In fact, I still didn't know how everything would end.
"Domina --"
"This is not the place for us to talk."
The mob allowed us to leave them behind. Even the Praetors let me walk away, which had everything to do with their respect for the vestalis's power, not mine. I looked back for Crispus and Aurelia, but they were gone. I hoped they would be safe. I hoped no one else had guessed the true contents of Aurelia's satchel.
The vestalis took my arm as we walked out of the forums, though I didn't think she really needed it. It felt more like a gesture of familiarity and perhaps even a sort of affection. I already understood what it was to have a grandfather, even if Radulf was far from an ordinary grandfather. But from the vestalis, I now understood what it must be like to have a grandmother. Impossible not to love.
"How soon until you can heal the injuries to your back?" she asked.
"Not yet." Magic was slowly returning to the Divine Star. However, my first priority was to get the chains off my wrists. I hated them there.
"The lashing was worse than I'd expected," she said. "I underestimated Brutus's anger."
I didn't have any answer for that. So instead, I asked, "Where are we going?" We were walking away from the forum, which was perfectly fine by me. But that didn't mean other surprises weren't somewhere ahead.
"You'll see, soon enough."
It was all the answer I was going to get, which I understood. The streets were crowded today, and enough of the passersby knew my face, not to mention the fact that I was being escorted by a vestalis. We were already drawing enough attention our way. There was no need to complicate it by having a conversation that was certain to be dangerous.
We entered Trajan's Forum, full of treasures that had been taken from areas Rome had defeated. Once we passed through the basilica there, we entered a small square with libraries on either side of me, one full of Greek documents and the other with Roman documents.
I doubted whether I'd ever have enough education to read in Greek, but how I longed to enter the Roman library and absorb every last page there. I could read a little, which felt like a single taste of the sweetest fruit. All I wanted was more. What sort of person might I become if I were able to take in everything a library offered me?
But that was not my life and probably never would be. It was foolish to forget that only minutes ago, my life was condemned. I reminded myself again who I was, and why the vestalis had brought me here. We had not come to discuss books. Nor the happy prospects for my future, I guessed.