The Kin

  Chapter Seventeen

  Quietly they mounted their horses in the pre-dawn chill. There were four of them setting off for the Apulium. The governor had provided an escort of two men to guide them to the military capital of the province. The leader of the escort, a heavyset man called Paulinus, glanced at Junius for permission to leave. Seeing the tribune nod, he urged his horse forward and they began the two-day journey.

  They travelled quickly on the newly made Roman road, and it wasn’t an unpleasant journey. Marius rode with the men, asking questions and enjoying being back with soldiers, which was where he’d spent his entire adult life. Junius took his usual position at the rear, and once again seemed to spend a lot of his time looking around and taking in the scenery.

  The mountains were still impressive but they were further away and the road led through a wide valley, with only a small stream at its base. The trees were densely packed and came close to the road, but it was possible to make out tracks and glades between them, which made the forest much less intimidating than others they’d ridden through.

  Paulinus explained that there were no sentry posts on the road because the previous Emperor, Trajan, had successfully incorporated Dacia into the Empire but they hadn’t bothered with a mansio yet because the distance was so short. Therefore, once night fell, they continued for a few hours, but stopped eventually and made camp by the side of the road, under the trees.

  After a quick meal of bread dipped in oil, washed down with watered wine, the men settled down for the night on their bed rolls, whilst Junius once again took the first watch.

  As the moon came out from behind a cloud, Junius smiled to see her silver beauty so close and full in the sky. Here in this part of the world, the orb was more often than not obscured by cloud and hidden from view, so it was a welcome change for her to be on display. With that in mind, it would be a real hindrance for the Kin if they had settled here or anywhere with a similar climate. The moon was an essential part of Becoming, and without it, the process would have to take many days, unless they’d found a way around it.

  That was an uncomfortable thought and he tried not to think about it. His feelings about the Kin continued to be mixed. Marius, Nasir and others had risked their lives to save him and he was truly grateful, but he could understand why Marius didn’t trust him; he didn’t trust himself. If he’d known they were there to help them escape, would he have gone with Belinda? More and more he was coming to realise that, deep down, a part of him would have wanted to have gone with her. It wasn’t his logical thinking side, but the animalistic side which had been taken over and had savoured becoming Kin. Even now it wasn’t entirely gone, which was why he was so scared of feeling desire again. It still lurked there inside him, ready and waiting and he doubted that even Nasir and his men had a cure for it.

  In the distance a wolf howled and one of the other men roused himself sleepily and muttered that it was his turn to watch. Junius didn’t argue, he thanked the soldier and settled down on his bed roll. He didn’t need to move away from the others, he knew that he wouldn’t have any more bad dreams because he’d accepted what he’d been fighting, he just had to try and live with it now.