His Seafaring Siren (Caledonia's Captives) by Lisa Adams Page B

again has often entered my dreams.”
    “Is it Phaedra?”
    “No. I can see that she and Trivian are truly in love. Whatever you two once shared is completely in her past, whether it’s in yours or not.”
    Septimus let out a huff. “You do not believe that my feelings for Phaedra are past?”
    “I am not sure what I believe.” She stood and pinned him to his seat with her glare. “I am going to bed as well. You may sleep with me if you wish, or sleep here on the settee. But do not expect me to join with you tonight.”
    Her features were set hard on her face and her words struck him deep. “What is it you want me to do, Mowriyah?” he called after her.
    She stopped mid-stride and turned to face him. Her mouth opened as if she was ready to tell him something, and then she closed it. Before he could question her again, she was gone.
    Mowriyah! His mind screamed her name, but his voice could not muster a syllable. He sat on the settee alone and pondered the events of the day. With no one around, Septimus felt like a small child who had been abandoned. He remembered the feeling from his youth. The moment of being lost on the sea of Caledonia after his parents had left him. Though he was found by traders, he had been petrified of the men who had taken him from everything that he had known. But things changed quickly. He was taught to handle the ropes, to fish, and they’d treated him well during his journey to Rome. The fear he had had of these seagoers turned into something more. He began to care about them, to think of them as family. Mowriyah had been an unexpected gift, like those men who’d found him many years ago. She took care of him and their relationship had grown. What had started as merely fun between them had transformed into... love.
    ***
    Mowriyah tossed about the soft, feathered bed, wrestling with her thoughts. Anticipation, excitement, and worry combined with the enormous emotional bubble that was forming around Septimus and herself and was threatening to burst.
    She tried to calm herself, knowing she needed the rest to get her through tomorrow. The night showed no sign of passing and the dancing shadows outside Trivian’s window had come to a halt.
    Septimus had crept into the room hours later and was now breathing steadily in her ear. But instead of soothing her as it so often did, it irritated her even more. She slid from beneath the covers and made her way to the kitchen.
    She stood at the sink and turned the handle. Water poured freely from the spigot. The inventions here amazed her, but the sound was comforting and reminded her of rushing water near her new home in Caledonia. Her thoughts drifted to her older sister, Abagail. Her sisters were all she had left now. These Romans had taken everything away from her. I’m coming, Leihla. Hang on a little longer. Her eyes welled with tears and the rushing water from the faucet urged the tears to flow. She broke into a fit of sobs. A gentle touch on her shoulder made her jump and turn.
    “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to frighten you.” Phaedra raked her fingers through her hair. “I know I’m probably the last person you want to see right now...”
    “No. It’s okay.” Mowriyah filled two small cups with water and motioned to Phaedra to join her at the kitchen table. “Come. Let’s talk.”
    “Having trouble sleeping?”
    “When my nightmares become my realities, it does seem to keep me from my sleep.”
    Phaedra took a small sip. “He does love you. You do know that, don’t you?”
    “I thought that he did, but now I am not so sure.” Mowriyah’s heart sank. He had never made any verbal commitment and the coolness from that moment at the bathhouse still pulsed through her body. “Besides, when I told him today how I felt, he pulled away and left me standing alone.”
    “Oh, but I am sure.” Phaedra reached out and grabbed Mowriyah’s hand. “I’ve known Septimus for a really long time. He’s changed so much, for the better. And