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"Maybe he was," I said.
Aurelia shrugged. "Maybe." But she obviously didn't believe it. "When Brutus left, he said that if the key wasn't found soon, he would place the blame with Valerius. The very next day, Valerius went to the circus to see Radulf and warn him. He's risking a lot to protect you."
I nodded wordlessly. It felt like Aurelia wanted me to say something, but I wasn't sure what.
Finally, she said, "Valerius is right, Nic. You should leave Rome, as soon as possible."
"Livia and I might need help in leaving." I licked my lips. "Someone good with a bow and arrow, perhaps?"
Aurelia's smile fell. "That's what you want from me? A hunter? Or a guard?"
"A friend." My eyes met hers. "Livia and I don't have many friends at the moment."
"You're leaving today?"
"No, not yet." I looked over at Livia, making sure she was still asleep. "First, I have to find my mother."
Aurelia sat up all the way, so I did too. "Nic ..."
"She's not far away. I saw her yesterday in the circus." Behind us, Livia gasped. I should have looked more carefully. This wasn't the way I had intended for her to find out.
"Why didn't you tell me?" Livia asked. "You speak about trust and wouldn't even trust me with that?"
"I'm sorry," I whispered. My second apology of the day, and no doubt, several more were coming.
"You need to forget about finding your mother," Aurelia said. "Please, believe me, and leave Rome."
Impossible. That was like asking me to forget my own name, which I'd sooner do than abandon my mother. "Why?"
She sighed. "There's something I need to tell you."
"About my mother?"
Aurelia only frowned. Yes, it was about my mother. And I already knew that it was bad.
Before talking any further, we agreed to go to the surface. If we waited too much longer, people would be on the streets and would surely notice us coming above ground. Besides, I didn't like the stuffiness down here, or the smell.
After a final washing, we climbed a ladder that took us into an area not far from the Pantheon. This temple was different from the others since its interior was rounded with an oculus on the top. When he took me there last month, Radulf had described the overhead opening as the eye of the gods. If that was true, then I refused to go inside now -- I didn't want to guess at which of the gods was watching me.
So Aurelia, Livia, and I sat on some grasses nearby to dry off in the sunlight and watch the city awaken. The merchants arrived first with their wares. If I'd thought about it last night, I should've stolen some money when I stole back the bulla. Since I was committing one crime, a second wouldn't be so bad, or at least that's what I told myself when I stared at the merchants' food. But it was too late for that, so I let go of the thought and instead turned to Livia and Aurelia.
"Tell me about our mother," Livia said. "She can't be far from here."
"Why do you think she was in the circus?" Aurelia asked. "Of all places in Rome, and at the very time Nic was practicing?"
"Lots of patricians come to watch the chariots practice," Livia said. "It's how they plan their bets for the races."
"A million people live in Rome, but your mother was taken there for Nic's practice. Can you really believe that was only a coincidence?"
"Why else --" Then I understood, with a reality that felt like a hard blow to my chest. "The Praetors have her."
"Decimas Brutus began looking for your mother shortly after your battle in the arena. He found her a few days ago. You can guess why."
My mouth went dry. "To lure me to him. Brutus wanted me to see her in the circus."
"Once you ended the race so abruptly, they knew you had seen her and took her away," Aurelia said.
"Crispus knew about this yesterday," I said. "This was what he didn't want to tell me."
