Chad bends down in front of me, crouching until his face is inches from my own. “You think that I’m just going to walk away from you? I’ll be back, bitch,” he growls. He reaches out, wrapping his hand around my throat and squeezes. “When you least expect it. You’re not getting away from me, Dru. Not again.”
Lifting my hands, I claw at him, trying to release his fingers from my throat as my breath leaves my body. I’m trying to gasp for air, but nothing comes. I try to make noise, but nothing happens, then darkness starts to creep around the edges of my eyes.
I try to shake the darkness away, it doesn’t work, it just creeps farther in, then everything goes completely black.
TIBERIUS
“Your messenger was here, but even if I hadn’t seen him riding up, I knew you were coming,” the maga announces from her front door, shrouded in darkness.
I’m sure that she can say that considering the messenger has already come and gone. Dismounting Felix, I walk up to her, my men at my back. Her head is down and she is wearing a scarf as a hood to cover her hair and face.
As I approach her, she tilts her head back and I pause. She is beautiful. I did not expect to see such beauty. I don’t know what I thought, but this woman standing in front of me was not it, at all.
“Emperor Tiberius,” she breathes.
“Maga,” I murmur.
Her lips curve up into a grin. “You’ve come to see me, won’t you and your men come into my home? I have soup cooking, bread and cheese.”
“And wine?” Brutus calls out from behind me.
She lets out a small laugh. “And wine,” she says with a nod.
I take one step inside, then another before my stomach twists and my knees give out from beneath me. I fall. Never in my life have I been taken down like this, but it’s happened several times since Drucilla left and I do not understand it.
“The gods, they have a crude sense of humor,” the maga announces.
Lifting my head, my teeth gnashing together, I look up at her. She doesn’t make a move to ask me if I am okay, if I need any help, instead she just tilts her head down and watches me in my agony.
“What?” I breathe.
“The gods have done this, you know that?”
Shaking my head, I continue to look up at her, hoping she can read my confusion and help me without me having to actually say anything, because just breathing is about all I can do in this moment.
“They created the bond between you and your intended, your fated. When that bond is severed for whatever reason, by physically being distanced, mentally distanced, or when someone else enters the relationship either by free will or manipulation, you will feel excruciating pain. Once you’re able, come inside and tell me what you’ve done.”
Without another word, she turns from me and walks into her cabin. Only when the door is closed do my men come and help me up. They know better than to try and give me aid while a woman is in my presence.
“Tiberius,” Brutus growls.
“She will know how to help, she already knows more than the pontifex maximus,” I inform him.
Brutus’ eyes widen and he blinks. He shifts his gaze to the closed door, then looks back to me. “Are you sure this is a good idea?”
“This is my only and last option. I do not know what to do after this and I cannot create life and make Decima my empress. I will not. I will also not just ignore her or turn her out, and potentially harm my people.”
“Then this is what we will do, besides she cannot be so bad, she’s offered food and wine to all of us,” he says with a laugh.
Once I am on my feet, I move around a bit, trying to ease the pain that I feel flowing throughout my entire body, it doesn’t work. I ignore it the best that I can and straighten my shoulders as I walk through her front door.
The maga is sitting at the table, a spread of bread, cheese, fruit, a pitcher of wine, and a huge bowl of soup sits at the table waiting for us along with her.
“Come to my table, Tiberius and his men,” she offers with a smile.
I do not sit, afraid that I will be unable to get up if I do. “You may call me Aeliana. Though some just refer to me as Maga. It is your choice, either is fine. I am not too picky on such matters,” she announces.
“Aeliana,” I say, my voice sounding gruff, even to my own ears.
She lifts her chin, her blue eyes looking down her nose at me. It is odd, her features. Blue eyes, black hair, it is unlike any of the people in my land. Blue eyes are not a typical trait of my people.
“I suppose you are anxious to get started.”
“Get started?” I ask.
“You wish to know about your wife, about your mistress. If Decima is indeed with child.”
I watch her for a moment, blinking. Unsure that I’ve heard her words. She smiles, obviously enjoying this moment between us and my surprise at her words. Aeliana has the upper hand, she knows it, and she enjoys it. I cannot blame her, I have been in her position more times than not in my life, it is exhilarating.
“I thought you were just going to enlighten me on the prophecy?” I ask. “On the gods and their games?”
Aeliana shakes her head a couple of times. “I could, but this is far too important to play. You must have all of my knowledge on this subject and as your faithful subject, Emperor, I plan to help in any way that I can. I have seen the destruction that Decima will wreak if she indeed becomes your empress, and I cannot allow my beautiful country to be subjected to her, to that fate and future.”
“Aeliana,” I growl.
She dips her chin, her gaze finding mine. “She continues to seduce you because she is not yet with child. No matter the spell she casts, your seed does not plant, as it would not. Had she done her due diligence and studied the gods and the prophecy, she would know this.”
I let out a breath of relief. “Wait,” I say, pausing her story. “My seed cannot plant?”
Brutus lets out a grumble, but I ignore him. “It cannot, Tiberius. Not in any woman other than your fated, and only when you are in love with her.”
Chapter Twenty
TIBERIUS
I watch Aeliana as she moves around her humble, yet spacious home. It is nothing more than a two-room cabin in the woods, but there is something magical about the space. Perhaps it is just her that’s full of magic and nothing else. However, I have a feeling it is more than just her being, it is everything that surrounds her.
“How do I get my empress back, Aeliana?” I ask after all of the men have eaten and drank copious amounts of wine.
Aeliana licks her lips, her gaze flicking to mine, holding my own with hers as she tilts her head to the side. Her blue eyes find mine, they hold my gaze and I hold my breath as I wait for her to speak, to tell me what she can do, or at least what she’s willing to do.
I don’t think that I will ever know the depth of her powers, she doesn’t seem like someone who would just let that be known freely.
She clears her throat, then I watch as she pours herself a hearty goblet of wine. “You’ll bring me Decima?” she asks.
“On my honor, she is yours to do with as you please. I have no affection toward her, nor hold her in any type of regard. She is manipulative and nobody that I wish to consort with, ever.”
Aeliana’s lips curve up into a grin, her eyes twinkle, and if I were not mistaken, I would think that she is aroused by the idea of having this venefica all to herself. I don’t ask her about it or what she wants to do with Decima, but Brutus does, he is and always has been curious and bold.
Far too fucking curious for his own good.
“What will you do with her?” he bursts out.
Her eyes brighten even more, to the point where they actually glow for a moment. She clears her throat, then flicks her gaze around.
“She killed my husband. I am going to have fun.”
“Your husband?” I ask.
She looks young, far too young to have been married and already widowed. She clears her throat,
her glowing eyes shifting from Brutus to mine.
“I’m thousands of years old, Emperor. My husband was the love of my life, I only found him one hundred years ago and she stole him from me. She lured him, I assume much like she did you, and she killed him.”
“How?” one of the men asks, completely enthralled by her story.
She doesn’t speak right away, instead her gaze flicks to each of us, then lands on me. “Your father had just sent all of the venefica to Curia. I was smart enough never to reveal my secrets, at least not publicly the way they had. I’ve seen persecution of my kind before, I know not to be too brazen and bold with my powers. My husband went to Curia, at my behest. I wanted to make sure that my sisters in magi were okay.”
There is a long moment where she gathers herself, inhales a shaky breath, then continues, but her voice is shakier, it isn’t confident and strong any longer, it’s sad.
“Decima seduced him with magi. My husband was a mere mortal, only alive for one hundred years because every year I gave him strength, youth, and a small part of me. But it wasn’t something that I could give him in abundance. My powers are strong, but keeping a mortal alive for hundreds of years, it is a burden too great to bear, so we are only allowed to aid in extending life one year at a time.”
Crossing my arms over my chest, I watch her for a moment. “What did Decima do to him, other than lie with him?” I ask.
Fire burns bright in her gaze at the mention of her beloved lying with Decima, but Decima would have it no other way, so I know without a doubt that she did magically seduce him in some capacity.
“She seduced him, then she brought him back to her mountain and after all of the venefica took turns with him, sending me mental images of their encounters, she tortured him.”
“Why?” Brutus asks, saying the word before I can.
“Decima wants ultimate power. She wants my power. She will only live until she’s one hundred, no older. Her magic fades each year, she will turn to dust and disappear if she does not figure out a way to gain more power, more control, and more magic.”
“She thought she could get to you through him?” I ask.
Aeliana smirks. “She thought,” she snaps. “She thought wrong. When I did not go after her, when I did nothing, she had to come up with another plan. You are but a mere opportunity that she has seized. Your father was wrong to send them to Curia, but he was also not wrong. He just went about it for the wrong reasons.”
I think about Decima, how she froze my body, did what she wanted. Then again, how she came to me, appearing as Drucilla and yet again, took me all in hopes that I would fill her with my child. Not to mention the deal she made, one that would allow her to be in charge of all of Savona.
“She thought that she could insert herself into the prophecy, didn’t she?” I ask.
Aeliana’s lips twitch into a smile. “You are smart, Emperor. Stronger and smarter than anyone I have seen in my lifetime. There is a reason that the gods chose you.”
“What do you know?” I demand.
She laughs softly. “I know much, Tiberius. I cannot tell you everything, some things are hidden even from me.”
“What can you tell me, about Drucilla, about the prophecy?” I bark.
She pushes off of the wall that she has been leaning against and makes the short distance to me. Standing in front of me, she tilts her head back, her pretty face focused on my own. Slowly, she lifts her hand and uses her fingertips to lightly brush my cheek.
“I can tell you that you must not fight the love you feel for your empress. It is true, it is not fabricated by the gods, it is something that you built with her. Though you did not even speak the same language, you fed it, and it grows between you both.”
I grunt, not wishing to talk of love and feelings in front of my men. Thankfully, she understands my grunt and ceases to talk of this. Her hand falls, but her gaze does not leave my own.
“The prophecy has begun, the punishments from it not going the way the gods wished, has also begun. It is time to bring your empress home.”
“Where did Amare take her?” I demand.
Her smile does not fade, I do not understand how she can be so happy. Perhaps it is because she will have her Decima to torture. I know not, and I also do not care overly much. I want my empress. I want my mulier. I want Drucilla, home.
“She has not been far. She was sent back to her world. Fetch Decima. When she is visually in my presence, I will bring Drucilla home. I must prepare myself, my body, and my mind, for transportation is not an easy task.”
“Even at your age?” I ask.
She laughs softly. “Even at my age, young emperor.”
Nodding, I take a step back. “Stay for the eve, rest your horses and…” she looks around the room before she points to one of the men. Antonio has been quiet, as usually is his way. “You,” she says, pointing at him. “You will lie with me, handsome.”
Antonio does not hesitate. Though she is thousands of years old, she looks as though she has only just reached womanhood and is a beautiful sight. They disappear instantly into one of the rooms and the rest of us chuckle before we discuss the events that have just unfolded.
Decima, Aeliana, Drucilla, the rest of the venefica. I wonder what will happen to them, with them, once Decima is taken care of. I make a mental note to ask this of Aeliana before I leave her home.
DRUCILLA
When I open my eyes, I am surprised to see the room is shrouded in darkness. Clearing my throat, I pinch my eyes closed at the burning sensation. I’d forgotten, but the memories flood back in an instant.
Chad was here, he was here and he was trying to force himself on me. When I said no, he hit me, then he choked me. I freeze, deciding to stay in my spot as I assess the situation. I don’t know if he’s here, he could still be in the apartment.
My heart starts to race at the thought of him lying in wait. He’s delusional. Fucking crazy, and I need to get away from him, get away from this whole world. I need to go back to where I belong.
I need to go back to Savona.
I don’t know how long I lie on the floor of my apartment, but it’s long enough that I am pretty sure I’m alone.
Slowly, I push myself up to my knees with a groan. He kicked me in my ribs. It must have been after I lost consciousness, but nonetheless, the bastard kicked me.
What a goddamn douche.
I didn’t think he was capable of anything like this, but it just goes to show that you don’t really know what a person can do when they don’t get their way.
Once I’m on my feet, I limp my way over to the couch. Sliding my gaze over to the door, I frown when I see that it’s locked.
Shit.
That means he has a key. I knew that I locked my door. I’ve been a single woman living alone since I was eighteen, locking the front door is a habit that you just don’t miss or forget. I think about standing up and heading to the bedroom, but I can’t do it. Instead, I lean my head back and fall asleep right where I’m sitting.
The next thing I know, there is a knock at my door. Turning my head to the side, I try to focus, but my head is pounding. With a whimper, I force myself to stand and I limp over to the door.
Looking through the peephole, I am surprised to see a woman standing on the other side.
“It’s Valeria, your mom sent me,” she calls out. Her voice is soft and lyrical, and if I could focus on her face, I’m sure I would think that it’s kind.
Unlocking the door, I tug it open and stumble backward. “Oh dear,” she whispers.
She slides inside and helps me close the door, then slides her arm around my waist and guides me over to the sofa. She helps me sit down and I’m panting as though I’ve run a mile, maybe two.
“What’s happened?”
Lifting my head, I look over to her. She’s sitting on the other end of the sofa and she looks exactly how I would imagine my mom’s friend of a friend who is a witch of some kind would look. She’s wearing a long s
kirt, a gauzy blouse, lots of necklaces and even a scarf around her head like a headband.
“A guy I used to date didn’t like the fact that I wouldn’t let him sleep with me.”
Her eyes widen right before they narrow. “Men,” she grinds out. “Some of them are completely useless.”
“Ain’t that the truth,” I quip.
Her lips curve up into a grin. “Your mother said that you would like to go home, can you tell me where that is?”
I debate telling her the truth, although, I have a feeling my mom has told her enough that she couldn’t think I’m any crazier than she probably already does.
“Savona,” I whisper. “It’s in another world,” I admit.
Her smile widens and she reaches forward, taking my hands in hers. “I know,” she breathes. “Your mother told me all about it and then I did a little digging of my own.”
“Is there more than one, you know, parallel universe thing? I started doing some Googling, and there is a lot of information proving that this is real. At first, I thought it was all a dream, or something.”
Valeria nods her head a few times, her hands squeezing mine. “It’s real, Drucilla. It is all real. And just like here, if you mess with the timeline, the order of events, it could mess everything else up.”
“Mess everything else up?” I breathe.
She nods her head. “You aren’t supposed to be here, not right now. The longer that you stay away, the harder it will be for you to return and both that world and this one will be off balance.”
“Then what?” I whimper through trembling lips.
“I don’t know, nobody does, destruction I suppose.”
“Send me back,” I demand.
Her eyes, they turn sad almost immediately. “It isn’t that easy, not for me.”
“Why?”
Her head dips, then she lifts her chin and her gaze finds mine. “Women like me, we’ve been suppressing our magic for so long that as the lines have continued, it’s weakened.”
“What do I do?” I ask as tears start to fill my eyes.
Bride of the Emperor (The Prophecy of Sisters Book 4) Page 14