Empress.
It still hasn’t quite sunk in that I am essentially a queen. “The gownmaker will be here shortly though to measure you for your celebration attire.”
I get whiplash at her sudden change of subject, but I decide that it’s close enough, so I just smile. When she stands, she holds her hand out to me.
Lifting my arm, I slip my palm into hers. She tugs me to my feet and together we begin to walk. I have no idea where she’s leading me, but I don’t really care, either.
I’m just excited to be able to talk to her.
“What happened to your face? Was Tiberius angry that you were taken?” she asks, but doesn’t look at me. Her face is straightforward as we walk.
Stopping, I look over at her. “Tiberius didn’t do this, is this something he would do?” I ask, remembering how angry he became at the sight, and at the explanation of how I received the bruises on my face and neck.
She shakes her head. “I don’t know, he has never had a wife before.”
“But men do this?” I ask.
She shrugs a shoulder, tugging my hand and continuing her walk, guiding us toward the side door that leads out to the garden. I smile as soon as we step outside and the warm sun slides over my skin. It isn’t Florida, but I can’t say that I mind. It’s still warm and bright, that’s all that matters.
“Men will do as they will.”
Her explanation sucks, but I understand it, because it’s not wrong. Even in my world, men will do as they will. Sure, there are probably a lot more rights and laws in my world, than here, when it comes to women and men, but at the end of the day—men will do as they will.
“That they will, but this was not the work of Tiberius.”
“I am glad, for I could not imagine Tiberius being this way, I have angered and frustrated him much over the years and he has never given me the inclination that he would lift a hand to me.”
I can’t help but burst out laughing at her words. I have no doubt at all that Cassia has given Tiberius many frustrated moments. She is such a teenager. I spend the morning and into the afternoon getting to know Tiberius’ cousin.
Cassia is sweet and kind, she is curious and lively. She tells me much more than she probably is allowed about Tiberius, about his father and his many women and children. Then she tells me how Tiberius took care of all the children when he was not obligated to do so.
I find that I am in awe of my husband, and falling closer and closer to the ground, to landing in a place that I know is inevitable, but I am also not ready for that yet—love.
When it is time for lunch, which is really just a snack of flatbread, cheese, grapes, and other various fruits and nuts, I take the opportunity to eat, then excuse myself to find Laurentia and talk with her.
“The gownmaker should be arriving soon,” Cassia calls out. “Petronia and I will come and find you when he is here.”
“Thank you,” I say with a wave as I slip back into the house from the gardens.
Luckily, I don’t have to go far to find Laurentia. She is in my bedroom, putting some things away and organizing.
“Laurentia,” I whisper as I enter the room.
She freezes, then spins around. I feel like I’m seeing my best friend again after being away from her for a year, and Laurentia is just that, my best friend. Without thinking, without a word, I rush toward her and throw my arms over her shoulders, giving her a big hug.
Laurentia gasps as she wraps her arms around me. We hug until I make it uncomfortable, so I force myself to take a step backward and look at her.
Smiling, I can’t believe that I’m seeing her again, that she’s real. When I was back in Florida, I didn’t think that I would come back here, I’m almost more excited to see her than I was Tiberius—almost.
“You disappeared,” she whispers. “Standing right next to me, and you were just gone.”
Taking her hands in mine, I walk us over to the small table with two chairs in the corner of the bedroom and I dip my chin in a silent invitation to sit.
“I can’t,” she breathes.
I snort and tug her hands down, forcing her knees to bend and her ass to plant in the seat. She does with a gasp and I can’t help but laugh a little.
“Tiberius says that I’m in charge of you, completely and totally, now. And since I’m in charge of you, you’re sitting across from me, and we’re going to chat.”
“Empress,” she exhales.
“You’re more than just a famulus, which I hate. You’re my friend. Without you, I wouldn’t have survived this place when I first arrived. Even now, I can’t talk with anyone else the way that I can you.”
She shakes her head but doesn’t say anything. Squeezing her fingers, I inhale a deep breath, then let it out slowly.
“I just… thank you for everything,” I breathe.
Laurentia shakes her head. “There is nothing to thank me for. I have been so proud to be at your service, Empress.”
“Fuck that,” I snap.
Her eyes widen, though she probably doesn’t understand my explicative, she understands enough that she knows I’m irritated.
“You call me Drucilla, we have already gone over this,” I state.
“I cannot.”
Squeezing her hands again, I give her a small smile. “You can and you will. That’s my name, and I’m in charge, so that’s what I want you to call me.”
Her lips curve up and she shakes her head, but she doesn’t deny me again. “Now, I think I need help,” I whisper. “What happens at these wedding ceremonies? I’m worried something is going to go down and I’m going to look like an idiot.”
We spend the rest of the afternoon chatting. Laurentia tells me about the food and dancing, then she admits that she has only ever been to one, the last one that Tiberius’ father held when he decided to take another mistress.
Apparently, the old jerk liked to celebrate all of his mistresses, he threw them each a lavish party and made all the others, and his wife, join. From what I’ve gathered about him, he was pretty freaking terrible.
I don’t know how Tiberius ended up the way that he did, but I’m not going to ask a bunch of questions. I’m going to be thankful that he is the way that he is, and hold on tightly, in hopes that it only gets better with him.
TIBERIUS
Marcellus clears his throat as he approaches me. I’ve already talked to him this morning, though we only talked about business, and judging by the way he’s watching me, I know without a doubt that this is personal.
“Frater,” I murmur.
I am watching the men train the new soldiers. They are awkward, their bodies not quite one with their gladius yet. Their limbs and muscles have not developed and they are unable to have full control over themselves. I can tell just by watching them that they will turn into fine warriors—eventually.
“Have you thought about a match for Cassia?” he asks.
Arching a brow, I turn to look at him. “Are you attempting to propose yourself?” I ask, wrinkling my nose.
He snorts. “Never, do not be foul.”
“Then what is this? Cassia is still young.”
Marcellus shakes his head a few times. “She is young at heart, she is not young, and she expressed a wish to find a match.”
I hold back the groan. “This I know, I was ignoring her.”
Marcellus chuckles. There is a good match in Gigia. Quintillus Lucius. He is without a mulier, young and powerful. The largest landowner in the entire city-state. It would be good for her and for the joining and strengthening of Savona.”
Typically, I always agree with my brother. There isn’t much that we do not agree on. I don’t tend to ask him questions about scholarly things and he doesn’t ask me about war, this keeps us always in charge of what we are most knowledgeable.
“I was hoping to strengthen Savona by binding her to someone of another country,” I confess.
There is a moment of silence, then he clears his throat before he speaks. “You
would send her away?” he asks, keeping his voice low.
Chuckling, I look over to my brother. He would miss the young spirited Cassia, as we all would. “What is best for the country?” I ask him.
He’s quiet again, then finally speaks. “You have thought this through?”
“I have,” I admit. “Though he has agreed, he is not ready yet. I have not pushed. I have his agreement in writing and I quite enjoy having Cassia here. It is no hardship to keep her under my watch.”
“Did you converse with Brutus?” he grinds out.
It is obvious that me making this decision without him has somehow angered him.
“I have. Brutus agreed to the match before I approved it. Did you wish me to converse with you as well?” I ask.
Marcellus’ body jerks and he lifts his chin, looking down his nose at me. “You do not need to do such things, Emperor,” he sneers. “Have you chosen a bride for me as well?”
“Marcellus,” I sigh.
He doesn’t speak, though with his chin jutted as he looks down his nose at me, I’m sure that he has a few things that he would like to say to me, thankfully he doesn’t make the situation worse by voicing them.
“You are free to choose who you wish to wed, just as Brutus was free. Cassia is under my guard, therefore I needed to choose someone who would not only serve her, but the empire as well. I also made the match as if she were my own daughter.”
Marcellus drops his chin and relaxes his features as he lets out a heavy sigh. “I realize you do not have to consult with me on such matters, but I thought that you might.”
Lifting my hand, I wrap my fingers around his shoulder and squeeze. Giving him a shake, I smile at my little brother.
“I had planned on consulting you, but all of it happened when Drucilla arrived. Do I get a pass on this?” I ask.
He lets out a sigh and nods. “Just this once.”
Smiling, I look at him, my eyes searching his. “Have you chosen a bride, then?”
“When I have, you will know.”
We end the conversation and I ask him if he would like to have some wine with me. He agrees and all anger and irritation are gone and forgotten.
Chapter Twenty-Six
TIBERIUS
Walking toward my cubiculum, I lift my hand, balling my fingers in a fist, and knock on the door. Normally, I would just walk in, there is nowhere in this domum that I am not allowed to enter. I own and am in control of everything. There is no privacy here when it comes to the emperor.
However, today is different, this situation is different. My bride readies herself for our celebration. Since our wedding wasn’t in the traditional sense, I want to give her this celebration, to show her my people—her new people.
The door slowly opens and I am surprised to see the room filled with women. Drucilla has captured an entire audience. Cassia, two famulus, the dressmaker, and several others are filling my room.
“Are we ready?” I ask, shifting my gaze from the famulus who answered the door to Drucilla who stands at the other end of the room.
Her back is to me, but I know her blonde hair when I see it, even when it is twisted and pinned up off of her shoulders and back. She’s wearing a white gown, gold ropes arranged and ties all over her body to accentuate every beautiful aspect of her.
She lets out a noise, then turns around. I watch as she lifts her hand to her hair, but she doesn’t speak right away. She doesn’t need to. She is breathtaking.
The air leaves my body at the sight of my mulier dressed in her celebration attire. It makes me want to think of a reason to celebrate weekly, just to see her like this.
“My crown, I left it back… in my homeland,” she says.
My lips twitch in a small smile at the worry in her voice. Turning around, I walk out of the room without a word. Leaving her with her women, I head toward my office. Closing the office door behind me, I put the lock in place and make my way toward the empty wall.
There, I push through the false wall and into the jewel room. If Drucilla thought that the crown I gave her was the only one, she would be mistaken. Gathering not only a crown, but I also take a necklace and set of bracelets from the room.
Once the wall is secured and locked into place, I leave the office and make my way back to her, to my bride, to my mulier. Walking back into the room, this time I don’t bother knocking.
Cassia has her arm wrapped around Drucilla’s shoulders and their heads are tipped together as they talk. One of the famulus’ clears her throat and mutters something that I cannot quite make out. When she does, Drucilla’s head pops up and her eyes widen as she looks at me.
“Tiberius,” she exhales.
Silently, I make my way toward her. Lifting my hands, I raise them above her head and place her new crown on her head. It’s my mother’s. The one that I had given Drucilla previously was one that held no sentimental value, as I didn’t have much for her at the time other than she was my fated.
Things are different now, Drucilla is not just my fated-by-the-gods bride, I care for her, deeply. This crown, my mother’s, she is deserving of it. She has earned a place not only inside of me, but with my family as well.
“This was my mother’s,” I explain once I’ve placed the gold crown on top of her head.
She doesn’t say anything right away, instead, she lifts her hand and touches the cool metal. I don’t pay attention to Cassia, but I hear her shooing and shifting the women from the room to give us some privacy.
“May I have your wrist?” I ask.
Drucilla doesn’t speak, she extends her arm out and I wonder if she is going to say anything at all. Instead of asking her, I wrap the gold bangle cuff around her wrist, then the other I wrap around her bicep on the other side.
Without explaining, I walk behind her and I clasp the gold necklace around her throat, then shift to standing in front of her again.
“The gold is all my mother’s. It all belongs to the Empress of Savona. It all belongs to you,” I rasp.
She is oddly quiet, then I watch as the tears fill her eyes. They don’t spill over, she swallows them and holds them back, but as her gaze searches mine, she nods her head a few times.
“I have done nothing to deserve them, Tiberius,” she murmurs as she lifts her hand to touch the gold at her throat.
I hum, closing the distance between us. “But you have, mulier. You have done much. Let us celebrate our marriage with our people.”
She nods and slips her arm through my offered one. Together, the emperor and the empress make their way together toward their people.
“Tonight is a night of celebration. We will not think of the venefica, Diaboli, or any other obstacles that are to come our way. Tonight, we drink, we dance, and we enjoy ourselves with our people,” I announce as we walk through the empty hallway.
Drucilla nods her head but doesn’t say anything. Her grip on my arm is tight, and she holds her body stiff. She is nervous. Lifting my opposite hand, I cover her fingers with my palm in an attempt to give her comfort.
“They will all love you, melculum,” I murmur.
“You are well loved and I am a stranger, from an even stranger land.”
Clearing my throat, I stop as we are close to the entrance of the celebration. Turning to face her, I look into her beautiful violet eyes, loving how she watches me intently, as if I am the only person on this earth.
“My people will love you, Drucilla. They do not know that you are from a strange land. All they know is that their emperor has found his match in a beautiful woman. They may know that you hold magi, through rumors. That would not make them dislike you, magi isn’t an evil thing here. My father may have been opposed to it, but the people never have been fearful of it. Be yourself, charm them the way you have always done with me.”
“Charm?” she snorts before she rolls those violet eyes to the ceiling.
My lips curve up into a grin, lifting my hand, I touch my thumb to the center of her lips. “You have charmed me s
ince the moment I laid eyes on you. I knew you were coming. I was expecting you, and yet, I was not expecting the likes of you.”
She opens her mouth to speak, but I don’t allow her words to flow. Instead, I dip my chin and touch my mouth to hers. It has been days since she’s been home and the only part of my body that has been inside of hers is my tongue in her sacred mouth.
I take this opportunity to plunder her mouth yet again, hoping that soon, she will feel the need for more of me, that she will trust me again and allow me inside of her, allow me to plant my seed deep within her womb and create life.
Nibbling on her bottom lip, I press my forehead against hers and close my eyes, inhaling her sweet scent.
“Shall we?” I ask.
“Yes,” she breathes.
DRUCILLA
Tiberius guides me toward the celebration and I’m full of nervous energy. I can hear the music playing and the people talking before I even see a single soul. When we walk through the draped curtains that separate the hall from the main room, the crowd goes silent.
Marcellus appears out of nowhere to my left and I try to just look at him through my peripheral gaze, instead of turning my whole head to face him. I am so nervous, I don’t know where to look or what to do, so I end up just trembling.
“The Emperor would like to announce his new bride, Empress Drucilla Quirinus of Savona.”
Tiberius dips his chin and I feel like in this moment I should be doing a curtsy or something, but I have yet to see anyone bow or curtsy, not even to Tiberius, since I’ve been here. I decide against it and instead, give a shaky smile to the hundreds of eyes that stare at me.
“Enjoy the festivities, drink wine, manducare, and dance,” Tiberius shouts.
The crowd erupts in applause and slowly the music grows louder and people turn away from us and begin to go back to their merriment. I let out a sigh of relief that at least that moment is over. I don’t know what is going to happen next, but I’m ready for some food and maybe some wine, too.
Bride of the Emperor (The Prophecy of Sisters Book 4) Page 18