Tiberius whispers. “Te amo, Empress.”
I don’t know if it’s the fact that he just expressed his love for me, or if I was really just that close, but my legs start to tremble and my orgasm rushes through me in a shockwave. Ripping my lips from his, I look up into his scarred face, my eyes finding his and I connect my gaze with his own.
“I love you so much, Tiberius,” I whimper as the orgasm continues for longer than I have ever felt before.
Tiberius grunts, his thrusts becoming faster and wilder, chasing his own release until he buries himself deep and with a roar that fills the room, I feel him fill me at the same time. His breath comes out in pants and he drops his forehead to mine, closing his eyes as he attempts to catch his breath.
“We have made a child, Drucilla, we have made a princeps.”
A prince.
“What if it is a daughter?” I ask.
I don’t truly believe that we have made anything, but I am lost in the afterglow and he’s still buried inside of me. I feel too good to worry about anything else at this point. He hums, brushing his lips across mine before he lifts his head.
“Then she will be as beautiful as you and we will continue to create life until we have the family we desire.”
“Until you get your princes?” I ask.
He chuckles. “Until we have the family that we desire. Boys, girls, a whole domum full.”
Lifting my hands, I cup his cheeks and look into his beautiful eyes. “I don’t know what the future is going to hold, what any of this prophecy means for us, but I can’t deny that I am happy all of this craziness brought me to you.”
I mean the words too. I’m not just saying them, I am happy. Happier than I have ever been in my life. The only thing that would make this complete, that would make me blissfully happy, would be to have my sisters near me.
“The next mission, once we have dealt with Decima and Diaboli, is your sisters. Do not think I have forgotten about any of them,” he announces as if he can read my mind.
Licking my lips, I dip my chin in a nod. “Okay, Tiberius.”
His lips brush mine again. “Let us sleep, melculum. I have missed being close to my mulier.”
“I’ve missed my husband,” I confess.
“Never again, Drucilla. Nothing will come between us, ever.”
I don’t make the promise, because this world has things like magic and witches that do just that.
However, I do close my eyes and pray to my god that it never happens again. Because now he’s not just some hot guy I can’t understand, he’s my husband in every sense of the word and I love him.
TIBERIUS
Leaving Drucilla sleeping in bed this morning doesn’t feel as heavy as it did yesterday or the day before. As I break my fast, I tell the cook to prepare a platter for Drucilla and have her girl take it to her in a few hours.
Marcellus appears at my side, as usual, to talk to me of the plans for the day and demand that I attend certain meetings and things, of which I never do. I am the emperor, but the mundane things that accompany the title are not conversations that I particularly care much about.
“You did not join last night,” he needlessly points out.
With a shrug of my shoulder, I reach for a piece of bread and bring it to my lips to busy my mouth. A moment of silence passes before he clears his throat, impatiently waiting for me to comment on his observation.
“My mulier does not wish to share. I cannot say that I blame her. The idea of sharing what is mine leaves something to be desired,” I truthfully admit.
Marcellus tilts his head to the side, though I doubt he would ever understand my position. He will no doubt have a mulier who enjoys our orgias just as much as he does.
Last night, I wasn’t sure how I would feel watching the activities around me and not joining in. As the emperor’s son and now the emperor, I have always been awarded whatever I have desired.
I left the celebration feeling nothing but content, and that feeling multiplied once I walked into my cubiculum, my contentment turned into complete euphoria.
“You are in love,” Marcellus announces.
Taking another bite of bread, I dip my chin, my eyes finding my brothers. “I am, frater.”
Admitting it aloud, it does something to me. It makes my insides feel warm. It doesn’t make my blood feel hot the way that it does when I need Drucilla, when I am on the edge and can no longer stand not being inside of her, not reaching my climax. It’s different and I think that it is indeed love.
Never have I imagined myself a man who could love. A family was something I knew that I needed, but it was a duty and nothing more.
I knew that I didn’t want to be like my father. I didn’t want to create children with countless women and leave them destitute when I died. Though, I did make sure none of them were that. It’s not the legacy that I wished to leave behind.
I didn’t think that I would fall in love with my mulier though, god created for me or not. There is a sharp crack of thunder and I wonder if my mulier is awake and angry. Frowning, I watch as a couple of people run toward the gardens haphazardly.
Standing, I follow them. Running outside I freeze at the sight before me. I was hoping that I would not see her again, that her payment had been received and that neither of us would need one another again.
I was wrong.
Standing in front of me is Aeliana with Decima.
“What is this?” I demand on a roar.
Aeliana frowns. “I don’t have premonitions,” she oddly announces.
She takes a step toward me, Decima still attached to the metal pole. Decima does not look tortured, but she does look tired. I don’t know what Aeliana has been putting her through, neither do I care, however, I do care deeply as to why they are here.
“You’re here to tell me something, I wish to hear it,” I say, tilting my chin up slightly.
“I do not have premonitions,” Aeliana says again. “However, I had one. It is my powers, they are different since this has started. Since the prophecy is going full-fledged and not in the way the gods intended.”
“Is it not?” I ask, knowing that I am indeed in love with my mulier.
She shakes her head. “The sisters are going to come together. They are going to gather and it will be disastrous. I need to be there.”
“You need to be there?” I ask, then jerk my chin in the direction of the woman on the pole and arch my brow. “Decima as well?”
She clears her throat, her lips curving up. “Decima is here because I am not finished with her yet. I haven’t decided how I will use her, but I will, and eventually she will aid me in all of this.”
“Never,” Decima hisses.
Aeliana puts her hands on her hips, turning her head to look back over her shoulder. “You will. Your powers already drain from you to me. In the end, you will aid us in this.”
“What on earth?” I hear gasped behind me.
Closing my eyes, I try to make my face impassive. I’m certain that it doesn’t work. Turning around, I hold out my hand to my mulier. Drucilla slips her palm in mine, but she doesn’t look at me, not for a moment. She has locked eyes on Decima and she is not looking away.
“Aeliana has come to help us, she has had a vision of sorts,” I attempt to explain.
“And she’s brought her?” Drucilla hisses.
“I have and, in the end, you will see that it was a wise choice, even if you cannot in this moment,” Aeliana states. There is zero room for argument, and I find it hard not to chuckle at her simple words.
Drucilla doesn’t say anything, but just glancing at her profile, I can see the hard look she is giving Decima. When I look to the other woman, I shake my head at the smug expression she wears. Decima has not figured it out yet, Drucilla may not be in complete control of her powers, but she has them, in abundance.
“Well, come and break your fast, Aeliana. Tell me what you have seen.”
Aeliana looks up to the sky, then shifts
her gaze down to the ground before she lifts her eyes to meet my own. “It will not be long, Tiberius,” she whispers.
Chapter Thirty-Two
TIBERIUS
Decima stays in the garden, as if she is on display, and no matter how many times I attempt to tell Aeliana that we can put her elsewhere, she shrugs and says that she needs her there, because it will not be long.
Drucilla sits close to my side as we watch Aeliana break her fast. I don’t say anything, unsure that I wish to know what is going to happen according to her vision, but Drucilla cannot wait.
“Tell me what’s happening,” Drucilla practically begs.
Aeliana stops mid-reach for some food, her gaze lifting and connecting to hers. “You are the empress now and you should know all the comings and goings in this country and world,” Aeliana announces. “But you are not ready for it all.”
“I think I should know what awaits me, shouldn’t I?”
Aeliana presses her lips together, shifting her gaze from me to Drucilla, then back to me again before finally landing on Drucilla.
“In the end, the premonition is nothing more than a dream. It does not foretell the future, I am not a seer.”
“Then why come all this way?” I ask.
Aeliana arches a brow. “If it does come true, I wish to protect my emperor. I find that I quite like him. He is fair,” she murmurs.
I can’t hide the surprise on my face, of this I’m sure. So, I laugh. “You may stay as long as you feel necessary.”
“It will not be long,” she says with a shrug, then begins to eat again, the conversation seemingly over.
Turning my head, I look over to Drucilla, who faces me and widens her eyes. My lips curve up into a grin and I lean forward, touching my mouth to hers. “All will be well,” I murmur against her mouth.
Aeliana chuckles. “It will be well, but mostly because I am here and I am prepared.”
I open my mouth to say something, but I’m cut off when there is loud screaming from the gardens. We all stand and rush out there.
“She is bound, her magic is not available to her right now,” Aeliana says as if she’s trying to convince herself of such a thing.
Once we are outside, it is clear to see that it is not Decima that is causing the screams. There is a gigantic dragon that is flying down to earth, then a flying horse. The sisters have arrived.
“What?” Drucilla breathes.
Wrapping my arm around her waist, I tug her against my side. “Your sisters are here, melculum.”
“What?” she exhales on a whisper.
Clearing my throat, I squeeze her waist with my fingers. “Your sisters have arrived. Let us go to them.”
“It seems perhaps I am a seer,” Aeliana mutters behind us.
Before we run to the sisters, I turn toward Aeliana. Curious about her words. “What have you seen, Maga?” I demand.
She attempts to look sheepish, but I do not look away from her, my gaze staying focused on hers. She is hundreds of years old, she is not sheepish by any means. She has seen something and she’s avoiding telling me. I want to know what it is and how we are going to devise a plan to make it not happen.
“The gods did not take into account that you and your fated match would have an issue conceiving,” she whispers.
“An issue?” I ask.
She nods. “She should have been pregnant by now. They sent her back to her world, they did this to protect her, but in doing it, they did something that is now irreversible.”
“Are you saying I can’t ever have children?” Drucilla rasps.
Aeliana shifts her gaze from me to Drucilla, and I watch as her eyes soften. “I do not know if it is never. I just know that it is not now and for the prophecy to have its positive effect on the land, on the world, you must be with child.
“Your sisters have all already had children or are with child. You’re leaving, then coming back, it did something. It caused a problem and the negative effects of the prophecy are in motion and for whatever reason, they seem to be unable to stop.”
“What will happen?” I growl.
Aeliana turns to me again. “I am unsure of what the future holds, but I believe that Diaboli is going to make a return, as are the other venefica from Curia. This will all happen in an attempt to take over, as was their plan all along.”
“We need a plan put into place,” I growl.
“I can’t have a baby,” Drucilla mutters to herself.
There is a moment of silence and I look down at my beautiful mulier, who is heartbroken. I want nothing more than to console her and remind her that Aeliana did not say she would never have one, just that she is not going to have one immediately, but I don’t.
I don’t have the opportunity to tell her in this moment, because her sisters cry out her name and in a rush of colors and garments, they surround her. Their voices fill my ears and I am pushed out of the way. Then, I hear male chuckles and I turn to look in their direction.
There standing in front of me are three of the most powerful leaders in the world, aside from myself. I have never seen them in person, never met them before, but I know that is who they are just by the way they stand and present themselves.
Walking toward them, I extend my arm and introduce myself. They each shake my hand, introducing themselves as Elias, Aaric, and Colton.
“I guess we’re all family,” Colton says with a grin on his lips.
“The four most powerful leaders in the world and we are all bound by sisters. If these aren’t the ultimate unions, I don’t know what could be,” Elias announces.
“How did you know to come here now?” I ask.
It is Aaric who clears his throat. “My seer, she had a vision.”
“As did Aeliana, my maga,” I say.
“Things are falling apart in Devilrise,” Colton admits. “We are having problems and I think that it is the prophecy.”
Nodding, I remember Aeliana telling me that there were problems arising. “Bunafi is not immune to issues as well, it is why when Aaric came to me, I agreed to come immediately. I can sense it in the air, there is something on the horizon,” Elias murmurs.
“We must meet all together and privately,” I suggest. “After you’ve all eaten and rested.”
Dipping my chin, I notice the small child nestled in both Elias’ and Aaric’s arms. I can’t help but think of what Aeliana has just told us, that we may not ever have one. It should matter to me, as the emperor, it should mean so much to me to have an heir. It does, but again, it does not.
The only heirs that I want are with Drucilla. If it does not happen for us, I will just name my successor. My legacy and name will live on, but I will not do such harm to my mulier as to create life with another, not when I know that it would ultimately break her in every way possible.
The large crowd is guided into the dining room where more food is brought out along with drinks. Drucilla smiles and speaks animatedly with her sisters. I watch from afar, soaking her in as she interacts with them.
“She is different with them, lighter, but also not herself,” Marcellus observes from beside me.
The men are chatting amongst themselves, their attention split between conversation, their wives, and their children. It is a houseful of people, of family, and I find that it makes me smile.
My father had many mistresses and many children, but the only ones who lived in this domum were me and Marcellus. It is good to see the domum full of laughter and love. After we’ve eaten, I turn to the men.
“Shall we discuss strategies, what we know, and the unknown together?” I ask.
Instantly, they turn to me, their lips twitching into a small smile. Strategies and war, these men know that well and I can tell that they are of the same breed as me. This will be a good match, the four of us, our countries uniting.
Perhaps the gods knew exactly what they were doing.
DRUCILLA
I am happy, bubbly even as I talk with my sisters, but inside I am dyin
g a slow death. Aeliana sits a few seats down, but her words take up residence inside of my head and they do not leave.
Children.
A child of my own.
I never thought that I would have a problem conceiving and here I am, possibly never able to have one of my own.
Lifting my hand to my throat, I close my eyes for a moment as I attempt to catch my breath. What will happen between me and Tiberius if he cannot have his heir. He doesn’t just want boys, he needs them.
“Dru, can I talk to you?” Birdie asks.
Opening my eyes, I look over to her and give her a smile. She doesn’t smile back, instead she reaches for my hands and grips them tightly.
“You don’t talk to us. We don’t know what has happened the past few years, but I’m asking you now. What is wrong?”
Blinking away the tears that threaten to fall, I shake my head. “Nothing, I’m just happy to see my sisters again,” I say.
It’s the truth wrapped around a lie. If Birdie detects the lie, she doesn’t call me out on it, not that she would anyway.
“What happens now?” Sybilla asks.
We all look at each other, and nobody has an answer. Instead of guessing, I turn to face Aeliana.
“Tell us, what is happening now?” I ask.
Aeliana smiles, though it does not reach her eyes. “What happens now is anyone’s guess, but Diaboli is coming and we must accept that. Do any of you have control of your powers yet?” she asks.
Again, we silently look at each other. At least we’re all in the same boat on the powers thing. None of us knows what we’re doing or how to control it apparently. Aeliana laughs softly, shaking her head.
“Thankfully, I have had many years of practice with mine. But to be clear, you do not need to be in complete and total control of your powers to beat Diaboli. You just need to trust in the gods and do what you can. The rest will play out as the fates allow.”
Bride of the Emperor (The Prophecy of Sisters Book 4) Page 22