“Yes, you will be at my side for eternity.”
“How?”
He clears his throat. “The gods have their set of rules. One is that we cannot live amongst the humans, when this is done, you will go to the Underworld with me.”
“And you’ll rule this world from the Underworld?” I ask.
I should be asking these questions to stall and take up time, but I’m asking them out of pure curiosity. I want to know the answers and since he’s not acting like a raving lunatic right now, I’ll keep asking until he’s done answering me.
“Through the venefica, through the men I’ve appointed, I will.”
Pressing my lips together, I shake my head a couple of times. “So you’re going to kill me, then?”
He lifts his hand, touching his index finger to my nose. “You aren’t as stupid as you look. This is good. While I do enjoy using pretty things for my own pleasure, I would also like to be able to converse with my partner for eternity.”
I want to open my mouth and tell him that I will never be his partner, not even for a single day, let alone eternity. I don’t. Something distracts him before either of us can say another word. He snaps his head to the side and quickly stands, then he disappears, leaving me alone in the room.
Pinching my eyes closed, I try to concentrate on going home to Tiberius. If Birdie can spirit herself away, then maybe I can too. I really can’t do that much that I’ve discovered, but maybe I can do this.
Take me back to Tiberius.
Take me back to Tiberius.
Take me back to Tiberius.
TIBERIUS
Sitting straight up, I look around and realize that I am alone. The sun has yet to come up. Where could Drucilla be? She is always beside me in bed. Never has she not been beside me when I’ve awakened.
Thinking that perhaps she couldn’t sleep and has gone in search of one of her sisters, I slide out of bed and walk over to the wardrobe. Grabbing one of my togas, something I never wear, I quickly put it on and go in search of my mulier in the domum.
It only takes me a few steps down the hallway to know that she is not here. There are no voices coming from anywhere in the silent domum. Walking toward the gardens, I’m not surprised to see the maga and Decima.
“Aeliana,” I call out once I’ve stepped outside. “What are you doing?”
“Torturing her,” she replies without even looking back at me. Decima’s head is dropped down and she does not move, not even a flinch at my presence.
“I cannot find Drucilla,” I admit.
Decima’s head snaps up, her eyes widen, and she looks directly at me. Her lips curve up into a grin. “He comes,” she whispers. “I can feel it. He is here, somewhere.”
“You feel nothing,” Aeliana snaps before she turns to me. “Though she feels nothing, I knew that Diaboli was coming. I just didn’t think it would be this soon.”
“Are you telling me that the God of the Underworld has my mulier?” I growl.
Aeliana nods her head. “I had hoped that he would come here, so that we could battle it out together. I was wrong. Apparently, he is more of a coward than I gave him credit for.”
My body trembles with rage. I can hardly hold it in, knowing that there would be no use in releasing it in this moment. I must have control over it, over myself before I release my feelings. I must only unleash it on the correct person—on Diaboli.
Aeliana Looks behind her to Decima, then back to me. “Playtime is over,” she oddly announces.
Before I realize what’s happening, she turns to face Decima. A sound escapes Aeliana that is unhuman. I take a few steps backward, my eyes widening at the sight before me. Decima’s back is arched as much as it can be in her chains.
It’s now Decima’s turn to make an inhuman sound. It escapes her throat. It is a high-pitched whine. So high in fact that I hear the wolves whimpering in the distance. I’m afraid that they are going to come in and attack, but Aeliana is not afraid, she doesn’t stop what she’s doing.
Aeliana lifts her hands, she continues to whine, then I hear her say something in another language before it happens. Decima’s entire body goes limp, her head drops and a few moments later Aeliana’s knees go out from beneath her and she lands on the ground.
Everything goes eerily still. It is still quiet because it is the dead of night, but now it is more than just quiet from the night, it is bigger, so much bigger. Before I can ask Aeliana if she needs help, she slowly rises to her feet.
She turns to me, her eyes bright purple, almost glowing. “She is gone and I have potentially sped up the war with Diaboli. Gather the sisters, I will need them soon. Diaboli will not stay silent for long now that one of his children’s lives have been ended.”
“What?” I ask.
Aeliana arches a brow. “She was created by Diaboli. She was his child, as are the rest of the venefica on Curia. They are powerful, because they were created by the God of the Underworld. I did not agree with what your father did and the way that he did it, but those women are not good.”
“How is it I did not know this?” I ask.
She shrugs a shoulder. “I do not know, but we don’t have time to sit around and chat about it over a goblet of drink. Go and get the sisters.”
Without knowing how this is going to turn out, how long it will take or what will happen, I don’t rush to the sisters immediately. Instead, I go to Cassia.
“Tiberius?” she asks on a yawn as she rubs her eyes.
“You need to care for the children. It is time for the sisters to help with the prophecy.”
Her eyes widen, and she licks her lips, then nods her head. “I’ll get Petronia and Laurentia.”
It matters not who she gets to help her, but I dip my chin and murmur a thanks anyway. Turning away from her, I look over my shoulder and tell her to be ready in the triclinium. I want them together and under safeguard.
The next thing I do is send for Brutus and my other close men. They will guard the babes with their lives. I trust them like I trust no others on this earth. I would trust them to guard my own children, if I had them.
With all of the people in motion, I make my way toward the guest quarters. I am met with the three men that are my new brothers.
“We were coming to find you,” Aaric growls. His language is close enough to mine that I can understand some of what he says.
“We have a problem. Come. Gather the women.”
Aaric’s brows rise and he dips his chin, then turns toward the men. It is hard to communicate seeing as we don’t speak the same language, something that will be rectified as soon as we are in the presence of Aeliana again.
The seven of us rush toward the gardens where Aeliana is standing in front of Decima’s still lifeless body. She turns to me, her eyes widening at the sight of us.
“We need to be able to speak the same language,” I state.
She dips her chin, then lifts her hands and in just a few moments her purple mist surrounds us. I don’t know what she says, the language ancient and far removed from what I speak. But within seconds the mist is gone. I turn to the men and women, deciding to test out the newfound magic.
“My cousin and her women will watch the babes.”
Everyone gasps, including the men. The magic worked. “What is happening?” Elias demands.
“Diaboli, the God of the Underworld comes for us. He is determined to ensure that the prophecy is somehow broken. He has taken Drucilla.”
There is a long pause, a silent moment, then everyone begins to talk all at the same time. The women are scared and confused. The men are demanding more information. Holding up my hands, I shout at them all to be quiet.
Just when I’m about to address the group again, Brutus and the men appear. Turning to them, I tell them to go to the triclinium and inform them they will be protecting the babes. Without a second thought, they all jog toward the room.
“Cassia and the women are waiting to watch the children. They will be safe with them
,” I offer.
The men turn toward their women and dip their chins. There are only two babes, so far, but it is clear that Birdie is with child, as well as Sybilla who is also carrying a second child. I do not know what this means for the battle that we have ahead of us.
I can only hope that the women and babes will remain safe while we fight with Diaboli.
Chapter Thirty-Five
TIBERIUS
Once the babes are situated, the women are pried away from them and we are with Aeliana in the gardens along with Decima’s body. I’m wondering why we haven’t rid the earth of her corpse when Aeliana decides to speak to us about what is going on.
“Now that the children are secure, we can begin.”
“Begin?” Colt asks.
We all focus on Aeliana, her eyes are not on us, instead they are focused on Decima only. She lifts her hands and I watch as fire sparks from her fingertips. The fire goes straight toward Decima’s still lifeless body, and then she is ignited in flames.
The women gasp behind me, but I cannot look away. Aeliana turns to look back at us. “We can begin the start of the battle. Prepare the warriors.”
A few moments later there is a darkening in the sky and the flying dragon and horse appear, landing near us. Then the wolves. Hundreds come from around us, surrounding our group. The other men make a noise behind me.
Turning my head, I look back to them. “Drucilla commands the wolves,” I announce.
Colt’s lips turn up into a grin. “Birdie can talk to the lions and transport,” he says.
“Liv controls the water and weather,” Aaric states.
“Sybilla does as well, with the weather. She can speak to larger animals as well, like my horse.”
“They hold powers, but will they be able to use them?” I ask.
“We’re right here,” Liv snaps.
The women walk up closer to us and I smile at them. All beautiful, and all so different. The prophecy is indeed true. They do not appear to be related, nothing about them is similar except for one thing—their love, their compassion, and their attitudes.
“He comes,” Aeliana whispers.
The ground begins to rumble. I brace my legs wide, waiting for what I know will be a fight. The scene of charring flesh doesn’t even bother me any longer, I can think of nothing but Diaboli and what is to come.
Diaboli appears with a roar. He looks wild-eyed between us, then his gaze locks in on Aeliana. “You,” he shouts. “How did you get here? What have you done?”
Aeliana laughs and I wonder if this was some elaborate plot, if the maga is more involved in this, with Diaboli, than I realized.
“Hello, Dia,” she purrs. “It has been a while.”
I pause, thinking about what she said. She claimed that all venefica were his children, and she is the most powerful of them all, the maga. She has been alive for thousands of years.
“Were you married?” I roar.
Aeliana smirks as she shifts her gaze to meet mine. “Married? Not quite. Fated to one another, yes.”
“Is this whole thing because of you?” I demand. “Because of the two of you?”
“Yes, Aeliana, tell Tiberius the Emperor your part in all of this.”
Aeliana snorts, turning away from me, and faces Diaboli. She intentionally hid all of this from me, knowing that I would have not only become angry, but also wouldn’t have delivered Decima to her to start this whole war. She used me, used Drucilla and I want nothing more than to kill her myself.
“You cannot, Tiberius, so just stop thinking about it,” she sighs, sounding as if she’s bored.
“Where is my mulier?” I bark, ignoring Aeliana and her drama with Diaboli.
It matters not that they were fated lovers, a forever match. I don’t care who they take, who they lie with, all that matters is that my mulier is here with me.
Diaboli chuckles, it sounds just as evil as he is. “Call off your hounds, then maybe we can talk.”
Shifting my gaze around, I notice that the wolves are baring their teeth, growling, and inching closer to him. Their hackles are raised and they are ready to go to war over their missing concubina.
Inwardly, I smile, knowing that she has the loyalty of the beasts is more than I could have ever imagined possible. Then my smile grows. I hear them in the distance, their roars and heavy footfalls as they come toward us from the outlying woods.
My bears have arrived.
The sky fills with clouds, there is a rumble and then the wind begins. The sisters’ powers are growing and they want their sister. I don’t blame them, I want my mulier, and I want her now.
“Not that I would, if I could, but I cannot. They are Drucilla’s beasts, not mine,” I say, sounding as bored as Aeliana did just moments ago.
“This has nothing to do with them, Diaboli. This involves us and only us,” Aeliana says.
Diaboli snorts. “It involved only us before I knew of the prophecy, before it obviously became much more powerful than I ever intended. Before Amare and Odium made an appearance and spirited Drucilla way. Before you took their side.”
“You expected me to be on your side?” she hisses. “You want to rule this world. It is not yours to rule.”
“And it is yours?” he snaps as his skin begins to turn bright red. “You took from me, my own flesh and blood. You took her powers, you absorbed them, and you ended her life.”
“She took from me,” Aeliana shouts. “An eye for an eye, and you know this.”
He hums, his skin returning back to its olive hue. “She only did what I requested of her,” he says with a shrug.
“None of this has to do with my mulier,” I bark.
Diaboli takes a step toward me, his gaze focused on mine and mine alone. Then he speaks and sends a chill down my spine. I can do nothing but watch him. Watch him and feel utterly and completely defenseless.
“It has everything to do with her. I cannot rule this world if she is yours. The prophecy cannot be fulfilled if she is not with you. She is mine now and I will make her my bride. You will live a painful existence.
“You will wither away and die. She will live beside me for longer than you could imagine, centuries. She will eventually forget you, but I never will. I will remember that I took over the world, and you made it possible.”
DRUCILLA
I’m curled in a ball, my legs brought up to attempt to cover my chest. I don’t know how long that I sit here. My ass falls asleep and the tears cease from falling down my cheeks. I stare straight ahead, wondering and waiting for whatever is going to happen next.
I wish that I knew.
I wish a lot of things.
I decide that when Tiberius tells me he’s okay with not having children, that I’ll believe him and hold on to him until my last breath. Maybe we can adopt or something. Maybe we can just be together and be happy. I won’t have any regrets and I won’t assume that he will either.
I just want to see him again.
Then I think about my sisters. I want to see them too. I don’t know what is going on, but I know enough about this magic and prophecy business that my sisters are in danger right now, them and their families.
Pinching my eyes closed, I focus on my sisters, on trying to connect with them. Birdie said that she can hear conversations, even if she can’t join in and she can transport herself places. I need to be able to do that. I need to be able to get my ass out of here.
No matter how much I pray and hope and think, nothing happens. I can’t channel my sisters, my husband, or even the damn wolves.
Nothing works, and I feel like a complete failure. I’m not this powerful being, I can’t even help my sisters, not to mention it doesn’t seem like I’ll be able to give my husband his heir.
What is the fucking point of me? Of any of this?
Then it happens.
Four women appear in front of me. I recognize one of them as one of the women who took me at Curia. She sneers at me, throwing a plain gown in my direction. I
don’t ask how they got here, assuming that I’m actually in Curia, since this place seems so much like the place where I was held a few months ago.
Slipping the gown on, I don’t question it at all. I’m happy to be covered. Watching them, I don’t speak first, waiting to see what they’re going to say, knowing by the sneers that they have plenty to say.
“I say we play with her until he returns,” one of them announces.
I shiver in disgust thinking about them playing with me. I don’t know what Aeliana was doing when she was playing with Decima, but it did not look like fun. It’s nothing that I want anything to do with. In fact, I don’t want a damn thing to do with any of these people. I want to go back to my husband.
Once I’ve pulled the dress on, staying seated, too afraid to move much, I continue to watch the women, waiting to see if they’re going to play with me or not.
“We cannot. She is Diaboli’s new toy, we can’t harm her. It would anger him,” one of them reminds the others.
The one who wanted to play looks defeated, and narrows her gaze on me, but doesn’t say anything. I’m grateful for that, because I’m sure she has lots of things to say about me and what she wants to do to me.
“How much longer will we be stuck here,” the third says with a pout.
That’s when I know exactly where I am and pain slices through my middle. I am so far away from Tiberius. He will never be able to get to me, not anytime soon. I don’t know if he’ll even suspect this is where I’m being held, again.
He will never find me. They’re going to win. I just know it. My heart aches, it breaks inside of my chest.
“I think she might cry,” the woman that’s been silent until this moment points out. The other three shift their attention toward me and evil-looking grins curve up on their lips.
“We don’t even have to do anything, she will torture herself,” the first one who spoke cackles.
Just when I am feeling defeated, like all hope is completely lost, I hear it. There is a loud whooshing sound, then a roar rattles the walls around us.
Bride of the Emperor (The Prophecy of Sisters Book 4) Page 24