When I first walked in I saw things that I didn’t even notice last time, although that wasn’t surprising seeing that Draven had also been in the room. He had a way of absorbing every ounce of attention from me, so that when he was around all I saw was him.
His quarters were divided off into different sections and each area branched off from a large circular room that was surrounded by spiral marble arches. I didn’t feel comfortable enough to go snooping around, besides I knew what one of the rooms held and that was a big bed covered in furs.
The main room looked to be a sort of living space/study as there were tall tables with layers upon layers of what looked like ancient maps all laid out. There was also strange ladder style shelving that lent up against the walls and each level held different sized scrolls rolled up, which were piled high.
There was a small seating area off to one side that was sunk into the floor and covered in cushions of all the colours you would find in a desert sunset. What I first thought was a tall vase in the centre of a small table turned out to be some sort of smoking device, like some earlier version of a hookah pipe. I had to wonder who he shared this social setting with and hoped it was his brother, not some of the girls I had heard inviting him to their bed the night he brought me here.
The walls were mainly bare, unlike Sophia’s room, with only a shield or weapon dotted around the place. I had to inwardly giggle as it looked like some ancient version of a bachelor’s pad minus the bar in the corner, beer labels, sports memorabilia and car plaques on the walls…oh and not forgetting the classic pool table. Instead it was all about weapons and battle strategies in this room. There was even a corner dedicated to spears, all tipped with different lethal spikes, ready to do all sorts of bodily damage. It was the one that was shaped like a giant scorpion at the end that had me shuddering the most as it looked all kinds of deadly.
“So what now?” I asked Ranka and Pip who had been silently watching me trying to wear a footpath in the stone floor for the last ten minutes.
“Chill out in the Royal pad?” Pip said as she was currently sat sideways in a chair and swinging what looked like a golden curtain tie around her wrist and back again.
“Chill out! How am I supposed to do that after we just stuffed his sister into a damn trunk?” I screeched.
“Pretend we didn’t?” she suggested, shrugging her shoulders and making me groan.
“Seriously Toots, you just need to relax a little and try taking a load off,” she said nodding to one of the empty chairs and I sighed before taking her advice. I deflated down into the seat wondering how on earth I was going to make it through the rest of this ‘Mission’. What if Draven opened that trunk? What if he made Sophia confess? What if he was on his way here right now to make me confess?
“Oh dear, she’s gonna blow,” Pip said shaking her head.
“I don’t understand,” Ranka replied looking confused.
“Big shocker there. Look Toots, what’s done is done. But look on the bright side…”
“The bright side?” I said eyes wide as I interrupted her.
“Well yeah. One of your biggest fears when you first got here was that you couldn’t find anyone and was worried something bad had happened. Well at least we are all together now and everyone made it through okay.”
“Alright, so you have a point there,” I admitted.
“Yeah and try this one out. Even if Draven boy somehow finds out the truth, what then? Do you really think that finding out the woman he has already fallen in love with is in fact his Chosen One and that he’s gonna be pissed that he now gets the green light from the Gods? Uh NO! I don’t think so somehow,” Pip said making sense yet again.
“See, so it’s all good in the hood. Oh, but of course if none of that happens then you still can’t do the mighty mambo with him yet.” Pip added, causing me to freak again.
“Why not?!”
“Because Ari is still passed out from exhaustion and we have no clue how her shit works, so until we do know, then I am afraidamundo it’s a no, no on the stuffin’ in your cushion.” I closed my eyes and shook my head a little as if this would somehow help matters…needless to say, it didn’t work.
“Slight problem with this plan of yours Pip, as I don’t think he is gonna want to come back here and play checkers or a friendly game of Kerplunk!” I said rubbing my forehead in the hope of easing some of the tension.
“I love Kerplunk!” Pip said missing the point completely and totally getting sidetracked as usual.
“Of course you do,” I muttered just before she carried on.
“Only that game is so much better when you replace the marbles for bubble gum balls and then you have to chew the ones that fall and if you lose them all, then you have to stuff them all in your mouth and sing the national anthem of whichever country you’re in…and trust me, that shit gets real hard if you’re ever in Russia like I was!” The mental image she painted was certainly one I wouldn’t be forgetting any time soon.
“So what do I say then?” I asked throwing my hands up.
“I dunno to be honest, I don’t think I've ever said no when it came to sex.” I can’t say this surprised me.
“Don’t mortal woman usually go with the whole ‘I have a headache’ deal?” she asked and to be honest, I can’t say that I’d ever said no to Draven either, so I had no clue.
“I will just have to think of something,” I told her, knowing this was easier said than done.
“But you think Sophia will be alright?” I asked just to be sure.
“He isn’t going to hurt his own sister. Don’t sweat it Tootie bird, she can hold her own, as we know.” I rubbed my neck that was still sore from being almost strangled to death and said,
“Yeah, tell me about it.”
“So tell me, what is the deal with these Romans that have turned up?” I asked deciding to change the subject, turning to face Ranka who would know better than anyone. She was currently sharpening one of her blades on some kind of stone which caused little sparks as she ran it off the end.
“The King has many enemies, but none like Pertinax.”
“Pertinax?” I repeated his name making Pip swing her legs back around and slap her hands to her knees as she stomped her feet back on the ground at the same time.
“Wait…back up a sec…The Pertinax?” Pip asked in a serious voice that sent shivers down my spine. Pip was never serious, so when she was…well let’s just say, you had cause to panic.
“Who is this guy?” I asked again looking to Pip and back to Ranka who nodded her head.
“He’s a legend that’s what he is and a fucking scary one at that!” Pip said and I looked to Ranka, surprised to see her nod her head in agreement, which again only added to the seriousness of the shit storm with this guy obviously was.
“But how is he a legend?”
“Do you wanna tell her or should I?” Pip asked Ranka making my frown deepen.
“Tell me what?” I asked getting inpatient now. Again I looked from one to the other and it was when Ranka nodded for Pip to speak that I knew this was even worse than I thought.
“Legend goes that he was once the most powerful Demon to walk the Earth and even though it wasn’t officially recognised, he actually ruled the supernatural world and he did so with an iron fist.” Pip said looking down at her hands that she held together almost in prayer. She tapped her middle fingers together a few times before looking up at me.
“That was until the most powerful unity was born. Now this story you know and know well. Three siblings, an Angel, a Demon and one more powerful as two powers combined for the first and only time in History…”
“Draven.” I whispered his name and Pip continued,
“He was the most powerful being ever to be granted a soul and vessel and therefore became the most logical and recognisable King of all Supernaturals on Earth.”
“And that pissed off Pertinax,” I said finishing off the obvious.
“Oh, you bet it did
. He believed it was his throne to fight for but it was never granted to him in the first place. See in the eyes of the Gods, both those from above and below, you don’t just rule because you say you do…Gods are a bit picky about that type of shit. So when Draven was born into this life and was chosen by them, then naturally not to piss off the Gods, the Supernatural world fell into line and followed Draven’s rule…So bam! Suddenly overnight Pertinax had lost his entire empire.”
“And now he wants it back,” I said finishing off for her again.
“Oh no doubt, he has been fighting to get it back for a long time but he was never successful as he knew he needed an army.”
“Which he now has,” Ranka informed us before replacing her weapon and then walking over to the window. Pip and I got up together and walked over to stand next to Ranka to see for ourselves what she had nodded towards. It was hard to see how big the army was in the dark but the one thing that wasn’t hard to miss was the number of glowing torches that stood along the dark horizon, making it look as though it was on fire.
“Oh God,” I whispered now looking at what Draven faced.
“Have no fear Electus, for no one conquers the Parthian army,” Ranka told me with a proud little grin curling up one side of her mouth.
“It’s true. The Romans tried for years to conquer all of Persia but never really got there…not until…”
“Until?” I prompted when Pip stopped.
“Well now, that’s a story for Sophia to tell as she knows it best.” I frowned trying to understand Pip’s strange expression and when I was about to ask her about it, Ranka and Pip both looked to the door.
“Heads up, here comes Loverboy…ETA two minutes tops,” Pip said looking at me sideways and even though she told me not to worry, I knew that from the way she too held her breath, that I hadn’t been the only one feeling anxious for our friend.
“Oh and by the way, just to give you the heads up for when Kingy man wants to know why you now have a sister, you know after not even knowing your own name…I would go with the seeing her brought it all back, chestnut.”
“Uh okay, but slight problem with that.”
“Like?”
“Well for starters, I have no bloody idea what year I am in and not even sure if England was called England, let alone explain how I got here!” I said in frustration as I knew my acting skills were definitely not up to this one!
“My guess is that England is still currently controlled by the Romans and if that’s right then is unsurprisingly named Britannia which is Latin for ‘The Britain’,” Pip said, weirdly sounding more like a historian than her usual quirky self.
“This is correct…my King has heard many things of this Britannia.” Oh goodie, he will be able to tell me all about it then, I thought sarcastically at Ranka’s confirmation of information.
“Look don’t sweat it, just say you were a merchant’s daughter or some shit like that.”
“Uh, ya gonna have to be more specific here, Pip.”
“Fine, how about this…Your mother died when you were young and your father brought you up…sad, sad story. Then you and your sister both worked in the market selling your father’s fabrics, after all it makes sense that you would go into the family business,” she said behind her hand for some unknown reason other than dramatic affect.
“But on your way back from selling your goods you all got ambushed. Oh no! Terrible, terrible. But you and your sister, because you were pretty and worth a high value, then got sold into slavery…Boom, also very sad…You are unsure of what became of your father and this makes you sad yet again, for these are sad times which we live in, yada, yada, yada… then after being bought by a Persian man, you were both put on a boat and brought to this far away land…ooh, all very scary and exciting. Then the man who bought you got ambushed…as a lot of people tend to get ambushed here these days, and wham bam thank you ma'am, you ended up here.”
“Wow, that was specific,” I said nodding my head and agreeing that it was actually pretty good.
“Not just a pretty face you know,” Pip informed me pulling out her invisible lapels and just as the door opened she whispered,
“Now it’s showtime…but remember, no boats down your fun canal,” which made me groan as he entered the room. I sucked in a deep breath at the sight of him. He looked so masterful I was almost scared. I scanned down the length of him, taking it as a good sign when I didn’t see any blood on his hands.
“Leave us!” he ordered and Pip turned to me and bowed her head, giving me a cheeky wink before she left after doing the same with Draven…all except the wink. Ranka was just about to leave when he looked as if he remembered something, so he stopped her as she walked past him.
He had hold of her arm but from the way that Ranka was looking down at his touch, it meant a great deal more to her than it did to him. This was all the reminder I needed to remember that her feelings for Draven ran far deeper than just the loyalty usually found between a subject and his King.
It hurt to look at and I had to turn away before my face gave any hints to what I was feeling. I owed a lot to Ranka. With all her help in this mission and for having my back when no one else could be there for me. And the added bonus in all this was that she must have been the only person in this time who loved Draven yet wasn’t trying to kill me. Surely I had to find comfort in that somewhere.
I must have been too busy lost in my own thoughts because I couldn’t help but jump when I felt Draven’s hands on my shoulders from behind.
“Easy now, calm yourself little Lamb,” he said sweetly as he leaned down so that he could kiss my neck softly.
“I guess I am a little jumpy, what with an army outside,” I said looking towards the arched stone window. Draven looked briefly and then laughed.
“I am afraid having an enemy at my gates is something you will have to get used to, as it is a common sight to see when you are King.” Oh he was certainly right about that, in fact, I was already used to it as I would often find them at my gates also.
“You’re not worried, my Lord?” I asked knowing anyone else would.
“No, and nor should you be, for you will be safe along with my people behind these walls,” he said sounding confident and I had to wonder if this also included the obvious threats that had been made to my life in that promise.
“I was worried about you,” he surprised me by saying and swiftly changing the subject.
“You were?”
“Yes. I love my sister dearly but her intentions are not always as I would hope they would be. She has much to learn about the ways of the people,” he told me and I wanted to laugh considering the Sophia I now knew used to tell me things like that about him when we first met back in my own time. It was funny the way falling in love could make you view the world differently and even if it didn’t actually make it go around, it certainly had enough of an impact to make a difference…even on the supernatural.
“And now?” I asked trying not to sound like the weight of his answer could easily crush me considering it was now about my friend and not his ‘In this time, crazy bitch sister’.
“Well, that is the surprising thing for your powers of persuasion must be great indeed, for she seems to have had a complete change of heart.” My reaction to this wasn’t as cool as I had hoped as I gave him a short nervous laugh, one that I could only hope he took for modesty.
“I don’t know about any powers of persuasion my Lord, for I only spoke the truth,” I said and he quickly turned me around to face him.
“And what was that I wonder?” Draven asked raising an eyebrow down at me as if trying to judge me for himself.
“You don’t trust me?” I decided to come right out and ask him, pulling myself free of his hold and putting some much needed space between us.
“Trust and lack of knowledge are two very different things, yet combined they can give power to both those who ask and those who tell.” I knew what he was saying as it was true, power was knowledge and kn
owledge was power.
“And you don’t know very much about me,” I finished off for him.
“I wish to know more about the woman I have chosen to share my bed with, yes, very much so.” Hearing this I couldn’t help but tease him slightly as I was too curious not to.
“And tell me, does my King usually want to know about each of the Concubines he sleeps with?” I dared to ask, raising an eyebrow at him this time. I wanted to laugh when he at least looked taken aback by my question.
“I think we both know you are much more to me than that,” he said being serious and making me blush.
“But I confess you are right, until this point I never asked, nor did I find myself intrigued enough to know.” I couldn’t help but grin at how special his words made me feel. I should have felt bad for the others but being in love with the man enough to drive me wild with jealousy, then I just couldn’t find it in me. I loved that I was different to him, as when you meet your soul mate that is exactly how it should be.
Because let’s face it, every woman when meeting the one they love wants to be the spark that ignites that eternal flame. The very one that until now, no one had the power to achieve and deep in their hearts, they would never feel guilty about it.
They had nothing to apologise for or need to make any excuses for their success where others had failed. It was just the natural way of things and I firmly believed that with the right person you could achieve anything. The type of happiness that years of doubt of it ever existing could demolish in an instant. And Draven, no matter which time in history he graced by living in, well…he was my happiness.
“Then you compliment me greatly,” I told him blushing and giving him a cheeky little bow before giggling about it. The look he gave me was the same one I would find often on him and it was as though he was seeing me for the first time and I guess in a way he was. It was that beautiful moment you experience when you were first learning of each other’s quirks.
Sacrifice of the Septimus: Part 2 (Afterlife saga Book 7) Page 27