by Luna Hunter
“You have shown me that the universe is so much bigger than I thought, so much bigger than anyone thought possible. You have shown me that I’m… worthy of love. That I can aim higher, shoot for the stars themselves. You’ve made me feel beautiful, cherished, loved and understood. That doesn’t change, even if you want to sit here and sulk and pretend it never happened!”
“I’m not sulking,” he growls. The alien warrior rises to his feet and balls his fists.
“What are you doing then? Because from here, it looks like you’re sulking. Woe is me, my father was the most powerful man in existence. Poor baby.”
“How dare you talk to me like that?!” he says, his eyes filled with anger, the veins in his neck bulging. He seems to grow another inch as he towers over me…
I am pushing all of his buttons, and enjoying the reaction.
“That’s the Nero I know,” I say. “Filled with energy and purpose! Sadness won’t get us anywhere. We have to fight!”
He cocks his head. “You’re insulting me on purpose? Trying to get a rise out of me? Why, I ought to punish you!”
He takes a step forward, forcing my back against the wall. Nero’s leaning over me, and as his eyes wander over my naked body, his cock grows and grows, until its pressing agains my naked thigh, feeling so hot against my skin that it just might leave a burn.
“Please do,” I answer brazenly.
Nero
She challenges me.
She defies me.
She drives me insane.
Why can’t I resist her?
My hand grips her neck. I can feel her heart beat in the palm of my hand. The scent of her arousal surrounds me, and it makes my cock even harder.
Physically I outmatch Victoria.
It’s not even a question.
Despite my raw strength, she wields a power as well. Her words mean the world to me. Her smile is worth more to me than my life.
And right now, that smile of hers is asking me to punish her.
“Do it,” she whispers. “Make me yours.”
My other hand slides down her naked back, enjoying the sensations of her smooth skin. The room is filled with steam, sweat dripping down both our bodies. I rest my forehead against hers and gaze into her eyes as my hand slides down onto her curvy ass.
I love the human female with all my heart.
Which is why it pains me that I have to let her go.
For her own sake.
I am not meant for this world. Born to die. An anomaly. A mistake. I cannot outrun my past. I cannot outrun my very being.
It will haunt me. Forever. Letting go of Victoria is the only thing I can do. The only way I can protect her. To love her is to let her go.
I press my lips against hers, my tongue slipping into her mouth.
This is our last time together.
I’m going to make it count.
Chapter Fifteen
Victoria
That was… incredible.
I open my eyes, finally coming down from a mind-blowing orgasm that seemed to last forever and ever. For a brief moment there, it was like I was on another plane of existence.
It was just me and Nero. Our souls connected, our bodies as one. I no longer knew where he ended and where I began.
We were one.
Nero’s naked body is coated in sweat, his strong hands holding me up. My back is resting against the tiled wall, my legs wrapped around his waist.
I feel weightless when he holds me like this.
When I glance down I notice my skin is flushed red, and that I can barely see through all the steam in the room.
It’s way too hot in here. I don’t think steam baths were made to have sex in, but… here we are.
There’s a loud knock on the door.
“They’re gone,” Virgil Lucius says.
Ah. Right.
Our quest.
When I’m lost in the throes of passion, it can be easy to forget there’s still a world that needs saving out there.
“Coming,” Nero yells.
As juvenile as it is, I can’t suppress a grin.
Yeah, we’re coming alright.
We both take a cold shower, but the water can’t cool the fire inside of me. We put our clothes back on, trying to make ourselves as presentable as possible, but no matter what you can’t wipe that post-sex glow from our faces.
Nero gives me one final kiss before opening the door.
“There you are,” Virgil says. “The coast is clear, for now. I’d make haste if I were you. And whatever it is you’re planning: good luck.”
“Thank you, Virgil,” Nero says. “We owe you one.”
We make our way back to the Classis, narrowly avoiding some more guard patrols. I keep a tight hold of Nero’s hand the entire way back to the ship.
Romulus is waiting for us inside, his hands folded in his lap.
“Did you find the answers you were looking for?” he asks.
Nero sits down across him, and the smile on his face fades. His eyes flicker towards me, and a sense of dread fills me instantly.
Nero’s distant.
He’s putting up a wall.
“Yes… no… it’s all fucked,” he says. “You were right. Decimus’s blood runs through my veins. Magnus won’t stop hunting me until he’s taken my life.”
“That leaves us with one option,” Romulus says. “I went to the mansion, but there’s nothing left, Magnus burned it to cinders. All of the research, Octavius’s papers, have been moved to House Bruttius. The only way to stop Magnus is a full-frontal assault. We’ll have to take his life before he takes yours.”
“You are right,” Nero says coolly, “but that is a suicide mission. I will go alone.”
“Like hell you are,” Romulus says. “I am with you. Every step of the way.”
“So am I,” I chime in. “Where you go, I go!”
“No,” he says.
“What?”
“No. You will stay.”
I shake my head, resting my hand on my hips. “Have you met me, Nero? I am going with you, whether you like it or not.”
The alien warrior stands up and pushes his shoulders back. He towers over me, which I normally like, but this time his gaze is steely.
“You don’t have a choice, Victoria.”
Every word that leaves his lips is measured. Calculated. Like he’s been rehearsing them.
“You are not safe with me… or on this planet. This galaxy is not meant for you. You will leave on a shuttle, back through the portal, back to Earth. Tonight.”
Is he…
Is he breaking up with me?
“No,” I say, trying to keep my composure. “N-no.”
“You don’t have a choice.”
Nero turns his back to me.
My blood turns to solid ice. This is not happening.
It can’t be.
Nero’s my mate.
My fatum!
I didn’t travel all this way just to turn back now. To lose him. I can’t go on with my life after having met him, after losing my heart to him.
I’ll never be happy again.
“You’re making a mistake,” I say. “Stop it! Look at me! Damn it Nero, look at me!”
The alien warrior walks out the room without casting another glance at me. I try to follow him, but two Elban warriors block the way. They grab me by my shoulders and drag me through the hall, while I kick and scream, tears streaming down my face. My heart has been stabbed and every thump twists the knife.
Nero
I stare into nothingness.
I’ve made the right choice — so why does my heart bleed? I had no other option. The human female thinks she loves me, but she doesn’t know me.
I don’t deserve love.
The beast inside of me snarls. He wants out. He wants me to give into anger, into rage, into darkness. When Victoria sees the beast, she will know what a monster I am.
It is best she never does. I want her to remember the good times, instead of trau
matizing her. Perhaps she’ll hate me for sending her away.
Good.
Let her hate me.
Let her forget all about me.
Romulus walks up behind me and places his hand on my shoulder.
“You did the right thing,” he says. “Elba is no place for a human.”
“I know.”
Silence fills the room, the moment stretching out, the pain in my heart spreading to every fiber of my being, a dull, throbbing ache that grows more intense with every beat of my heart until I can’t take another second of it.
“Let’s go right now,” I tell Romulus. “The sooner we meet our fate, the better.”
Chapter Sixteen
Victoria
The walls are closing in.
I’m confined to a small shuttle, nothing more than an escape pod, somewhere deep inside the bowels of the Classis. The only reason why I’ve stopped crying is because I’ve ran out of tears.
All of my fears came true.
Warriors can’t be trusted.
When it comes down to it, they’ll choose adrenaline over love. They’ll choose to fight. Not with their inner demons, but with their muscles. The only way they know how.
I should have known better.
My father was the same way. Never around. Blamed me for everything. You’d think I’d learn, avoid the same mistakes… but I’m a hard learner, apparently.
No more, though.
I’m done.
I’m empty.
I’m tired.
Drained emotionally, physically, mentally. Why can’t this pod just launch itself into the sun and get it over with?
That way I won’t have to feel this pain a moment longer.
Nero
House Bruttius looms in the distance. An opulent mansion built on a hill, towering over the city of Massa. My sword is clutched in my hands, my knuckles white from squeezing it so hard.
Romulus is to my side, his two-handed sword drawn. We are silent, for we don’t need words to communicate. We are a team, we move as one.
Yet, despite the danger we’re in, and the adrenaline coursing through my veins, my mind wanders.
The pain in my heart has yet to disappear.
The crushed look on Victoria’s face still haunt me.
I suck in a deep breath.
Focus.
What would Gaius say if he saw us now?
Attacking a major house with no plan of attack, no strategy, no scheme to turn the tide in our favor… just going all-out, trusting blindly on our power, both of will and of muscle?
He’d call us fools.
He’d tell us to run, to plot… but where did that got him?
Dead. And not a thing I could do about it.
I’m coming to see you, father.
Forgive me.
Chapter Seventeen
Victoria
No.
I’m not giving up.
No matter what!
I’m pushed back into my seat, which is way too big for me, as the escape pod is launched. The city around me disappears as I break through the atmosphere, and all I see is darkness sprinkled with stars.
Somewhere in this darkness is a portal that’ll take me back to Earth, that’ll make sure I never see Nero again.
I need to wrestle control of this ship before we get there. My fingers move across the keyboard, grabbing levers, pushing buttons, doing everything possible.
The dashboard lights up, as the speakers crackle with strange noises. I grab the control stick and push down, my tongue sticking out of my mouth, my eyes narrowed.
Come on, you piece of junk.
Listen to me.
Just this once.
The nose of the ship tilts down, and the stars give way to the curvature of Elba. The alien planet rises up to greet me.
Yes!
I pump my fist in the air jubilantly. You’re not getting rid of Victoria Snow this easily! I pilot the ship down towards the city of Massa, circling the immense metropolis.
Now all I need to do is find this House Bruttius, wherever it is… as my eyes scan over the sprawling city my jubilance seeps way.
This is like looking for a needle in a haystack.
I slump into my seat, and the dark pit in my stomach returns. There’s no way I’m ever—
There!
A massive mansion, built on one of the many hills that surround the city’s center, catches my eye. A statue of a snake circling a sword stands on top of the mansion, like a beacon.
The very same image that decorated Magnus Bruttius chest.
That’s got to be it!
I take the ship down, praying with every fiber in my being that I’m not too late.
Nero
My blade cuts through the Bruttius dogs like they’re not even there. Blood runs down my hands, my arms, my chest, and I don’t know if it’s mine or them.
We had a good run. We took them by surprise, and Romulus and I managed to enter the mansion without too much trouble, but now we’re trapped in the main hall.
Completely surrounded.
Romulus’s back is pressed against mine as we slowly circle around, cutting down the fools who make a run at us.
There’s no way we can keep this up. There’s simply too many of them.
I’m staring death in the face, and I thought I’d feel relief, but all I feel is… regret.
My mind drifts to Victoria.
What a fool I’ve been.
I feared my love for her held me back, but now I realize it only gave me strength.
Too late.
My anger has gotten the best of me.
The beast inside of me has driven me to this.
The beast has won.
“Enough!”
A deep voice cuts through the room, and the Bruttius soldiers freeze in their place. A tall man appears at the top of the stairs, and my heart races.
Magnus.
“Nero Octavius… what a surprise,” he says.
His face still bears the marks of my fists raining down on it, and his eyes are filled with ice-cold fury.
“I was going to enjoy hunting you, taking everything you loved away from you. You’re making this far too easy for me.”
The man who took everything from me descends the stairs.
“You’re welcome,” I say, pointing the tip of my sword at him.
“What were you thinking? Did you really think you could take me out? Here? In my own home?”
“I still can.”
Magnus walks up to me, undeterred. My hand twitches, and before I can run my sword through my half-brother, he grabs the tip of the blade with his bare hand.
Blood runs down his fingers as the blade cuts into his skin. I try to move my sword, but his grip is too strong.
“H-how?”
Magnus laughs.
“I’ve been busy while you were with your canis… brother..”
“I’m no brother of you!”
Romulus turns and swings his sword at Magnus’s head as hard as he can. Magnus leans back, the sword passing overhead, which leaves Romulus’s back undefended.
“No!” I scream, but it’s too late.
While still holding the blade of my sword in his grip with one hand, Magnus pulls out a dagger and sinks it into Romulus’s side. My best friend collapses onto the floor, clutching the wound.
“Give up, Nero,” Magnus says. “You are mine now. You have lost.”
Chapter Eighteen
Victoria
I run my hands down the white slave-dress that adorns my frame. Taking one final deep breath, I muster all of my courage and walk towards the big mansion.
My heart is racing. Sweat fills my palms. My knees buckle… but I continue on, one step at a time.
Nero needs me help, whether he knows it or not. He’s so stubborn, but I forgive him.
Just this once.
I hope I’m not too late. If I am… a cold shiver runs down my spine. I’d rather not think about it.
“Who are you?” he growls, his gaze sliding over my body, stopping at all of my curves. “Where’s your master?”
I bow, avoiding his penetrating glare.
“I’m here to see Master Bruttius,” I say.
“Who sent you?”
“I’m a… gift, from House…”
I rack my brain. What was Virgil’s last name again?! Oh shoot, I forgot, and now I’ve taken too long. Now I’m looking suspicious. He’s going to realize I’m a fraud. A faker. He’s going to take that sword and plunge it right into my—
“Livius!” I scream.
That was close.
“Hm,” the guard snarls. “Okay. Go on then.”
And just like that, I am in.
My mouth falls open when I see the interior of this mansion. Virgil Livius’s home was extravagantly decorated, but that was still nothing compared to the splendor on display here.
Marble and gold, the finest rugs, and not a speck of dust in sight. Servants and soldiers pass me by, and no one even bats an eye at me.
To them, I am nothing but another slave.
To them, I am invisible.
My heart is racing, but I do my best to appear as calm as possible as I walk up the winding staircase. The hall seems to go on forever, with doors on every side — how am I going to find Magnus in this maze? I could wander around here, clueless, for a week without finding my way back!
“Are you lost or something?”
My pulse races as I whirl around. A tired-looking servant, his skin blue, is looking at me with his big fish-eyes. The gills in his neck draw my attention.
“I’m looking for… Magnus Bruttius.”
The servant sighs.
“Another gift? When will they learn that Magnus won’t be bought? Oh well — down the hall, up the second flight of stairs, and then to the left. Can’t miss it.”
The man continues on his way. I follow his instructions, my pulse increasing with every step. Am I making a mistake? Am I absolutely insane for doing this?
How am I going to stop Magnus Bruttius, a man so powerful and dangerous that even Nero couldn’t take him on?
I don’t have the answers… but slinking away into the night isn’t an option either. I’ll distract him for as long as I need to, to buy Nero all the time he needs. Then he can sneak up on Magnus from behind, take him out, and we’ll live happily ever after.