Her mouth hardened into a thin line. “Who says I’m hiding anything?”
“Did you know they found him dead in the ravine behind Arculeo’s house?”
“And you think I had something to do with it?” She wilted and rubbed her breasts against his chest. Her seductive smile made his balls ache. “I’m just a woman, Titus. Your woman.”
His hand tightened around her arm to the point she yelped. He didn’t mean to hurt her, but he refused to be swayed by her games. “Why won’t you answer me? I want to trust you, despite everyone telling me I shouldn’t.”
“But you don’t trust me, not completely.” Her eyes flickered to the door and then remained fixed on him in a challenge. “You keep me locked away like the cub, a possession to show off in front of others and to entertain you behind closed doors, never realizing that you’re holding me prisoner.”
He released her and backed away, shock dulling the heat in his groin. Did she really think that? “If you wish to leave, you can. I won’t stop you.”
Her lips parted, and a soft gasp broke the silence. She focused on the door, rocking back and forth on the balls of her feet.
He silently cursed himself for losing his temper. He hadn’t meant the last part. If she tried to leave, he’d do everything in his power to convince her to stay. How could he sleep at night without her body intertwined with his? His stomach twisted in knots as he waited for her answer.
“I’ll stay for now.” She turned and disappeared behind the curtains that lined the door to his bedroom, followed by the lyger cub.
Was that an invitation? His feet remained plastered to the floor while he analyzed her erratic behavior. First, she tried to seduce him, then she complained about being a prisoner only to go to his bed when he told her she could leave. What was he to think about it all? Yes, she would stay with him, but the “for now” part haunted him. Had he misinterpreted her affections?
To add salt to the wound, he still hadn’t learned anything about Rai from her. She knew something—of that, he was certain—but it looked like he needed to try a different approach. Perhaps she wasn’t the only one who could use sex as manipulation.
…
Azurha punched one of the pillows on the bed and cursed. Why was Titus acting this way? What made matters worse was that he didn’t seem to believe her when she told him she didn’t know Rai. She saw the suspicion darkening his face when he questioned her. It was only a matter of time before he learned the truth and ordered an elaborate form of execution for her.
Maybe it was time to come clean, to tell him about her and Pontus and the plot she now refused to participate in. Maybe he’d show her mercy and kill her right then. The coldness in his voice when he said he wouldn’t stop her if she left hurt worse than a dagger in her heart. Death would be kinder than having to live with his hatred.
The lyger cub curled around her ankles, purring loudly. Its affection helped to dull some of the ache pulsating deep inside her. Where had she lost control of the situation and herself? Was it the first time she saw him, when his face had filled with disgust at the idea of having a harem? Was it during the many times they made love? Or during the quiet moments when she lay next to him and listened to his plans for the empire?
It didn’t matter now, though. She’d lost her heart, but she wouldn’t lose her wits when she needed them the most. She needed to find out who hired Rai and kill him. Then she’d murder anyone else that tried to harm Titus. Killing was what she did best. She’d only been fooling herself to think she could be an Imperial Consort, or even more laughably, Titus’s wife.
“I lied,” he said softly behind her.
Azurha jumped out of the bed. Her feelings for him were distracting her. Before she met him, she’d never allow someone to sneak up on her like that. All signs she should retire from the assassin business before someone ended her life prematurely. She gathered her composure and replied without looking at him, “About what?”
“I’d try to stop you.” His arms encircled her waist, and his warm breath brushed against her ear. “Are you not happy here?”
How should I answer? With the whole truth? “I am happy with you, but when you’re away, I resent being kept behind a locked door.”
“Why?”
The one word almost floored her. No one had ever asked why she felt the way she did about things. She didn’t even know the answer. After a few stumbling attempts at an explanation, she said, “Because I was born a slave, and I value my freedom more than anything. Being confined to your chambers reminds me of a time when I couldn’t leave my master’s property without his permission.”
“Do you want to leave?” His embrace tightened around her, sending little waves of anticipation to her womb. If he continued to touch her, she might just throw him to the bed and beg him to soothe the ache building between her legs.
“Yes and no.” She pushed his arms away and stepped back. “I know I shouldn’t stay.”
“Why?”
She spun around on her heel. The pained expression on his face nearly took her breath away. The gods save her, she didn’t mean to hurt his feelings. “Because the longer I stay, the more painful it will become when I have to leave.”
“Who says you have to leave?”
“Damn it, Titus, stop living in your dream world and face reality!” Her cheeks flamed, and her eyes stung from her frustration. “This will all end one day when you have to kneel before your duty. I know what I am and what your Deizian nobles think of me. What’s bothering me more is that you’re letting their whispers taint your impression of me.”
“What are you talking about? I’ve stood up for you when they insulted you for being an Alpirion.”
“But not when they suggest I had something to do with a murdered man?”
His jaw tightened. “I know what I saw, Azurha.”
“And you automatically thought the worst?”
He opened his mouth to speak, but the click of the locks interrupted them. The look on his face told her this wouldn’t be the end of their conversation. He strode out of the room with such cold determination that she worried about the health of the person entering the chambers. Varro’s muffled voice came through the curtains, and she allowed her knees to melt as she collapsed on the bed. He was a friend, not a foe, and Titus was safe with him.
It irked her how much Titus had changed in the last couple of days. He seemed more on edge, more suspicious. And although he was the same once she got him into bed, these dead-on accusations unnerved her. How much longer did she have before he discovered the truth? Maybe she should further the argument so he wouldn’t be blindsided by it. Maybe he’d get so infuriated that he’d strike out and kill her.
Bitterness mixed with remorse as she thought that. Like he could actually kill her. Many men had tried over the years, and she only had a couple of scars to show for their attempts. Besides, she wouldn’t wish the guilt of her murder staining his conscience. He was honorable enough that it would destroy his spirit.
The voices grew louder, and Azurha forced herself to stand and mask her pain. They would not catch her in a moment of weakness.
Titus entered first, watching her like a lyger tamer, on guard in case she attacked. Varro followed, carrying a small wooden box. “This was left at the palace gate for you, Lady Azurha.”
“For me?” Her gut twisted into a knot. She slowly approached the box, checking for any signs of a mark from whoever sent it. “No one knows I’m here.”
“Far more people know about you than you realize.” The sharpness when Varro spoke rattled her concentration. “You don’t appear in public as the emperor’s consort and expect to remain anonymous.”
“Open it.” Titus crossed his arms and kept his distance from her, looking every inch an emperor and not the lover she’d come to know.
Her hand trembled as she reached for the box. Why did something so simple terrify her? Memories of the time she and Cassius created a box that shot vaporized acid into the face of
the person who opened it nagged at the back of her mind. Not every gift was safe.
“What are you waiting for?”
“I am hesitant to accept a gift when I do not know who sent it, Titus. It’s a lesson you’d do well to learn.” She took the box and studied the outside, searching for any type of triggering device. When she found none, she took a deep breath and flipped the latch back. The lid creaked open, so out of tune with the hammering of her heart.
Her throat closed, blocking the air from her lungs. Inside the box, a pair of lifeless eyes surrounded by bloodstained white fur stared back at her. This wasn’t a gift. It was a warning.
18
Titus ducked as Azurha threw the wooden box away from her. A blur of white streaked across the room and rolled to a stop against the wall. Varro picked it up by a pair of long ears and held it up with a frown on his face. A decapitated rabbit’s head.
All the color drained from Azurha’s face. She backed away from him. “I have to leave, don’t you see? He’s coming to get me, and he’ll hurt you in the process.”
Titus drew his brows together and steadied her trembling hands. “Who sent this?”
She acted like she didn’t hear his question. Her eyes remained wide as she continued, “I can’t leave you, though. I have to protect you. But I can’t stay.” She released him and chewed on her bottom lip as she paced beside the bed.
He turned to Varro to see if he could sort out her cryptic prattle, but his steward simply shrugged. She grew more agitated with each turn until he finally grabbed her arms and halted her. “Answer me, Azurha. What does the rabbit’s head mean?”
“I can’t tell you.” The corners of her eyes glistened. “I’m sorry.”
He shoved her back against the bed and ran his fingers through his hair. Varro’s knowing glance only added to his frustration. “Wait outside with that thing. I’ll deal with it in a minute.”
Varro nodded and slipped out with the box and its contents.
Azurha stared at the floor and wiped her hand across her eyes. “Don’t order me to tell you.”
“Why are you defying me?” He lifted her chin, but her eyes rolled to the side and focused on the wall. “What secrets are you keeping?”
“I need to keep you safe, Titus. If anything happened to you, I don’t know how I could live with my conscience.” Her gaze slid back to him, and he witnessed the fear, determination, and guilt that all warred inside her play out on her face.
“Then explain to me why someone would send you that?”
“It’s a warning.” She pulled his hand away and rose from the bed. “I knew my days were numbered, and this only confirms it.”
The deadly calm with which she spoke sent a shiver racing down his spine. Someone wanted her dead, and if what little information he gleaned from her was correct, an assassin had already been hired to kill her.
One who was fond of leaving rabbit body parts next to his victims.
He wrapped his arms around her. “No one is going to hurt you as long as you’re in the palace, Azurha. I swear to you.”
She pushed him away, her bottom lip quivering. “You’re too arrogant to see what’s right in front of you. Assassins can easily gain access to the palace, to your chambers, and kill you in your sleep.” Her voice cracked. “Please listen to me. I have to go. I have to stop him before he tries again.”
“Who?”
A single tear streaked down her cheek.
He cupped her face in his hands. “Tell me who it is, Azurha, and I’ll employ every soldier in the empire to find him. You don’t have to live in fear of the Rabbit.”
“You think I fear the Rabbit?”
An odd mixture of laughter and sobs rose from her throat, making him wonder if she’d gone completely mad. When it didn’t cease, he focused a thin thread of magic into her mind, trying to calm her. She resisted, continuing to babble about how she needed to leave to keep him safe in one sentence, followed by how she couldn’t leave because she needed to protect him in the next. It reminded him of waves crashing against a shore and then retreating. The argument spun around and around until he released more of his magic. A maelstrom of wild magic engulfed him, challenging him until he unleashed the full force of his power and she collapsed in his arms.
He cursed and caught her before she hit the floor. He hadn’t wanted to knock her unconscious. Ever since he noticed the new surge of wild magic the other morning, he’d noticed a growing difficulty in restraining it. This was the result. At least she seemed to be resting peacefully now. He laid her on the bed and wiped his brow before returning to the main chamber.
Marcus had joined Varro, and both men were so engrossed in their examination of the box that they failed to notice his entrance.
“What do you make of it?”
Their heads snapped up. “It’s a box with a rabbit’s head in it, Titus,” Marcus replied dryly. “Did she tell you anything?”
“Only that it’s a warning.” He sank onto the sofa and leaned against the cushions. Life had been much simpler before she entered it. Boring and empty, but simpler. “I’ll give you three guesses who I think sent it.”
Marcus shook his head. “The Rabbit’s supposed to be contracted to kill you. She seems like she’d hardly be worth his time.”
“Excuse me, but what’s this about the Rabbit?” Varro stiffened, and a glimmer of the soldier he once was appeared. “Is there something I should be aware of?”
Titus nodded, and Marcus filled the steward in on everything from the rumors of the price on his head to the suspicion of the assassin being the Rabbit. His jaw tightened as he listened. “And now it seems Azurha’s involved in it somehow,” he added when his friend finished.
“I warned you that she knew more than she let on.” Marcus shoved the lid of the box closed. “The next question is, what are you going to do about her?”
“Might I get a word in?” Varro took the box and set it on the table. “Lady Azurha may know more than she’s telling us, but I think you’re overlooking a few important details.”
“Such as?”
“Perhaps you didn’t hear her correctly, but she mentioned several times that she needed to protect you. From what I’ve witnessed, she’s more than just a pretty face. Her attack on Lady Claudia yesterday rivaled any member of the Legion that I served with.”
“You think Pontus sent her to protect Titus?” Marcus snorted a single dry laugh. “Knowing him, you’d think she was the assassin.” His eyes widened as soon as he said it. “Titus, you don’t think—”
“Think about it, Marcus. If Azurha had been hired to kill me, she’s had ample opportunity.” He replayed the scene in the bedroom moments ago. She seemed so frantic to reach a decision, even if it involved leaving him. “No, I don’t think she’s an assassin.”
“Would you stake your life on it?”
He gave Marcus a wry smile. “With so many snakes in the grass these days, I can count the people I trust completely on one hand.”
“I hope I’m one of them.”
His smile widened. “Of course, Marcus. You shouldn’t even have to ask that.”
“Back to Lady Azurha’s gift.” Varro ran his hand over the top of the box. “What should we do about it?”
“That’s what I’m trying to decide.” Titus leaned forward and rested his chin on his clasped hands. “Do you two agree that someone is trying to threaten her?”
“No, I think they’re trying to give her an idea what to serve for supper tomorrow night.” Marcus sat in a chair across from him. “You definitely pissed off some people by elevating her to your consort.”
“Enough for them to want to kill her?”
“They want to kill you, Titus, and you’re the emperor. She’s just a bug for them to squash.”
He glanced over his shoulder at the bedroom. The fear in her eyes had startled him more than he cared to admit. Even when speaking about the torture she endured as a slave, she never trembled like that, never lost her composur
e. “Perhaps I should send her some place safe.”
“I think you’re reading Lady Azurha wrong, Emperor Sergius.” Varro straightened his injured leg, adding another inch to his height. “She has a warrior’s heart, and she wouldn’t like being forced into hiding. It reeks of cowardice.”
“She’ll go into hiding if I order it.” He pounded his fist on the table. “I will not allow anyone to harm her, not while I can do something about it.”
Varro took a step back and lowered his gaze, but Marcus cocked his head to the side. “By gods, she has you by the nuts, doesn’t she?”
“Don’t be ridiculous. I’m the emperor. No one controls me.”
“You’ve fallen in love with her.”
He jumped to his feet and stopped just inches from his friend’s face. “What I feel for her is none of your concern.”
The teasing grin faded, and a sober expression replaced it. “No need to get upset. I’m your best friend, remember? If you can’t admit your feelings about her to me, then maybe they aren’t as real as you think they are.”
His core trembled, both from rage and fear. His feelings for Azurha were more real and frightening than he ever imagined. Just the thought of someone marring her delicate skin made him want to reach for his sword and show that person the meaning of pain. The lifeless eyes of the dead rabbit haunted him. If he ever discovered her still body staring up at him with those eyes…
Titus turned away before Marcus could read his face. “Is there a safe place you would recommend?”
“My son is the steward at your palace in Madrena,” Varro answered. “She would be well taken care of there, and I trust him to be discreet about her presence.”
Marcus nodded. “It’s remote enough that they wouldn’t think of looking for her there. The problem would be getting her to Madrena.”
“I don’t think she’ll resist.” Guilt laced his words as he wondered how much damage his spell had done to her. “I lost control of my magic while trying to calm her, and she’s out cold.”
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