The sound of clashing metal, the grunts fill the space around me. The excursion of my frustrations, the clearing of my mind, I allow all of it and revel in it as I spar. This is what I was made for, this is where I am happiest. Not as an emperor, not as a ruler, right here—in battle.
We spar for hours, until the noon meal passes and the sun begins to set. My body is exhausted, my mind is also not as weighty as it was when I arrived. The men disassemble and begin to head to their own homes, lupanars, or the popinae.
“Tiberius?” Brutus calls out.
Lifting my head, I look up at my cousin, my frater, and I give him a jerk with my chin. He clears his throat, walking toward me, but stops just a few feet in front of me.
“If she is your intended, she will accept you for who you are,” he says, his voice softer than usual.
I don’t say anything right away. I’m not sure if there is anything to say. He is wrong. Not even the strongest magas of this land could make her see me for anything other than a monster at first glance.
“I am glad that you have such faith in the gods, Brutus.”
He shakes his head. “Cousin,” he sighs. “You must have the same faith in them. You have been chosen for a reason. You are a great emperor, you will make a fine husband, and you will do whatever the gods have destined for you to do, with that woman by your side.”
“She is not of this land, she does not know our language, she does not know our customs. She is a stranger.”
“Not so much of a stranger that you did not have her last night,” he points out.
I smirk. “She is also not pure.”
“This bothers you?” he asks, lifting his brows in surprise.
It does not bother me, and it should. I am an emperor, my wife should be a virgin. It is the way it is done. All of my father’s wives, concubinas, and famulus’ were. I know this because he bragged about it often.
All of them were his to do with as he pleased and to bear his children. They did, too. He had over two dozen children. My brother and I were the only children from his actual wives, all the others were from concubinas and famulus’.
They were all status pieces who, after he died, held zero rights to any of his money, land, or titles. My father did not leave any instruction to care for them either. That has all been left up to me and my discretion.
I decided to help them the best that I could. The ones that could be married off, I agreed to the unions, the ones who were old enough to work, I granted them spots in apprenticeships of their choosing or what our country was in need of at the time.
The girls who were not old enough, I gave to the house of the Celibate Virgins, the boys were sent to the Augur to study and become one as well. These are futures that I did not have to give them, they are futures that they will thrive in.
The women, I keep them in a small home together. Three of them have decided to use their bodies to pay for their lives, choosing prostitution over my generosity. I am indeed proud of them and wish all of them the best.
“Her virginal status bothers me in that it does not bother me,” I say, attempting to explain myself.
He nods his head. “You know, Tullia was not pure when we wed.”
“You did not tell me this,” I grunt, knowing that my father sanctioned their union and would have insisted that she be pure considering Brutus is of the emperor’s blood.
He shakes his head. “I knew before we wed. It was why I asked your father to take her as my own. She had been forced as a young woman.”
“You didn’t tell him this, did you?”
Brutus lets out a boom of laughter, his shoulders shaking as well as his entire body. Then he shakes his head as he calms his laughter down. “You know that I did not, cousin. To your father? I would not.”
“It does not bother you though?” I ask.
His eyes find mine and he lifts his hand to my shoulder. “She could either sell herself or become a Celibate Virgin. She wanted children and a life as a wife to a good man. I was honored that she chose me to give her a life as a wife and mother. Having her as my partner has been better than I ever could have dreamed of. If this woman is your fated, she will think the same of you.”
I wish that I could believe him. But I cannot.
“I am happy for you, Brutus. You and your Tullia are a treasured couple and I am proud to call you family.”
“It is bothering you that she is impure in your eyes or in the eyes of the empire?” he asks, his brow lifting.
“It does not bother me. Though, I know that it should. Being with her was different than anything I have ever experienced.”
He hums, his eyes searching mine. “I like this for you,” he states before he lifts his hand and clamps his fingers around my shoulder. “I will much enjoy the way this plays out, but do not anger the gods.”
“I endeavor never to anger the gods if I can so help it.”
He chuckles, then begins to walk away, past me and toward his home and his Tullia. “Tiberius,” he calls out from behind me. Turning around, I lift my gaze to meet his. His lips curve up into a grin. “Figure out the prophecy, marry her, then reveal yourself. She will appreciate your honesty. Do not waste it, cousin. Do not waste
