Licking my lips, I look down at the ground as Cassia leads us over to a bench. She sinks down on the stone seat and I do the same. Laurentia, I notice, does not. Instead, she stands next to us. I open my mouth to ask her to sit, but she shakes her head once.
Laurentia and I had a long conversation today. She explained some of her role and I told her that was bullshit. She giggled but didn’t know what I meant. So, we came to an agreement. In my presence, there was not any slave/master shit, but in public, I have to let her do her thing so she doesn’t get in trouble.
I relented, only barely.
I decide to just blurt out my two main questions. I want these answered and I would prefer to have them answered tonight. I need to know who the man in my bed is, and what the hell is really going on here.
“Why am I here, and where is the real Tiberius?”
Chapter Seven
DRUCILLA
Cassia cringes, she looks away, then shifts her gaze back to me. I watch her open her mouth, then close it again. She’s trying to come up with a lie that I will buy, but she can’t, because I am on edge and will see through it all.
“That is something that you must ask him,” Laurentia whispers. “I am sorry.”
I hate that I can’t talk directly to Cassia, and I’m angry that I clearly cannot talk to the real Tiberius, the man who came to my room last night and made me feel, truly feel. It was the most amazing sensation I have ever experienced in my life and I can’t even tell him that.
“Do you know why I am here? Have you seen or heard of my sisters?” I practically plead.
When Laurentia is finished translating to Cassia, I watch as her eyes widen, then she frowns. “He did not tell you?” she asks, and I know she’s referring to the man who has been at my side for dinner and dancing the past two evenings.
“Nobody has told me anything,” I say.
She frowns again, shifts her gaze from mine, then back. “You have been much calmer than I would be if I were suddenly somewhere else,” she begins.
Then she rocks my world when she starts to tell me a tale about a prophecy, about gods and goddesses, about sisters and this prophecy being fulfilled. I almost, almost laugh because this is so completely out of this world ridiculous—literally.
“I have a hard time believing all of this,” I whisper.
She smiles, reaching for me and takes my hands in hers. Her eyes find mine and she holds my gaze with her own.
“This is not so far-fetched, you just did not realize this could be a possibility because you know not of anyone who has had anything like this happen to them. Your world, it does not talk about these things, correct?”
“If anyone talked like this, they would be considered crazy.”
“Crazy?” Laurentia asks, obviously not understanding the word enough to translate it.
Lifting my head, I look up at her. “Insane,” I correct.
Her eyes widen and she whispers, “Insanus.”
Cassia’s eyes widen as well, but she doesn’t look upset by my words, not the way Laurentia does. She shrugs a shoulder, her hands squeeze mine as she continues to smile. Her eyes are kind, her smile comes easy and I know that she is much younger than me, probably only sixteen, but she is so much more mature than I have ever been.
“It is not so here, Drucilla. Fantastical things happen all of the time, there are things ordained by the gods, things that are not within our control. This is not so strange, though this ancient prophecy coming to light now, it makes me excited to see what will come of it. Tiberius is due for some good in his life. A good wife, many boys, and happiness.”
“Wife? Boys?” I ask with a hitch of my breath.
Then I realize. I realize what happened last night. I hadn’t thought of it before, I was caught up in the haze that was him—having his touch all over and inside of me. There was no condom. I don’t have my birth control with me, and then I start to panic thinking of possible diseases.
“Oh my god,” I breathe. “Shit. Oh my god.”
Cassia tugs on my hands, not allowing me to stand and run, though I’m not sure where I would go. My eyes fly to hers and I’m sure she can see my panic, my absolute horror at the thought of getting some kind of disease in this primeval place. And pregnancy, I don’t even want to consider it. I don’t want to consider anything.
Holy fucking shit.
It’s too much. All of it is too much.
My heart starts to race, sweat forms on my forehead, and I bite the corner of my lip in an effort to hold back tears.
“Drucilla,” Cassia snaps.
“Kids and diseases, I can’t deal with it. What the hell?”
Laurentia translates, but Cassia only giggles then she starts to speak. “Tiberius would never endanger you in that way. And as far as children go, he needs heirs. It is his duty to his empire, you must realize this?”
Shaking my head, I pinch my eyes closed. “I don’t care how perfectly right and wonderful he feels. This is temporary. All relationships are temporary. I am not going to stay here,” I breathe. “Once I find my sisters, we fulfill whatever this is, then we’re outta here.”
“Drucilla,” Cassia breathes. “This cannot be. You are his fated, just as your sisters are fated to their men. There is no leaving the Emperor of Savona. In a few days, you will be his wife, his empress. There is no way out of that once you have committed yourself to him and this empire.”
“I think I’ve made a mistake,” I exhale.
Cassia grins, then begins to speak again and I find although I hate having Laurentia as our translator, I
