TIBERIUS
Brutus and Marcellus both grunt when I don’t speak immediately. I am okay with that since I have one focus and one focus only. To find the pontifex maximus again and inform him of the immediate nuptials.
“Tiberius?” Brutus calls out.
Stopping, I turn my head and look over my shoulder at him. He is watching me, though I don’t understand the look on his face. It almost looks akin to worry. Brutus has never looked at me in such a way before.
“Brutus?” I reply, turning completely around when he doesn’t continue.
There is a long pause of silence before he finally begins to speak. He clears his throat, then I hear his words, and they surprise me.
“She is your match, Tiberius. Did you not see the way she looked at you?”
“It matters not.”
“It does, cousin. Treat her kindly. If the pontifex maximus is right, you must find love with her.”
Shaking my head, I curl my lip. “Love?” I ask. “What is this? I know nothing of it.”
Brutus snorts. “You should. You have family here that loves you greatly and you love us.”
“That is not the same and you know this.”
“Is it not?” he asks, arching a brow.
Taking a step back, I cross my arms over my chest and watch him for a moment. He is serious. He thinks that this love he speaks of with Drucilla is the same I feel for my own flesh and blood, for my family, for my brothers in battle, it is not and it cannot be.
“You will realize, Tiberius. You will realize that when you do allow yourself to be loved and you return that, that it can be the most beautiful thing on this earth. It can be spectacular. I just hope that it is not too late for our world, for our people.”
“It matters not. She will be my empress before the sun rises on a new day. This prophecy, whatever it is, we will overcome it.”
“Overcome the gods? That is bold of you, frater,” Marcellus hisses.
“It may be bold, but it is what will be.”
Without allowing them to say anything else, I turn and leave them to go in search of the pontifex maximus. My only priority right now is marrying this woman and finding the venefica to try and figure this out, all of it. To save our people, this world, and keep Drucilla here. She is mine, she will not attempt to remove herself from my side.
Not now. Not ever.
The pontifex maximus is in my office where I left him, thankfully. “You will perform the marriage ceremony before I leave for Curia.”
“You’re to leave your bride?” he asks.
I grunt, wanting nothing more than to throw him against the wall and demand a fight. I am ready for one right now, everything is far too much for me in this moment and I need to relieve some of my inner feelings through fighting, and lying with a woman, one simply will not do, I must do both at this point.
“She will join me, not that it is your position to question your emperor,” I snap.
Chapter Eleven
DRUCILLA
I’m all dressed in a gorgeous deep blue gown, I mean, it is simply breathtaking when I look down the length of my body.
The deep brown roping that is twisted and intertwined to accentuate the best parts of me is also just as perfect. My sandals match exactly as well, and I can’t even talk about the slit that is all the way up to my hip on this gown. I feel exactly how I look, like a Grecian goddess.
“Your hair is finished,” Laurentia whispers just as the door opens.
I am surprised to see Cassia sweep through the door, dressed similarly to me, except her gown isn’t nearly as luxurious. It is very apparent that I am something really freaking special, as they would say, an empress.
“Your crown is ready and will be placed on your head by the Emperor,” Cassia announces, though it is Laurentia who translates, thankfully.
Lifting my face from appraising my gown, I look back at her and smile. “Thank you for waking from your sleep for this. I am sorry that it is being done in the night this way,” I whisper.
Cassia smiles, then hurries over to me. She takes my hands in hers and smiles in Laurentia’s direction before she begins to speak.
“There is nowhere I would rather be, and Tiberius knows that I would be extremely angry if he did not have me awoken. I am happy to be present at such an occasion. The people will want to celebrate as well, which will need to wait, but we will all have a grand celebration.”
I love how optimistic and just plain happy Cassia is. She truly believes that this is some great and wonderful thing. I don’t say anything to her, instead, I give her a smile and squeeze her fingers before I release my hold on her hands.
Wordlessly, I walk over to the window and notice that all of the wolves are gone, except one. There is one lone wolf, sitting back on its hind legs, his nose tipped up to me and focused directly on me and nowhere else.
“It is here for your protection. One has been left behind to be your personal guard.”
“Why?” I breathe.
There is a moment of silence, then I hear Cassia’s voice right before Laurentia’s. “Because you are their master, you are their empress. You guide and rule them, just as you will aid to guide and rule our people, but the wolves, they are solely yours.”
“I can’t guide animals,” I whisper.
Her lips twitch into a smile, then she begins to speak again. “You can, just as Tiberius guides and rules the bears. Though, judging by the way the wolves gathered, I would say that you have more power over the wolves than he does the bears.”
I open my mouth to respond, but I’m not sure what to say and thankfully I don’t have to think of something because at that
