As I approach her, she tilts her head back and I pause. She is beautiful. I did not expect to see such beauty. I don’t know what I thought, but this woman standing in front of me was not it, at all.
“Emperor Tiberius,” she breathes.
“Maga,” I murmur.
Her lips curve up into a grin. “You’ve come to see me, won’t you and your men come into my home? I have soup cooking, bread and cheese.”
“And wine?” Brutus calls out from behind me.
She lets out a small laugh. “And wine,” she says with a nod.
I take one step inside, then another before my stomach twists and my knees give out from beneath me. I fall. Never in my life have I been taken down like this, but it’s happened several times since Drucilla left and I do not understand it.
“The gods, they have a crude sense of humor,” the maga announces.
Lifting my head, my teeth gnashing together, I look up at her. She doesn’t make a move to ask me if I am okay, if I need any help, instead she just tilts her head down and watches me in my agony.
“What?” I breathe.
“The gods have done this, you know that?”
Shaking my head, I continue to look up at her, hoping she can read my confusion and help me without me having to actually say anything, because just breathing is about all I can do in this moment.
“They created the bond between you and your intended, your fated. When that bond is severed for whatever reason, by physically being distanced, mentally distanced, or when someone else enters the relationship either by free will or manipulation, you will feel excruciating pain. Once you’re able, come inside and tell me what you’ve done.”
Without another word, she turns from me and walks into her cabin. Only when the door is closed do my men come and help me up. They know better than to try and give me aid while a woman is in my presence.
“Tiberius,” Brutus growls.
“She will know how to help, she already knows more than the pontifex maximus,” I inform him.
Brutus’ eyes widen and he blinks. He shifts his gaze to the closed door, then looks back to me. “Are you sure this is a good idea?”
“This is my only and last option. I do not know what to do after this and I cannot create life and make Decima my empress. I will not. I will also not just ignore her or turn her out, and potentially harm my people.”
“Then this is what we will do, besides she cannot be so bad, she’s offered food and wine to all of us,” he says with a laugh.
Once I am on my feet, I move around a bit, trying to ease the pain that I feel flowing throughout my entire body, it doesn’t work. I ignore it the best that I can and straighten my shoulders as I walk through her front door.
The maga is sitting at the table, a spread of bread, cheese, fruit, a pitcher of wine, and a huge bowl of soup sits at the table waiting for us along with her.
“Come to my table, Tiberius and his men,” she offers with a smile.
I do not sit, afraid that I will be unable to get up if I do. “You may call me Aeliana. Though some just refer to me as Maga. It is your choice, either is fine. I am not too picky on such matters,” she announces.
“Aeliana,” I say, my voice sounding gruff, even to my own ears.
She lifts her chin, her blue eyes looking down her nose at me. It is odd, her features. Blue eyes, black hair, it is unlike any of the people in my land. Blue eyes are not a typical trait of my people.
“I suppose you are anxious to get started.”
“Get started?” I ask.
“You wish to know about your wife, about your mistress. If Decima is indeed with child.”
I watch her for a moment, blinking. Unsure that I’ve heard her words. She smiles, obviously enjoying this moment between us and my surprise at her words. Aeliana has the upper hand, she knows it, and she enjoys it. I cannot blame her, I have been in her position more times than not in my life, it is exhilarating.
“I thought you were just going to enlighten me on the prophecy?” I ask. “On the gods and their games?”
Aeliana shakes her head a couple of times. “I could, but this is far too important to play. You must have all of my knowledge on this subject and as your faithful subject, Emperor, I plan to help in any way that I can. I have seen the destruction that Decima will wreak if she indeed becomes your empress, and I cannot allow my beautiful country to be subjected to her, to that fate and future.”
“Aeliana,” I growl.
She dips her chin, her gaze finding mine. “She continues to seduce you because she is not yet with child. No matter the spell she casts, your seed does not plant, as it would not. Had she done her due diligence and studied the gods and the prophecy, she would know this.”
I let out a breath of relief. “Wait,” I say, pausing her story. “My seed cannot plant?”
Brutus lets out a grumble, but I ignore him. “It cannot, Tiberius. Not in any woman other than your fated, and only when you are in love with her.”
Chapter Twenty
TIBERIUS
I watch Aeliana as she moves around her humble, yet spacious home. It is nothing more than a two-room cabin in the woods, but there is something magical about the space. Perhaps it is just her that’s full of magic and nothing else. However, I have a feeling it is more than just her being, it is everything that surrounds her.
“How do I
