Bride of the Emperor (The Prophecy of Sisters Book 4)

by Hayley Faiman

  She shakes her head a couple of times, her gaze not leaving mine. “Do not fret, I will find a way. I have some feelers out there and am waiting for some calls. In the meantime, let me get you some food and take a look at your wounds. You’re favoring one side.”

  “I think he kicked me.”

  “Bastard.”

  My lips twitch into a smile. “Pretty much.”

  Chapter Twenty-One

  TIBERIUS

  The last thing I want to do is gather Decima and bring her here. Not because I don’t want to hand her over, but because I don’t wish to go on any type of journey with her. I’m also concerned she may figure out that I’m taking her somewhere she most definitely would not wish to go.

  I don’t bother waiting for Aeliana and Antonio to appear from the cubiculum the next morning, instead, I leave quietly with just Felix and I ride toward Decima. I ride hard, knowing that it will not be a quick there and back trip.

  Unless she has used magi, she should be two days behind us. We cut our travel time in half by not breaking much, not sleeping and hardly eating. Now, I go back for Decima. Thankfully, she has not used magi to spirit herself closer to our destination.

  I find her easily on the path, she is sitting in her chariot, her arms crossed over her chest, her eyes narrowed on her guard. I only allotted her one, and it seems I will be giving him a raise in his wages after this trip, judging by the exasperated look on his face

  “You are taking too long,” I announce. “I’ll be escorting you the rest of the way.”

  Her head snaps over to me, and she tilts her chin up, her gaze finding mine, and she tries to hold it, but I don’t allow her. I break the connection instantly, turning Felix around. “We ride,” I announce.

  “Tiberius,” Decima snaps.

  I ignore her.

  She calls out my name again, sounding even angrier. Only then, and only because I want her out of my hair, do I acknowledge her. With a sigh, I tug on Felix’s reins and turn him around. He neighs and snorts.

  I hate her. She has evil in her thoughts, her heart, and her soul. He tells me.

  Yes, I know. Hopefully, she will not be our problem after this.

  Let us hope.

  “Decima,” I bark. “What is it? We need to go, my men wait.”

  She doesn’t speak immediately and I want nothing more than to throw her over my shoulder and ride, but I don’t wish to be that close to her person. So, impatiently, I wait. Focusing on her lips, so that I do not look into her eyes, I wait. She licks those lips, then finally speaks.

  “I wish to have you before we go to your men,” she announces.

  I snort. Surely, she is attempting to be comical. “No,” I state.

  “Then, I will stay right here,” she snaps.

  Gnashing my teeth together, I shake my head once. “Decima, we leave. Now.”

  She must understand my urgency, my irritation at her games, because instead of arguing with me a moment longer, she dips her chin and jerks the reins, snapping them to encourage her horse to move.

  Instead of riding ahead of her and leaving her in the dust again. I ride only a horse length ahead on the pathway. We don’t speak, her guard also not speaking as he rides next to her. He rides close enough that, I do not know if she seduced him, and I care not.

  We ride for several hours and I am grateful when I see the wooded area where the little house resides.

  “What is the purpose of this?” Decima demands.

  Instead of telling her to shut her lips, I ignore her completely and continue to ride. She doesn’t stop the chariot, nor does she continue to badger me. Thankful for the quiet, I guide the horse in front of the house.

  My men are milling around and I catch not just one, but several smiles as they see Decima beside me. Brutus is the first to approach after I dismount. His smile reaches ear to ear and I frown as I watch him for a moment.

  “Do you wish to speak to me?” I ask.

  He shakes his head. “I do not, but you will love it, cousin.”

  Then, before I can ask him what is happening, the door to the house opens and a gust of wind and purple mist pushes past me and straight toward Decima. Before I realize what’s happened, before anyone can react, Decima is in the air, the purple mist surrounding her.

  I watch in shock and awe as it carries her toward the house, silently. Running behind the mist and a flying Decima, I don’t even register what is happening as I enter the home. Where the table was last night and this morning, there is now a long metal pole standing tall, from floor to ceiling.

  Decima’s back is now against this pole, her arms up and clamped together at the wrist. I blink, surprised to see a hook from the ceiling and metal chains wrapped around Decima’s wrist, keeping them clamped as she hangs from the hook.

  “Welcome,” Aeliana announces.

  Tearing my gaze from Decima, I watch as Aeliana lifts her hand and a metal chain flies toward Decima and wraps around her entire torso and waist. “Now she won’t be tempted to move.”

  “Aeliana, how is your husband?” Decima asks, purring the words and knowing exactly what she is saying.

  Aeliana laughs. “If you are trying to anger me into making a mistake, into giving you an inch to try and defeat me, you are sadly mistaken. Your magi is gone with that metal around you, and I am thousands of years older than you. I will not be taken down by childish games.”

  Decima growls. “I am with child, you would not harm an innocent.”

  Aeliana snorts. “You are not. Do not attempt to fool me. I can smell a babe at conception. You think of me as some sort of novice, of which I am not.”

  Hearing Aeliana confirm that there is no child causes me to release a sigh of relief. Turning to Aeliana, I clear my throat. She shifts her gaze to me, and her lips curve up into a smile. Ignoring Decima tied to a pole, she closes the distance between us and places her hand against mine.

  “I have found her, she is with a venefica. A weak one, but one nonetheless.”

  “She said they did not have them there,” I point out.

  Aeliana shakes her head, her smile still firmly in place. “They hide, and they are weak, but I can help her. I will help her.”

  “Do not,” Decima shouts. “Why do you help?”

  Aeliana takes a step back and lifts her hand. The purple mist shoots out of her hand and surrounds Decima.

  “Devilrise has already begun suffering from the fallout of the prophecy being started and unfulfilled. Their people are growing sick, their railroad is having injury after injury as they attempt to build it to bring peace and unity amongst their people.

  “Bunafi is having problems on the battlefield as they attempt to take back their lands that the king so selfishly and traitorously gave away. Not that it matters to you, but this matters in the grand scheme of the world and I will not allow it to fall, not because you are hungry for power.”

  Aeliana’s words surprise me, I hadn’t known about any of these things. None of them until she spoke them.

  “Your words, they’re true?” I ask.

  She nods her head, her gaze finding mine. “When you left, I contacted my people, worried that it had started and I was right. The moment Decima deceived you, the fall began. We must mend this. We must bring your fated back and you must fall in love with her and she you.”

  “I do love her,” I admit.

  She shakes her head. “You have tried to talk yourself into this, but you do not understand true love yet. You will, Emperor.”

  “Will it be too late?” I ask, knowing that she is likely right.

  “I am maga, but I do not know how to read the future, I am not a seer. I hope that it is not too late.”

  DRUCILLA

  Valeria watches me. She doesn’t say anything, her gaze just travels to me throughout the day. I’m not sure what is supposed to happen next, but I don’t think watching me is going to get me closer to traveling to some parallel universe and Tiberius.

  She claimed that she h
ad feelers out there, but I’ve yet to see her even glance at her phone. Shouldn’t it be ringing? Text messages going off maybe? Something? But it doesn’t happen. She watches me, helps me, and cooks for me all day long, and into the evening.

  Once I’ve been fed and forced myself to move around a little, I decide to ask Valeria what the hell we’re going to do next. Just when I’ve worked up my energy, I open my mouth and her phone rings.

  I watch as she picks it up, her brows snapping together as she stares at the screen, then she slides her finger across and puts it up to her ear. She doesn’t say a single word the entire conversation, she only listens.

  Then she ends the call, not a single word spoken. Not even hello. I watch her, waiting for her to say something. She doesn’t. At least, not right away. Instead, she watches me.

  “Well?” I ask after a long silence.

  Her gaze finds mine, she holds it for a long moment and I’m about to seriously lose my shit, then she speaks.

  “There is nobody strong enough here, in this country at least that can send you back. Transportation takes a lot of power.”

  “What happens now?” I breathe.

  She continues to watch me, not speaking as her eyes search my own. I want to cry, I want to seriously break down and cry, but I don’t. Instead, I inhale a deep breath and my gaze focuses on hers.

  “Where do I go?” I ask.

  I wait for her to speak, and again, she doesn’t say anything. Then, her words hit me like a ton of bricks. “Even if you found the ten most powerful witches in the world, they would not have enough power. I’m sorry, I don’t think we can help you. Perhaps he will find someone there who can call you back to him.”

  Anger courses through my veins. Why in the shit would the gods send me back here, unless they weren’t gods at all? Sure, they fought off those bitches, but what if they were in disguise. Because if they were truly gods, wouldn’t they send me somewhere that I could easily bounce from and get back to my fated prophecy shit?

  “This is bullshit,” I snap. “Bull fucking shit.”

  Valeria’s lips twitch into a small smile. Then something happens, there is a loud bang and the door flies open. Valeria spins around in her seat to face the door and gasps. I can’t gasp, I can’t make a sound or even move.

  Chad is back.

  He’s not just back, he’s back and he looks… terrifying. I can’t move, I am frozen in my spot and I stare at him wondering what he’s going to do, because judging by the way he’s staring at me, it’s nothing good.

  “Run,” Valeria whispers.

  I don’t move. My mind tells my legs to stand, then tells my feet to move, to run, but nothing happens. I’m completely frozen in my place, my ass firmly planted in the sofa seat. Chad’s gaze flicks from Valeria to me, his lips curving up into an evil-looking grin before he takes a step toward me, then another.

  “Run, girl,” Valeria urges.

  Chad laughs as he stands in front of me. “She can’t and she wouldn’t.”

  “What?” Valeria hisses.

  “Diaboli plays,” he murmurs. “Come.”

  At his command, my ass becomes unstuck from the seat. Straightening my legs, I stand tall in front of Chad, tipping my head back so that I can look into his eyes. Slowly, he lifts his hand, as if he has all of the time in the world and he cups my cheek.

  “Don’t,” Valeria warns.

  His hand is just hovering next to my skin, but he isn’t touching me yet. Chad shifts his head to the side, looking directly at Valeria. “Don’t?” he asks, his voice sounding deeper, rougher than I have ever heard before.

  “Leave this place,” she snaps. “She is not yours.”

  “Oh, but she is,” he rasps.

  “You have no right. She is meant for another world.”

  He hums, then chuckles. “Yes, she is meant for my world. I am here to take her.”

  “She is not for the Underworld.”

  He bursts out laughing, his hand falling from next to my cheek as he shakes his head a couple of times.

  “Do you believe that the world is not meant to have trials and tribulations? They will survive the failed prophecy. My brothers and sisters are always attempting to create a utopia, if it were not for me, people would not know how to fight. They would not understand how to survive. It is balance, Valeria.”

  “Show your true self,” Valeria demands.

  It happens. There is a swirling red smoke that surrounds us and fills my living room. It feels like I’m in the middle of a sci-fi movie. Blinking, I stare at him, unable to look away as the image of Chad slowly morphs into a different image.

  I don’t know why he would have taken on Chad’s form. He is beautiful, breathtaking in his own right.

  Absolutely stunning.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  DRUCILLA

  I don’t know who this man is supposed to be, but he’s the sexiest thing I have ever seen. I almost reach up to touch him, but I’m afraid that he’s not real, that he’s an illusion. So, I don’t touch him, but my eyes stare. I can’t get enough of him.

  “He isn’t real,” Valeria announces.

  His lips curve up and he shifts his gaze from her to me. “I am real, Drucilla. Come with me, I will make you scream with pleasure.”

  My heart skips a beat, the way his voice dips down, it slides over and through me like honey. My belly flutters and I place my palm against it, trying to calm myself. I don’t know what I’m feeling, it’s different than when I’m near Tiberius, but it’s not at all unwelcome.

  “He is from the Underworld,” Valeria calls out. “This is the Devil himself.”

  “What?” I breathe.

  He laughs, and I have to close my eyes, it’s such a beautiful laugh.

  “Away. Go,” Valeria shouts.

  Opening my eyes, I watch as she throws something toward him. It looks like a big ball of light and I stumble backward with a gasp. Then I pinch my eyes closed and reopen them. I let out a cry at the sight of the man in front of me.

  No longer am I surrounded by the red smoke and the man is indeed the Devil. His features are gnarled and he even has two small horns coming out of his head.

  His long black hair is greasy and limp, his face full of pockmarks, and his teeth are small and sharp. He looks similar to the images that I have seen portraying the Devil, and yet, he doesn’t look like him at the same time.

  “Run,” Valeria screams.

  As if there is a fire under my ass and my ribs no longer feel pain, I run. My feet move. I don’t even have to force my brain to tell them, it finally just happens and I take off through the apartment, down the hall and toward the stairs.

  I don’t stop.

  I don’t even realize what’s happening around me, not until I slam into something hard. Arms wrap around me and I push against whoever is holding me, screaming, kicking, and hitting. That is until I hear the voice attached to the body.

  My entire body goes limp, lifting my head, I look up into the face that I have been dreaming about for weeks. The face that I never thought that I would see again. That beautifully scarred face.

  “How?” I whisper.

  Then before I can get an answer from him, everything goes completely dark.

  Black.

  The scent of smoke wakes me. Rolling to my side, I let out a groan of pain as I wake. Blinking a few times, I look around the room expecting to be back in Florida. Then, my eyes widen at the sight of my space.

  Home.

  I’m home.

  Sitting up suddenly, I let out a gasp of pain and cradle my side. “Who did this to you?” Tiberius’ deep growl asks as it fills the room.

  “Chad,” I answer simply.

  Before I realize what’s happened, Tiberius is sitting next to me. “You understood my question.”

  My lips curve up into a grin. “Before I was sent away, I had one of those witches give me the ability to speak and understand Savonaian,” I say.

  Then the memory of that m
oment, something that I must have blacked out, forgotten, or just plain didn’t wish to remember, pops into my head.

  “You slept with her,” I shout.

  Tiberius blinks, dipping his chin, he looks down at me. “I do not understand,” he says.

  “You put your dick,” I state, pointing to his man-skirt-covered waist. “Inside of her vagina,” I snap.

  His eyes widen and he watches me for a moment, most likely trying to come up with some excuse, some valid bullshit to sell me like every other man I have ever known. My heart crackles and cracks with each passing second, threatening to break into tiny little pieces.

  “Tiberius,” I whisper.

  “It was not something that I initiated,” he announces as if this makes it better. His shoulders square, his back ramrod straight as he looks down his nose at me. “I am the emperor, Drucilla. I can and will do as I please.”

  “That’s not okay,” I breathe. “That is really not okay.”

  “That being said,” he continues, ignoring my words. “I did not initiate it, she used her magi.”

  “You’re saying she magically fucked you?”

  His brows frown as he looks down at me. He must not understand fuck, and I’m surprised, I’m sure that it’s one of the oldest words in the English language. I don’t get how we can have a lot of the same vocabulary, but that one is not the same.

  “You magically put your penis inside of her?” I ask with a sigh.

  “I did not want it, melculum. Not for a moment did I want her body. However, I was also not in charge of my own functions.”

  I remember how the Devil himself had me completely immobilized. How I couldn’t move, and then I realize that it was the same thing. I would have kissed him, too. I would have done whatever, I felt something for him, something that I know was not real.

  I don’t want to forgive him, my heart is hurt at the fact that he could be so intimate with another woman, but as much as it hurts, as much as it absolutely pains me, I decide in the moment to forgive him.