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

by Hayley Faiman

  They load up in small boats and row to shore, but something causes me to pause. “Who is with them?” Drucilla whispers.

  “I know not,” I murmur, my gaze focused on the two extra bodies that are with them.

  This must be the surprise, though what or who it is, I haven’t a clue. Thankfully, it doesn’t take long for their boats to approach and as they come closer, Drucilla’s breath hitches next to me. Looking to the side, I watch as she falls to her knees and lets out a cry.

  “Melculum, what is happening?”

  Drucilla looks up to me, her eyes watery with violet tears. “My parents. Those are our parents,” she whimpers.

  DRUCILLA

  My parents.

  I don’t know how Sybilla did it, but they’re here. After we embrace, and I cry, and Sybilla cries, and then Mom and Dad both cry. Our husbands aren’t sure what to do with us, so they usher us to the chariots, and we’re taken back to the domum where the rest of our large family has gathered.

  Where there is food and drinks ready for us to consume and enjoy. Where I can ask a million questions about my parents.

  “How did you get here?” I ask.

  Sybilla looks to our mom and then to me. “Our women of the crystals, they figured out a way. I don’t know if they could ever do it again. It used too much of their power, but they brought them here.”

  “This whole world is magnificent,” Mom cries as she reaches for her goblet of wine. “I didn’t think that I would ever see my girls again, and here I am, and I have grandchildren.”

  “It appears we have plenty of grandchildren,” Dad grunts.

  “Fifteen,” I whisper. Lifting my eyes to theirs, my lips curve up into a grin. “Fifteen grandchildren.”

  “Oh my, you have been busy,” Mom breathes.

  Nodding my head, I reach for Tiberius’ hand, taking it in mine and squeezing. “We have, all of us. We have built a beautiful life in this world and now our lives can be complete because you’re here to share it with us.”

  Mom lifts her hands and wipes away her tears while Dad clears his throat. Topics shift and we all speak of happier things.

  We relive memories, speak about the anticipation of Birdie and Liv’s arrivals. Before we realize how much time has passed, we all yawn and look around to see that it’s late into the evening and we all retire.

  Tiberius locks the bedroom door behind him as I walk over to the wardrobe and remove my gown for the day, reaching for my sleeping gown. Before I can take it from its hooks, Tiberius’ hands span my waist from behind.

  I feel his lips touch my shoulder, then graze the side of my neck. He’s grown a beard the past few years and I would be a liar if I said that I didn’t love it.

  Although, I know that he’s partially self-conscious about it, because it doesn’t grow where his scarring is. So, he’s just grown it longer to cover those spots. It’s sexy as hell. Smiling, I lift my hand and wrap my fingers around the back of his neck.

  “You’re happy?” he murmurs against my skin.

  I hum, turning around in his hands and wrap my arms around his neck. Tilting my head back, I look up into his eyes. “I am so happy. I didn’t think I could be happier than I was, but then my parents arrived and happiness is now overflowing.”

  Tiberius looks into my eyes, his lips curving up into a warm grin. “Family has a way of making our hearts burst with happiness,” he mutters.

  Nodding once, I lick my lips then shift closer to him, pressing my naked body against his. We stop speaking altogether. Tiberius’ lips touch mine, then his tongue fills me and I can’t help but jump and wrap my legs around his waist. He lets out a grunt but doesn’t protest. Gripping my ass, he carries me over to the bed.

  Laying me down on my back, he stays standing and shifts his hips, sliding inside of me in one swift move. Lifting his head from mine, he looks into my eyes, buried deep inside of me he doesn’t move.

  “You always feel amazing, mulier,” he rasps.

  I debate telling him right now. I’ve known something for a few days, I didn’t think it was possible. I thought that I was too old, that my time was finished, but apparently, it’s not. Watching my husband, I decide to wait, at least until we’ve both climaxed.

  He pulls out of me, then buries himself deep inside again. He grinds his pelvis against my clit. I let out a whimper and arch my back as he does it again and again. Dipping his chin, he takes the opportunity to touch his mouth to the center of my neck before he licks the entire column.

  Lifting my legs, I wrap them around his waist and squeeze. Tiberius groans against my neck, his hips moving faster, his thrusts harder as he continues to grind against my clit. I’m close, though it isn’t hard to get that way when it’s Tiberius, everything about his body makes mine ignite.

  “Harder,” I demand.

  He growls and does what I demand. His thrusts are hard and erratic. I feel it, I’m right on the edge, my head tipped down and looking over the edge. Then it happens. It consumes me in a way that I didn’t think was possible.

  It completely takes over my entire body.

  I welcome it.

  My pussy clamps down and every muscle in my entire body tightens as I try to hold him to me. He doesn’t allow me, instead he arches his back, his chin tipped down as he looks into my eyes and he takes from me, he takes everything that I offer him until he buries himself to the root and I feel him climax at the same time his roar fills the room.

  “I’m pregnant, a boy,” I whisper.

  His trembling body tenses, his eyes immediately find mine and he blinks. “Drucilla?” he asks on an exhale.

  Nodding, tears fall from my eyes. “It’s true.”

  “The gods have blessed us again, they continue to bless us.”

  “Because we were dutiful and fulfilled their prophecy, because we work alongside our sisters and brothers, because we love.”

  Tiberius dips his chin closer to my face, his lips touch mine. “Yes, melculum, we do love, don’t we?”

  “So much love.”

  He slides out of me and I watch in amazement as he drops to his knees and places his lips against my lower belly. “So much love that it pours out of us and creates life, an abundance of life. I hope it is twins again,” he rasps.

  Julia and Mila were twins, babies that I didn’t know if we would all three survive entering the world. But we did and they thrive. I don’t know why Tiberius would want to go through that again, I think he was a bigger emotional mess than I was.

  “How about just a healthy, happy mom and baby?” I ask.

  He snorts. “The gods would not take you from me, not my fated,” he murmurs, leaning over and touching my belly with his lips.

  Lifting my hand, I run my fingers through his hair. “I suppose not, but let’s not tempt fate, yes?”

  His mouth turns up into a grin and he nips my flesh with his teeth before he stands to his feet, then lies down next to me, rolling to his side to face me.

  “I suppose you’re right. We mustn’t tempt fate. But I know that this will probably be our last, I would like as many as the gods bestow on us.”

  Reaching out, I trace his lips with my index finger. “I love you, Tiberius.”

  He leans forward, his lips touching mine. “I love you more than I could have ever imagined possible, Drucilla. The gods blessed me beyond measure when they brought you to me.”

  Bride of the Scholar

  A Prophecy of Sisters Short Story

  Prologue

  MARCELLUS

  I watch her from across the room. A famulus. She should not make me feel anything. She is meant to service, use, and serve me. My body should not ache for her, and yet, that is exactly what it does.

  There is a celebration tonight and I decide that I will live out my desires and fantasies with her then, therefore eradicating her from my system so that I can move on and go in search of a proper mulier. I have been putting that off, not wishing to be tied down to one person, but it is time.

&
nbsp; Tiberius leans in to speak to his new mulier and I watch them. They are happy, far too happy. I can’t help the twinge of jealousy I feel when I look at them. They are not perfect and yet they are perfectly content in every way. They are completely mad for one another. I want that.

  Cassia sits down beside me and clears her throat. Turning my head, I look down at her arching a brow. “May I be of some assistance?” I ask when she doesn’t say anything immediately.

  “It is obvious that you have an attraction to Drucilla’s famulus. You know as the second son, you can choose any mulier you wish, yes?”

  “Is there a reason you’re telling me this?”

  Cassia rolls her eyes to the ceiling then looks directly at me. “You could choose her,” she says. “Do not deny it is the famulus you want.”

  I smirk, shifting my gaze from her to Laurentia, then back to Cassia. “Do you think that I would not have her if I wanted her? You act as though I could not have her no matter what the circumstance.”

  Cassia shakes her head, then slowly rises to her feet. She bends over, keeping her voice low. “Marcellus, if you do not think that our softhearted empress is going to free her famulus, then you are not as smart as you claim. That woman will be free before you can bed her. Then she will have the choice to tell you no and you will have never had her.”

  I don’t get the opportunity to respond. She straightens and walks away before I can say a word. I watch her, then shift my gaze back toward the famulus. Her gaze connects to mine, but she quickly breaks the contact by dipping her chin to look at the floor.

  Cassia could be right. Our empress is softhearted. I have heard her object more than once to the fact that we have servi. It clearly bothers her, along with the orgia that we have when we celebrate. It seems our empress is conservative when it comes to sexual relations, something that is not part of our culture at all.

  Though I have to admit for as conservative as she is, it is nice that she does not seem to attempt to want to change our way of living, it was a worry of mine when she first showed her dislike for our culture.

  LAURENTIA

  Leaving the room, I am thankful for the reprieve in my bedroom, in my isolation. I prefer to be alone, knowing that nothing is expected of me here the way it is out there. Sitting on the edge of the bed, I lay back and close my eyes as I just breathe.

  I hear my door open, and I frown as I open my eyes and sit straight up. I see him. He is standing just inside of my room, the door now closed behind him and his gaze focused on me—on every part of me, seeing all of me.

  Pressing my lips together, I try to keep from speaking, knowing that I am not allowed to talk directly to him, not unless he makes a demand for me to speak. My station in life is to serve, and to do so quietly.

  “Stand,” he demands and I do.

  My entire body is trembling. The frater to the emperor is in my private cubiculum. Marcellus tilts his head to the side, his eyes never leaving mine, then takes a step toward me, then another.

  I expect him to demand that I lower to my knees and suck him, but he doesn’t. Instead, he closes the distance between us, surprisingly coming to me. I watch in complete shock as he lifts his hand and cups my cheek.

  Slowly, his thumb slides across my bottom lip. “My people regard the mouth as sacred. Kissing is only done if you think the person clean and good, most likely your spouse or intended.”

  I nod my head slightly, knowing that their people think this. “Your people do not think this, do they?” he asks.

  I wonder what his point of coming here, of talking to me is? “They do not,” I whisper.

  “And lying with a man, taking him in your mouth?”

  “It is done in my land,” I say with a hitch of my breath.

  He dips his chin, but he doesn’t say anything for a long moment. His gaze shifts from my eyes to my mouth and back several times before his eyes connect to mine and hold them.

  I hold my breath, waiting for him to demand such a thing from me. It is common for slaves to do just that for the men and women here, they degrade us, our mouths, rather than their own people.

  “No more,” he rasps.

  “What?” I breathe.

  “No more. You do not disrespect my mouth in that way any longer.”

  “Your mouth?”

  He dips his chin, touching his lips to mine, but he does not deepen the kiss. My entire body trembles, unsure of what to do in this moment.

  “Mine,” he growls.

  Then before I can ask any more questions, he releases me, turns around, and walks away. He closes the door behind him with a finality that I don’t quite understand. I stand still in my spot, unable to move as I just stare at the closed door, unsure what has happened.

  Chapter One

  THREE MONTHS LATER

  MARCELLUS

  A night of celebration.

  I have needed this.

  The servi in front of me sinks to his knees and turns around, bending in front of me. Turning to my side, I jerk my chin toward the person who is waiting for my signal. He dips his chin, then slips from the door and walks away. He has a mission and I am waiting for him to complete it.

  Reaching for the glass jar of oil, I sink to my knees and pour some into my palm. Slathering my length with the oil, I give myself a few tugs to ready for the evening. There are people around me in various positions enjoying one another’s flesh and now it is my turn.

  Using the oil, I coat the servi’s backside, not wishing to cause him any pain at all. He moans as I begin to rub, to feel his back entrance. I slip two fingers inside of him, scissoring them to stretch his entrance. His thighs spread wider as he arches his back into the perfect position for me to take him.

  There is a noise beside me, a hitch of breath, and I look up to see her standing at my side. Her face is pink and her chest rises and falls as she looks down at me. “Join me, Laurentia,” I say, using her given name for the first time.

  Her eyes widen and she licks her lips, then without a word, she sheds her gown. She exposes her entire body to me and I let out a groan at the sight of her. She sinks to her knees beside me, her chest rising and falling with her panting breath.

  Reaching out, I wrap my fingers around the back of her neck as I slowly sink inside of the man who is bent over in front of me. Tugging her to me, I touch my mouth to hers.

  “I want you. You are mine, Laurentia,” I breathe.

  She doesn’t say anything, but I feel her tongue touch the seam of my lips. I continue to kiss her as I penetrate the man in front of me. It is erotic and beautiful. It is exactly what I need. Sliding my hand from her neck, I touch her breast, tweaking her nipple before I break the kiss.

  “He will take you with his mouth,” I instruct.

  Laurentia’s eyes widen. She shakes her head, but I don’t allow her to deny me. “I want to watch. Later it will just be us, but right now, we will take our pleasures in celebration of the gods, for the gods, and for each other.”

  I watch as the servi pleasures Laurentia with his mouth, her eyes on me as I take him in the ass and it is perfection. We both come, our gazes connected, the servi serving and pleasuring us. When we’re finished, I send him away and reach for her.

  “Shall we wash, then join together, Laurentia?” I ask.

  Using her full name is still an odd sensation, but I enjoy the way her nostrils flare each time that I speak it aloud. She doesn’t verbally say anything, instead she nods her head. Standing, I gather her gown and my own clothing before we leave the room. The celebration is still fully underway, but I would like her alone for the rest of the night.

  LAURENTIA

  I am unsure what Marcellus wants with me. I am not a free woman, but I am close. My mistress, the empress is kind and has given me the duty of being her personal assistant, as she calls it. I am at her side, and only for her use, nobody else’s.

  Having a semblance of freedom has eased my burdens quite a bit, but Marcellus watches me constantly, his gaze never
leaves me when we’re in a room together and when he beckoned for me this eve, I knew what he wanted me for and I was correct.

  I don’t know how I feel about this, about being with him tonight, but it doesn’t matter. Even though I am almost free, I am not free. Marcellus can still demand that I do things and although I can attempt to say no, it is easier to agree. Plus, it is not like being with him so far has been a hardship.

  Marcellus is not like some of the men, he is kind, gentle, almost soft. Even as he penetrated the other man, he took great care in giving him pleasure. He also ensured that I was given pleasure, he did not have to do this.

  The baths are surprisingly empty when we arrive and without a word, we head toward the one next to the emperor’s private pool and I follow him inside. The water is warm and feels amazing on my aching muscles.

  There is a moment of silence, one where I can feel his gaze on me. Looking up from the clear water, I lick my lips as I watch him. Marcellus does not look like a muscular man when he wears his long robe and toga. He looks slight, especially when he stands next to the warrior emperor, Tiberius.

  But Marcellus is not slight. He has lean muscle that is very well defined in his nude form. “Come,” he murmurs, lifting his hand and beckoning me over.

  Swimming toward him, I stop directly in front of him. He’s seated on the small bench and he grins as he reaches out, wrapping his hands around my waist before he drags me toward him. My legs widen and I straddle his hips as I sit on his thighs. I can feel his hardening length against my center and I let out a shaky breath.

  “I desire you, Laurentia,” he says, murmuring my name. I love the way that he says my name, too much—far too much.