I refuse to lose my head in thoughts of what can never be.
Titus retreated to his corner of the carriage. “What is it, Azurha? What has brought this change in you? Are you angry at me?”
She mentally scrambled for some petty reason. Anything was better than the truth. “Why are you trying to get me with child?”
He chuckled. “I thought that was obvious. I’ve told you before that I can’t imagine anyone else as my Empress. That includes being the mother of my children.”
“If you think a child will change my mind—”
“I do not believe you are so cold-hearted as to abandon your child.”
Her stomach dropped into the pit of her gut, landing with a dull thud. She’d grown up never knowing her real parents. Her master had bought her before she had been able to fend for herself, and she survived only because the other slaves like Ramina had taken pity on her. Could she do the same to her own child?
She shook the morose thoughts from her mind and replaced them with the steely exterior that had served her so well during her years as an assassin. Do not get emotionally involved, Cassius had warned her on her first day of training. Emotions cloud your judgment and make you hesitate. “Why do you wish to complicate matters further with a child your peers will not even recognize due to his tainted blood?”
“Because he will be a symbol of the new empire.” He reached for her hand and gave it a squeeze. The plea in his eyes tore away at her defenses. “You and I, we can do great things, but only if we work together. I can’t do this alone.”
Her heart skipped a beat, and an ache formed deep in her chest. He sounded so earnest, she wanted to agree to his plan right then and there. What could they accomplish together? She squeezed his hand in return, letting some of the pain ease from her soul. No matter what she did, she couldn’t seem to make him hate her. Perhaps it was better that way. She’d leave him with happier memories of her instead. “Forgive me. Everything has changed so quickly that I haven’t had time to adjust to it all.”
“I understand.” He pulled her closer to him, his arm wrapping around her waist. The heat from his body flowed into her deepest recesses, but instead of lust, she felt something more blooming inside her. Even when grey strands streaked her hair, she’d probably feel this way in his arms. This had to be what love felt like, and the realization filled her mouth with bitterness.
“When my father died, I felt like I was adrift in a sea of chaos,” Titus continued. “I didn’t know how someone like me could ever replace him. He was a natural leader, an emperor who could lead men into battle and protect those within his realm. I was a man of books and dreams, not a warrior. Then I decided I didn’t have to be him. I could shape the empire into something new. Something better. Something far greater than my ancestors could ever imagine. I didn’t need to be confined by their rules and definitions, and neither should you.”
“But as emperor, you have that freedom to enforce those changes. I’m nothing more than an Alpirion who gained her freedom covered in her master’s blood.”
Her stark words had the desired effect. His grip on her hand loosened, but only for a second. Then he hugged her closer, forcing the air from her lungs with the fierceness of his embrace. “I swear in the name of all the gods that I will do all in my power to make sure no one suffers what you did.”
The growl in his voice stirred a new wave of love within her. She’d never had someone care if she was happy or sad, safe or in peril, alive or dead. And in truth, she was glad she’d always had to fend for herself. She was strong and independent. She’d taken the pain from her past and shaped it into something that sustained her over the years. Every time she killed, she drew upon the fear and determination she’d felt the first time she drew blood, but in the end, she was left feeling cold and empty.
Until now.
“I know you will,” she whispered and allowed herself to bathe in the warmth and security of his presence until they were forced to part.
As soon as Titus stepped out of the carriage, the crowds erupted in cheers. The deafening noise shook her focus, and she doubled her efforts to search the crowd for any signs of another assassin. The cold leather straps of her dagger’s sheath bit into her thigh. Its presence calmed her, and a grin curled her lips. She dared someone to try to harm Titus. They’d meet her blade before they drew their next breath.
“You seem on edge,” Titus whispered through clenched teeth. “Smile and wave to them. You should appear happy to be my consort.”
“Crowds make me nervous.” Especially when assassins were lurking around every corner.
But she did as she was told and followed him into the coliseum flanked by their protective cocoon of the Legion. The feeling of dozens of eyes upon her made her skin crawl. They were testing her, searching for her flaws, her weaknesses. They would tear her to shreds in a moment’s notice and leave her remains for the ravens to pick over. All because she wasn’t like them. She was a usurper, a former slave who held the coveted place in the emperor’s bed.
Titus squeezed her hand again and flashed a brilliant smile in her direction. Her pounding heart slowed. She held more than just a place in his bed. She held his heart.
They climbed the stairs to the Imperial box, and he led her to the seat on his right hand side—the Empress’s seat. She lowered herself into it as if the moment her bottom touched the gold-adorned chair, she’d be tossed into the gladiator’s ring like a condemned convict. To Titus’s left, his mother nodded approvingly, and some of her doubts eased. So far, one person accepted her in this role. How many more would follow?
Empress Horatia leaned over to Azurha. “You look lovely this morning. I’m pleased you chose to wear my gift.”
“It is a crown fit to grace an Empress, not a lowly consort like me.”
Horatia laughed. “I doubt you’ll remain a consort for long.”
The words echoed in her mind, followed by the soothsayer’s prophecy. Yes, after today, she’d no longer be Titus’s consort. She’d become his ghostly protector, a guardian restricted to the shadowy underbelly of the Deizian Empire. There she was the Rabbit, someone to be feared.
A man strode out to the middle of the dusty field and called the games to order. She almost rolled her eyes at the lavish praises he extolled on Titus as the new emperor. This form of pomp and ceremony grated on her nerves, although it gave her an opportunity to scan the crowd while they remained transfixed on the listing of the day’s events. A few of the Deizian nobles cast frowns in her direction, but Pontus was not among them. He was nowhere to be seen, and his absence made the hairs on the back of her neck rise. As a member of the Imperial family, she thought he would seize the opportunity to take his place near his cousin.
The crowd roared to life as the first two gladiators entered the ring, pulling her from her thoughts. The clang of the swords against shields echoed off the sandstone bricks of the coliseum and mesmerized the onlookers. The sun beat down on them, enhancing the metallic scent of the sweat and blood to the point it made Azurha’s stomach roll, but she continued to watch the powerful movements of the skilled combatants. To them, this wasn’t a game. It was a battle to the death, played out as much by their agonizing cries as the swings of the weapons.
The first gladiator fell, and the crowd applauded the victor as his opponent drew his last breaths. A group of slaves rushed into the ring to clear the loser’s body and cover up the blood stains, but it was mere gesture. The next two combatants would have seen the prior fight and would know what awaited them—victory or death.
A jolt of unease raced up Azurha’s spine, locking her body in place. Her eyes flickered across the crowd, wondering what caused it. She was just about to blame her hyper-vigilant nerves when she spotted him.
His face stood out from the sea of onlookers like a shining beacon. Her mentor. Her rock in those years of doubt following her freedom. The man who had turned her into the most skilled assassin in the empire.
Cassius.
/> Only now, he was her enemy. Why else would he be clad in the uniform of the Legion? He stood at the edge of the Imperial box, a mere fifteen paces away. His hand wrapped around the hilt of his sword as he watched the second battle, but she knew his movements well enough. He was waiting for the perfect time to strike. When the crowd rose to cheer for the victor of this contest, he’d make his move under the cover of chaos.
Cassius leaned his head in her direction and locked gazes with her. A cruel smile darkened his face, confirming her suspicions and making her gut tighten into a tangled knot. There was no pity, no kindness in his expression. He was there to finish what she had failed to do, and when he was done, she would suffer the same fate as Titus.
“Azurha, what’s wrong? You look ill.”
Titus’s hand on her arm warmed her chilled flesh and pulled her attention away from Cassius. She debated telling him the truth, but once again her fear of being exposed for what she truly was tempered her honesty. “I never liked these types of games,” she lied. “The sight of blood…”
“Say no more. We shall leave.”
He started to rise from his seat, but she halted him with a touch. Cassius had vanished during the seconds of their conversation. He was lurking in the dark corners of the interior aisles, no doubt, waiting to spring on them the moment they left. That is, if she didn’t stop him first. “It would appear rude if you left the games held in your honor so quickly. I’ll just retreat out of the sun and cool off. I’m sure that’s all I need.”
She hurried out of the box before he could protest and slipped into the dimly lit interior corridor. Two members of the Legion stood guard at the entrance to the Imperial box, but neither one of them was Cassius. Otherwise, the area seemed abandoned at the height of the games. It provided the perfect opportunity to hunt her hunter.
Azurha slipped into an alcove and drew her poisoned dagger. The weight of the cool metal in her palm felt like an old friend, and the embossed rabbit on the hilt reminded her of who she was. She was the Rabbit, the best assassin the empire, and it was time Cassius learned that.
She hid the dagger in the folds of her stola and peered out of the alcove at the corridor, searching for any flicker of movement that would betray Cassius’s location. When she saw none, she eased out of her hiding place to move around the curve of the building.
The crunch of leather on gravel made her breath hitch, and she whirled around to find Cassius standing behind her. “Looking for someone, my lady?” he asked, the mocking tone of his words stinging her flesh.
“I don’t recognize you as a member of the Legion.”
He took a step toward her, his hand never straying from his sword. “It seems there’s more than one imposter among us.”
“Perhaps I should alert Captain Galerius.”
“And reveal yourself, Little Rabbit?” He snickered. “I’ve seen the way you look at the emperor. No wonder you failed to complete your job. You violated one of the first rules I taught you. Never get too close to your target.”
Azurha tightened her muscles, preparing to spring the moment Cassius decided to end this standoff. “He’s what the empire needs.”
“I turned you into something greater than you were before. If I had known you would betray me this way, I would have killed you in that alley seven years ago.”
Azurha gasped and took a step back. She was nothing to him, a plaything for him to corrupt in order to amuse himself. Anger flooded her veins, and a growl rumbled deep inside her chest. There would be no hesitating. He was nothing to her now, and knowing that would make it much easier to kill him.
He lunged toward her. She pivoted to her side to avoid his blow. The cold whoosh of air from his blade ruffled her skirts, the chill reminding her how close he came. She sliced her dagger up and out, connecting with the flesh of his cheek. A howl of pain echoed through the corridor, and footsteps sounded in the distance. Her heart raced. She needed to end this quickly before others entered the fray.
She shifted her stance to get a better angle at his throat, but Cassius tackled her to ground with his shoulder. The blow left her lungs burning for air, and his face swam in front of her. The sunlight caught on the bright metal of his blade as it bore down on her. She rolled to the side, the ripping of material filling her ears from her torn stola. She managed to get her feet under her before Cassius delivered another blow and raked her blade along his sword arm.
The scent of blood burned her nose, and the gathering crowd blurred around them. Like the gladiators in the ring outside, this was a death match. She couldn’t let anything distract her from Cassius.
His chest heaved, showing how the years of retirement had taken a toll on his stamina. This was her chance. Strike now. She tightened her sweat-soaked palm around the hilt and calculated the best way to deliver the killing blow.
But that second of hesitation cost her.
A figure rushed out of the crowd toward her, and the flat of a sword connected with the back of her head. Black stars bloomed on the edge of her vision, coalescing to form a dark curtain over her eyes. The ground raced up to meet her. A pair of familiar blue eyes, filled with betrayal, was the last thing she remembered seeing.
I’ve failed, she thought bitterly as the world faded from her consciousness.
25
Barely a minute had passed since Azurha had dashed past him, and Titus was missing her presence already. His insides flopped like a dying fish on a boat deck, sending a shiver down his arms and causing his fingers to twitch. She’d seen blood and brutality yesterday and handled it far better than most women. Why the change now?
His mother leaned over and whispered, “Is there something about Azurha that you’re keeping from me?”
“If there are any secrets to be held, Mother, then she’s the one that holds them.” He settled back in the chair, ignoring the puzzled expression on his mother’s face. He didn’t particularly care for the gladiator fights either, but he wished his damn stomach would stop trying to seize control of his entire body. His mind filled with a sense of foreboding that ate away at his joy and left a black hole of emptiness in its place. The paleness of her cheeks, the way she insisted he stay behind—it all spoke of a woman trying to hide something.
“Nothing to worry about, I’m sure,” his mother said. “Most women get a little queasy when they’re in a certain condition, although I wasn’t expecting it so soon.”
The world around him seemed to condense in a narrow tube before rushing to smack him in the face. The pounding of his heart filled his ears, blocking out any of the crowd’s roar. Sweat slicked his palms and trickled down his neck. Surely, it was too soon for her to be with child.
He stood so quickly, the stadium rolled in time to the contents of his stomach, and he reached for his throne to steady himself. He had to find her and end this uncertainty once and for all.
Both Marcus and Galerius rushed to his side, but he waved them off. The last thing he needed was to appear weak in front of his subjects. He sucked in a deep breath and straightened his spine. “Where did she go?” he asked, his voice low and even enough to mask his inner turmoil.
“Out into the corridor.” Galerius jerked his head toward the main entrance. “I saw one of my men follow her. We’re guarding her as closely as you, Emperor Sergius.”
The captain’s words eased some of his doubts. She couldn’t escape the grounds of the Stadium without a member of the Legion in her shadow. “Take me to her.”
A shout broke the serene silence of the corridor the second he passed through the arched entrance. The two members of the Legion standing guard ran in its direction, their swords drawn. Three more members appeared to form a protective cocoon around Titus, preventing him from seeing what the commotion ahead was. He shoved them away. “What’s going on?”
“Your Majesty—” one of the men started to say, but his words broke off when Titus emerged from behind the human shield they’d erected around him.
What Titus saw on the other si
de made his breath lock in his chest. Azurha stood with her back to him. In her hand, she held a thin dagger. Across from her, a wounded member of the Legion shifted on his feet. His lungs billowed like a man who’d just sprinted from one end of the coliseum to the other. They circled each other like the gladiators in the pit outside, each looking for the best way to incapacitate the other. There was no mistaking the murderous gleam in the soldier’s eyes, and the tightness in Titus’s chest increased threefold.
Azurha’s hand squeezed her dagger, and he watched helplessly as her muscles flexed. His consort was about to kill a member of the Legion in plain view of everyone. What had brought her to this? What would the consequences be if she succeeded? He reached out to stop her, to end this madness before it got out of hand, but Galerius was faster.
The flat of his sword connected to back of her skull, knocking the tiara from her head. It rolled to a stop in front of Titus while her body whipped to one side from the blow. His eyes met hers as her body crumpled to the ground. The shock and horror on her face matched the same emotions whirling inside him, making his heart rattle against his ribs. The dagger slipped from her hand, and her eyes rolled back in her head before her lids snapped shut.
His head suddenly seemed too heavy for his neck, and his body refused to obey his commands. Instead of gracing his bed, Azurha now lay sprawled across the dirty coliseum corridor. Blood trickled down her smooth cheeks. The subtle rise and fall of her chest was the only sign of life she gave him.
The soldier she’d fought raised his sword above her, aiming for her heart. The blade sliced through the air.
The clang of metal halted its course, and the soldier stumbled back. Galerius moved between him and Azurha. “I demand to know what happened here.”
“She was trying to kill the emperor,” the man replied. “I caught her removing the dagger from under her skirt and confronted her. She attacked me.”
Tangled Web Page 23
