“It couldn’t be helped. The house had been watched for over a week. The Praetorians shouldn’t have been there. All things considered, we were lucky we only lost one man. We might have lost Emma, too, and she’s a valuable resource for the Order.”
“Obviously, Ares’s ability to defy the rules saved her life.” There was only a hint of rebuke in his voice as he referred to Ares bonding with Emma Zale without the Order’s permission. The blood bond Ares had exchanged with his new wife had given her a Sicari ability, which she’d used to protect herself the night Ares and his team had searched the Zale house. Marcus would be well within his right to extract punishment from Ares in some form. His apparent lack of anger filled her with relief.
“He learned that particular trait from me, I’m afraid.”
“Then I cannot punish him for what his Prim
a Consul
advocates.” He shook his head in amused exasperation before his expression grew somber. “The report says the only thing found was David Zale’s notebook. Is there anything of use in it?
“Emma’s been cross-referencing items in our databases with her father’s notebook in an attempt to coordinate our search for the Tyet
of Isis
. With the clue the Order’s had for some time now, and one we found in her father’s notebook, I believe there’s a strong chance of our success.”
“And the artifacts you sent for?”
“Her observations about the coin confirm yours. It’s the coin of the Sicari Lord Baldassare.”
“But she saw nothing that would help us find the Tyet
of Isis
.” It wasn’t a question, simply a statement of frustration.
“No, Eminence,” she murmured. He scowled at her use of his formal title.
“There’s more?”
“The Sicari Lord coin wasn’t the only object Emma read when Ares brought her to the White Cloud estate for Julian’s R
ogalis
. She touched the Dagger of Cassiopeia.”
“And the significance?” he snapped, his features taut with a tension she didn’t understand.
“When she touched the dagger, she saw a man who looked just like Lysander Condellaire, scar and all.” Her words made him send her a disgusted look.
“Are you seriously trying to suggest he’s the reincarnation of Maximus?”
“I don’t know what to think. But Emma’s descriptions were quite vivid.”
“It’s a legend passed down from one Prim
a Consul
to the next. Nothing more.” The rigid line of his posture emphasized his tension. It was unlike him to be so resistant to the idea of reincarnation or prophecy.
“It might be simply a legend. But what if it’s true? The timing is uncanny. Lysander leading the team here in Rome in search of the artifact. Emma’s vision. What if Maximus
has
returned to claim the Tyet
of Isis?”
“Condellaire can’t be trusted.” Marcus’s voice was as cold and inflexible as his gaze was. “He has Praetorian blood in him.”
“
Christus
, his mother was raped. Lysander didn’t have a choice in who his father was, any more than Aurelia had a choice in refusing that Praetorian
bastardo
,” she snapped.
“None of it changes the fact that Condellaire is half Praetorian.” He glared at her. “And he’s been struggling with his darker half for little more than a year. Holding it at bay-pretending nothing’s wrong, or am I mistaken?”
“Lysander hasn’t been keeping it in.” She waved her hands in a vehement protest. “We have talked a great deal about his ordeal.”
“All well and good, but will he rise to the task when lives are at stake.” Marcus frowned. “I didn’t interfere when you named him Le
gatus
for this mission, but if he becomes unstable, Campanella is to replace him.”
“Your worry is misplaced. There are few men of Lysander’s caliber among our people.
He’ll not fail you
or
the Order. His skills are what make him an excellent Le
gatus
. You underestimate him, Marcus.”
“We shall see,” he said with condescension. “His telekinetic ability is strong, but his telepathic skills are unreliable and erratic. If he’d displayed his abilities sooner, perhaps he could have been trained, but now it’s too late.”
“He might not be a true Sicari Lord, but to suffer as he did and survive without telling those
bastardi
anything shows his heart is Sicari. He’ll not betray his friends or the Order, even despite the horrible way he learned the truth about his parentage.”
The words hung in the air like icicles as she defended Lysander. Aurelia would have been proud of her youngest boy. Lysander had become a man any woman would be proud to call her son. He’d shown his worth by surviving what few had. A Praetorian torture session. And she wouldn’t let anyone, including Marcus, forget Lysander’s loyalty to the Order.
“You speak as if he were your son.” There was a bitter note in his voice, and she shook her head in denial.
“Lysander. Ares. Phaedra—” She caught herself as she almost said Cleo’s name. “They helped fill the void in my life. You weren’t there, and they needed me, just as much as I needed them. But they could never fill the hole in my heart that Gabriel’s loss left inside of me.”
“You know why I wasn’t there,” Marcus growled with anger.
“Yes, I know.” The tremor in her voice made her pause as the pain of the past returned to envelop her once more. She shook her head. “Seneca needed your guidance in leading the Council, and you had to honor your promise to Aurelia.”
“A promise I should never have made. I could have easily had Tito or Placido train the boy.” Tiny lines fractured the skin around his lips as his mouth grew taut with tension. “I would have given it up for you. All of it.”
“How could you? You were the Sicari Lord chosen to lead the A
bsconditus
. You had too much honor then,
and now
, to turn your back on the Order or the promise you made.”
“Honor is a cold mistress,” he said bitterly.
“You did your duty. Just as I did mine. I wanted to tell Lysander the truth. All of it. Who his father really was. That he had a half-brother. But Aurelia’s concern for Lysander’s safety as well as Dante’s became mine. Perhaps they were groundless fears, but I honored my friend’s wishes, just as you did. It was important to her that you and no other Sicari Lord train Dante. She knew you. Trusted you.”
“And what about my duty to you—my responsibility to find our son?” His blue eyes studied her face closely.
“Gabriel was gone. We both know you did your best. There was nothing else you could have done.”
“And you. What about you, c
arissima?
” He leaned toward her, his voice dropping to a rasp. “You never sent for me. Not even after that night at La Terrazza del Ninfeo.”
“How could I?” she said quietly. “I knew where your duty lay. Dante needed you more than me or—the boy’s safety and well-being were more important than my happiness or yours.”
The words squeezed at her heart like a spiked vise. He’d never know how hard it had been not to send for him more than a dozen times. Not to tell him—she shoved the memory aside. She’d never said a word to him, because deep inside she’d hoped and prayed he would find Gabriel and bring him home. Then they might have had a chance to be the family she’d always longed for. But Marcus hadn’t found Gabriel.
“But if I had walked away from it, would you have come with me?” he asked in a voice filled with emotion.
She breathed in a deep breath and released it as she considered the question. If he’d abdicated his role as reigning Sicari Lord, chaos would have erupted in the A
bsconditus.
Tito and Placido had been powerful, but they’d served their time. They were too old to lead the A
bsconditus
to ensure its strength and viability. And with Orlando’s untimely death, Marcus had been the only one capable of leading. She’d known that when she’d blood bonded with him.
“No.” She shook her head as she looked away from him. “Gabriel’s disappearance made it difficult enough. If you’d abdicated, you would have come to resent me for it. Going our separate ways was for the best.”
A dark note of fury exploded out of him as he spun away from her. The emotions and sheer power of his abilities sent a humming sensation through her body. Was his anger for Gabriel or what they’d meant to each other and had lost? He jerked his head to look at her over his shoulder. His expression said she’d not shielded her thoughts very well.
“Both, c
arissima
. Both. I should have been more vigilant. I should have taken extra precautions. F
otte
, none of this would have happened if I’d—”
“You give yourself too much credit for what you can and cannot control,” she snapped. “Your responsibilities as a Sicari Lord would have eventually torn us apart. Gabriel’s loss wouldn’t have changed that. Blaming yourself is pointless. The Praetorians are the ones who turned our son into a monster. Not you.”
“A monster that needs to be destroyed,” he said as he turned to face her again. The hard words were like a blow to her body, and it sent a tremor through her.
“Then ask Dante to do it. Surely he’s ready. Don’t let your arrogance blind you to what might happen if you face Gabriel on the field of battle.”
Marcus drew in a deep breath then exhaled it slowly, his eyes closing as he seemed to be absorbing her words. When he looked at her again, he gave her a brusque nod. “I shall give it thought.”
The silence was tense and awkward between them, making her wish he’d never sent for her. No, it was the news he’d given her that made her wish that. Being here with him was a small taste of the Elysium Fields, despite the knowledge it wouldn’t last. Suddenly eager to escape the raw emotion hanging between them, she bowed in respect to him.
“Is there anything else, Eminence?”
He didn’t answer her for a long moment, and she waited in silence for him to say something. She glanced up at him, and her heart slammed into her chest at the hunger in his face.
“One day soon, Dante will assume the role of reigning Sicari Lord. When he does, I intend to come for you.” The deep note of confidence in his voice made her heart skip a beat before it began to race at a frightening speed.
“I said your arrogance was expected of a Sicari Lord, but I forgot how arrogant you really are,” she bit out in a sharp tone.
“Is it my arrogance you find so irritating, or is there something else that disturbs you?”
The determination and wealth of emotion in his voice sent a tremor through her. This was the Marcus she’d fallen in love with. Strong, determined, and insistent on getting his way. She was definitely in trouble if Dante became the reigning Sicari Lord. Best to ignore his high-handed declaration. Particularly when it terrified her that he meant every word. She wasn’t certain she could risk giving her heart to him one more time.
“Do I have your permission to leave, Eminence?” She deliberately kept her voice neutral, her thoughts closed to him.
“Yes.” He gave her an abrupt nod. “But don’t mistake my words, Atia. I will come for you. Only this time I won’t let anyone, or anything, make me give you up.”
This time her mental control
did
slip, and the slow smile curling his mouth said her thoughts had revealed more than she cared to. Not a good thing when one was dealing with a Sicari Lord.
Chapter 7
LYSANDER strode into the small library of the Rome guild’s satellite office to find Atia seated at a library table. The Prim
a Consul
had sent for him a short time ago, and he’d deliberately kept her waiting out of anger. Not a prudent thing to do, but if he’d come any sooner, he might have been prone to doing her harm. In front of her, a large book lay open on the tabletop. He fought the urge to probe her thoughts and find out what she was up to. Instead, he settled on reading her body language. She was upset about something. Someone had done or said something to throw her out of her usual controlled behavior.
Good. He wanted to thank them for unsettling the Prim
a Consul
. The woman deserved to have someone destroy that calm reserve of hers for what she’d done to him. He came to a halt beside the table and waited in silence for her to speak.
“You’re angry with me.” She didn’t look up from the book as she trailed her finger across the page. When he didn’t respond, she raised her head and met his gaze with exasperation. “Speak your mind, Lysander.”
He clasped his hands behind his back and frowned at her. “DeLuca’s presence here presents not only a grave danger to her but to the rest of the team.”
“Danger is a way of life with us, Lysander. We’re always looking over our shoulder on some level.”
“She’s too valuable an asset to the Order to toss her into this viper’s nest. Her safety here is far more precarious than if she were in Chicago.”
“Hmm, perhaps.” Atia nodded as if weighing his words seriously before she shrugged. “But you needed a good healer, and Phaedra is best suited for the task. Marco tells me you’re her partner for this mission. I can’t think of anyone else better qualified to ensure she remains safe.”
He drew in a deep breath then slowly released it. The woman should be grateful he had a firm grip on the monster inside him. If he were to release it … he swallowed hard but didn’t respond to her dismissive comment. She eyed him carefully.
“The fact that you have Praetorian blood running in your veins doesn’t make you any less Sicari, Lysander.” The Prim
a Consul
frowned as he didn’t react to her words. “You’re one of our best warriors. It’s time you come to terms with who you are and what was done to you.”
“I wasn’t aware that I hadn’t already done so,” he said coolly. Behind his back, he tightened his grip on his wrist and his free hand clenched into a tight fist.
“Don’t take me for a fool, Lysander. Many have done so to their regret.” She frowned at him, but he refused to show any emotion in the face of her warning.
“I am not so unwise as to take you for a fool,
Consul
.”
“
Christus
, you are far too hardheaded for your own good. You long for a woman you think you cannot have, all because of the circumstance of your birth. Are you really that uncertain of your ability to control the dark side of you?”
