Assassin's Heart (39 page)
Authors: Monica Burns
gilavi
doctor could heal.
bastardo
she’d taken out had managed to leave a long, nasty cut from her hip to midthigh. It would be at least another hour before it healed properly. Unlike those she healed, it took her body a lot longer to recuperate from any injuries. And if she healed anyone while she was injured, it took even longer for her own wounds to heal.
When she was close enough to examine Luciano’s wound, she pulled her penlight out of her pocket and illuminated his thigh. She bit back a gasp. The cut was almost to the bone. He was lucky. Any closer and the blade would have severed a main artery, causing him to bleed out on the field. He was fortunate in more ways than one, because she’d never healed anyone bleeding from a primary arterial vein, and she wasn’t sure whether she could. Still this cut was almost as bad, and it needed healing now. Without hesitating, she extended her hands to him.
“With your permission, I must touch you to heal you.”
In the front seat, Ares released a harsh curse. “Damn it, Phaedra, wait until we get to the safe house. I’ve already called to have a doctor meet us at the house.”
Curavi.
“I can wait, c
arissima
.”
“
Christus
, will you just accept the damn
Curavi
,” she exclaimed.
bastardi
responsible for the death of her parents and countless others. The pain in her leg slowly eased, and she released her grip on Luciano’s hands before she leaned back against the car seat. Drained, she kept her eyes closed, wanting to do nothing but curl up in her bed and go to sleep. The sleep of the dead where she didn’t have to feel anything.
A sudden urge to go to him swept through her. She wanted answers. Wanted to understand why he hadn’t told her. She swayed slightly as she braced herself on the car’s tailgate. She saw Lysander take a step forward as a strong pair of arms lifted her up off her feet. Startled, she looked up at Luciano’s grim profile and immediately found herself longing for Lysander. Her gaze drifted back to Lysander, and she saw his stoic expression dissolve into one of fury as Luciano sent him a cold glare.
gilavi
who worked in the house were already prepared to tend to the wounded who couldn’t receive the
Curavi
. As Luciano carried her through the hall toward the main stairs, Atia met them coming down the steps. Clearly surprised, a flash of fear swept across her features.
“Lysander?”
“The Praetorian is with Cleo,” Luciano said with outraged disgust.
“Deus. How many know?” Atia’s question made Phaedra stiffen in Luciano’s arms as she stared at the woman in horror.
“You knew?”
a Consul
about his torture session. He’d shared who he was with Atia. Not her. She moaned softly. How could he possibly love her if he didn’t trust her to tell her the truth? Closing her eyes, she sagged against Luciano’s shoulder.
Now.
” At her command, Luciano moved up the staircase, and in less than a minute, they were at the door of her small suite. “I can make it from here.”
arissima
, you know where to find me.”
She pushed the door open, and out of the corner of her eye, she saw a flash of movement. Turning her head, her heart crashed into her chest at the sight of Lysander coming down the hall. She had no stomach for a confrontation with him now or later. Quickly entering her suite, she slammed the door closed. Her fingers brushed over the lock without
flipping the bolt.
“MAXIMUS.”
was just a dream. She lay down again and stared up at the ceiling. This morning when
Octavian had stormed into the house, she’d never imagined that the man would take her
prisoner. When Maximus returned home, he wouldn’t know where to find her. The sound
of the bedroom door opening made her sit up.
She was the daughter of Gaius Quinctilia Atellus, not some whore he could walk in on
when it suited him. The glare she sent in his direction didn’t seem to faze him, or if it did,
he ignored it. In fact, he arched his eyebrows as if he knew exactly what she was
thinking. As she’d done earlier, she shielded her thoughts as Maximus had taught her.
She’d become quite good at it, and Maximus had been convinced he’d transferred some of
his ability to her as the result of their blood bond. Her stomach lurched as Octavian sat
down on the edge of the bed.
shrank away from him, and the feral smile on his handsome features sent a shiver down
her spine. “I have news.”
made her think the worst. Instead, she arched her eyebrow at him in contempt. His mouth
thinned with anger.
in denial.
such a thing horrified her, but she knew it was true.
thing.” Octavian’s words were smooth and oily. “You’ll see him soon enough when you’re
found guilty of heresy.”
“Not even you would dare to execute the daughter of Gaius Quinctilia Atellus.
Constantine would ban you from his court.”
mea dulcis
. I will simply explain that I
was too late to prevent the mob from extracting their misguided justice.” His words made
her cheeks grow cold as the blood drained from her face, and he chuckled.
alive—no, he was alive. She could feel it. And when he learned where she was, he’d risk
his life to rescue her. The knowledge made her heart skip a beat. If he tried to do that,
he’d certainly die. No, she had to find a way to escape and reach him first.
“You’re far too quiet,
mea mellis
. What are you planning in that pretty head of yours?”
“Nothing,” she said as a whisper of a thought not her own brushed through her head. She
met his gaze with a surreal sense of calm.
house are loyal to me, and the household slaves know the harsh consequences of
betrayal.”
“Would you be any less suspicious if I were to calmly accept you as my jailor?”
“No.” He smiled. It frightened her because his gaze remained flat as a reptile’s gaze. “At
least you’ve not lost your spirit. It’s one of the things that always excited me about you.”
was the anger that flashed across his face before he leaned toward her.
was so close she couldn’t help but turn her head away from him. His fingers captured her
chin, forcing her to look at him. “You’re a heretic, Cassiopeia. And you will be punished,
just like your husband and the boy.”
Care Deus
, if he found Demetri—no, she refused to
believe that Posca would fail her and Maximus. He would keep Demetri safe. A flutter of
movement inside her belly heightened her fear. The baby. If Octavian discovered she was
pregnant with Maximus’s child—he would kill her immediately. He wouldn’t risk her
escaping and bearing a child that might one day be his downfall. Again, the whisper
echoed in her head. This time it was stronger, deeper. It convinced her that Octavian was
attempting to read her mind. She immediately forced herself to block off her thoughts
with images of Maximus finding her. They gave her courage. She would find a way to
escape.
you saw in Maximus that you never saw in me? I could have given you everything he
gave you and more.”
“I didn’t love you.”
“Instead you loved a traitor.”
You’re the one who wants the
Tyet of Isis to
further your own ambitions, not to protect
it.”
“And I was not so weak that I shared all of its secrets with a woman.”
“Maximus has never been weak.”
shivered at the vile touch. “He betrayed his oath to the Guard by telling you about the
Tyet of Isis
.”
“That’s not true. I learned of the box when I blood bonded with Maximus,” she
exclaimed.
his face said she’d made a mistake. Many in the Guard frowned upon the blood bond. It
meant the woman might acquire a special power, and in Rome, a woman with power was
a threat. Especially if she acquired all the powers of the man she blood bonded with.
Octavian grabbed her hands and turned them palms up. She winced at the way his
fingers bit into her hands as he stared at the long scar on her left palm.