Page 118 of Firebird
My limbs felt lighter, looser, not my own as I slumped in his tight hold.
“That’s right. The sedative won’t kill you. It will simply cloud your mind and senses, but not enough you can’t answer my questions.” He firmed his grip on my throat. “And not enough you won’t feel everything I’m doing to you tonight.” He laughed and licked my cheek with his long tongue. “And we’re going to have a lot of fun tonight, witch.”
It dawned on me far too late that he’d drugged me. In my own arrogance, I sat and ate and drank at his table as if I were invincible. But I was not. Whatever it was he’d given me not only numbed my body and mind but it also dulled my connection to my magic. I tried again and again as he dragged me across the floor by my hair but I couldn’t call upon my tether.
“Oh, I like that! Don’t you, Sergius? She screams prettily.”
“Yes, dominus,” said Sergius.
I hadn’t realized I was screaming, my mind drifting, when hehauled me roughly to the chaise and propped me up. I sat limply, my arms useless at my sides. He picked up his goblet of wine and gulped some down, then he winked at me.
“Would you like a sip?” he asked lightly. “Mine isn’t drugged, so it’s safe.”
I simply stared, my heart beating so fast I was afraid it would pound right out of my chest. I’d never felt so helpless.
“Now, if you can scream, you can talk.” His voice had darkened, his red eyes—slit like a serpent’s—narrowed on me. “I want to know who Julian’s plotting with. Tell me who he’s been meeting with. Who’s been coming to the house.”
Thank the gods, he didn’t know everything. He only suspected.
“Sergius has already delivered my message to the emperor tonight. I’ve listed Julian’s suspicious behavior, along with the two senators’, which only points to the fact that he’s plotting against his uncle. But I’d like to bring a few more names to Igniculus, and you’re going to give them to me.” He lunged onto the chaise, straddling me and gripping my throat again. He didn’t squeeze this time but my head fell to the sofa back, my entire being recoiling from his loathsome touch. “Come on now, Malina,” he whispered, so close his lips brushed mine. “Give me what I want so we can really play.”
There was only one defense I had at that moment, so I opened my mouth and bit his lip. He roared as he reared back, knocking me over. My body rolled halfway off the chaise until my cheek was planted on the seat cushion. I panted from the terror coursing through my veins, my limbs useless as I tried to right myself.
“Fucking witch,” Ciprian hissed behind me, most probably wiping the blood from his lip for I tasted the foul tanginess of it. “On second thought, I like this view of her better. Maybe a good fucking will loosen her tongue.”
“No,” I mumbled and struggled, barely able to move my arms as I tried to scramble away.
“I enjoyed the taste of your blood too.” I felt the tip of a cold blade against the back of my neck. “I think I’ll have another taste.”
Without another thought, I spoke through the one bond that never broke, the tether that had latched tight and never severed, the one to Julian.
XXXV
JULIAN
I’d been restless all night. Seeing Malina today had only amplified my fear that something could go wrong. Perhaps it was simply that the house was so quiet that had me unsettled. I’d instructed Ruskus to prepare the others to pack. They’d soon be traveling to Trajan’s distant home where they would be safe, where I’d take Malina as soon as it was all done.
Pacing the atrium, I still couldn’t wipe away the dread that sat like a heavy stone in my stomach. I waited for Trajan, who said he’d visit tonight and give me the final details and timing for it all.
There was pounding on my outer door.
“Thank the gods.”
I hurried through the foyer entrance and opened the door, expecting to find my friend on the other side. Instead, there were six armed praetorians, all of them in half-skin.
“Legatus Julianus,” the first one said formally, “Emperor Igniculus commands that you come with us now to the palace.”
There was a coldness in his voice and a flickering of his dragon in his gaze. He was on guard… against me.
My uncle knew. Somehow, he knew.
“Let me dress properly,” I told them, as I was in my loose tunic for bed.
“That isn’t necessary.” He latched onto my forearm, something a praetorian had never done to me. “The emperor would like to see younow.”
Instinct locked in. Without hesitation, I shifted into half-skin and swiped my claws across the first praetorian’s throat. His eyes went wide as blood spurted from his neck. Then the others were on me, clawing and snarling.
Another fell into the melee from behind me. The flash of blue scales and a familiar growl buoyed me. Trajan had leaped into the fight. He must’ve arrived right after they did.
