She finally looked past me to where Trajan had stopped, watching us quietly from a short distance. “Trajan?”
“Hello, Malina.”
I spun to face him. “You know my sister?!”
“I know Julian’s former slave who is now his wife, yes. But I didn’t know she was your sister.”
I couldn’t breathe, my vision hazing. “I just can’t believe it. How can this be?”
Malina pulled me into a hug. “The fates are with us now. Just as Bunica always said.”
XXVIIILELA
“I’m still in shock,” I said, holding my sister’s hand on a low sofa against the wall of the large hall that made up most of their cottage. “Tell me your story. What happened after that night.”
No need to specify which night. There was only one that had altered our entire lives.
We sat in a giant room that entailed the kitchen, the hearth, and living space. There were doors on either side that must lead tobedchambers, for the house wasn’t very large from the outside. There was also a loft on one side with a ladder leading up to it, likely where Stefanos and his dog slept. I was lying on a thick blanket spread out on the floor.
Trajan and Julian, a well-built Roman, sat near the hearth, murmuring in low voices. Trajan stared at me, concern on his brow, but he remained seated with Julian.
“I asked Trajan and Julian to give us a few moments alone.” She laughed lightly. “He doesn’t seem happy about it.”
“No, he doesn’t.” I smiled.
I glanced over at the man Trajan was talking to. “So that’s Julianus Dakkia, the emperor’s nephew. Your husband?”
She smiled, piercing my heart. I’d missed her smile terribly over the years. I’d missed her so intensely, it hurt.
“Yes. We married here in Britannia. A Celtic priest performed the rite. Mama would’ve been furious.” She blinked away tears that misted her eyes at the thought of Mama.
“But Bunica would’ve loved it,” I added gently. “She was always keen on listening to any gods, even the ones who weren’t ours.”
Malina smiled. “That is true.”
I shook my head, taking her hand in mine again, needing physical connection for assurance that this was indeed real.
“Tell me, Malina. What happened to you? Tell meeverything.”
So she did. She told me how she’d fled the night our village was attacked, how she’d found a kindhearted tavern keeper who gave her work and shelter. She told me how she was branded a witch for using her magic, which caught the attention of a Celtic tribe from Gaul, how she’d joined them to defend their lands against their enemies.
She told me of a Celtic woman named Enid who took her in like her own daughter, the good times they had before the Romans came to Gaul. She explained how she’d used her magic to thwart the Romansuntil the general was killed and Julianus took his place. After their defeat in battle, Julianus shifted into his dragon then killed one of his own soldiers trying to assault her and carried her back to his home in Rome.
From there, I learned how she’d been living in a home not far from where I was on Palatine Hill, how her life took a frightening turn when she was forced to serve in the home of Ciprian, who sounded quite similar to my former master Valerius.
“Then Julian killed him, burned his entire home, and carried me away on dragonback. We’ve been here ever since.”
Relieved laughter bubbled up in my chest. “I could never imagine my wild sister Malina happily living the life of a farmer’s wife in Britannia.”
“I’m quite happy not having any adventures for the moment.” She glanced over at the men whispering beside the hearth. “Though I know it isn’t over.”
I didn’t want to talk about that yet. “I’m still amazed you were living so close to me for a while, and I never knew. Do you know my friend Andreas, another servant with me in the home of the consul, had seen you fly away that night? I made him tell me the story over and over. Not because I knew it was my sister, but simply because I liked to imagine it was me flying far away from that wretched city.”
She squeezed my hand. “And then your own dragon flew you away, didn’t he?”
My attention drew to Trajan again. While he listened intently to Julian, his gaze kept finding me. He gave me a small smile before returning.
“Yes,” I agreed. “He did.”
