“I heard someone in distress, so I came to find out who it was,” I explained pathetically.
“Lie,” said Lela, her gaze on the other man while she still knelt.
He ignored me, scooped the bridle and the knife in one hand, then knelt and gathered Lela into his arms.
“There now, darling. I’ve got you.”
Lela wrapped her arms around his neck and let her head fall to his shoulders, eyes slipping closed.
“She injured herself,” I told him.
He’d turned to leave but stopped and looked at me, anger tightening his face into a scowl.
“No, dominus,” he said, though the moniker used to show respect to noble-born dragons was laced with loathing. “She has given herself some relief. That is all. I’ll take care of her. You should return to the party now.”
Then he gave me a swift bow of the head, dismissing me with as much reverence he could while holding the limp Lela in his arms.
I followed slowly down the central hallway that led back to the main part of the house. He pressed a kiss to her temple, and my gut tightened.
“You can rest now tonight,” he told her tenderly.
“He may call for me,” she murmured with aching sorrow in her voice.
“No, sweetheart. If he needs someone, I’ll be sure it’s me. Sleep now.”
Then they turned the corner and were out of sight. With a heaviness I’d not felt since I’d sent my sisters away from Rome for their own safety, I wandered back to the triclinium. I made a quick excuse to leave, saying my stomach was unsettled, not caring that Quintus smirked at me and said, “I didn’t upset you by mentioning General Drussus’s victory where you had failed, did I?”
I didn’t give a fuck what Quintus thought. I needed to get out of that house. My blood burned as it pumped hotly through my veins, the dragon needing to burst free, to fly.
When I stepped outside and looked up, there were a half dozen deathriders circling the skies over Rome. The newest edict whispered into the ear of Valerius by Caesar, put forth to the senate, and ratified into law. No one could leave Rome without direct permission from the emperor, not plebeians or patricians. The deathriders circled, not to keep enemies out, but to keep citizens in.
I waved to the stable boy to bring my horse. He fetched him quickly. I mounted and spurred him into a gallop, needing the wind on my face.
It wasn’t the tyrant Igniculus, the foul sycophant Valerius, or his lackey Quintus who churned the acid in my belly at the moment.
It was the mystifying beauty who found solace in cutting herself, who was muzzled like a fucking dog, and who likely had to hide her feelings for her lover, the male slave who’d carried her away to tuck her into bed. They were both undoubtedly used most foully by Valerius.
As I wound higher up Palatine Hill to my home, I realized that wasn’t the only reason anger had pierced me so hard tonight. It was the slave man’s gentle kiss and soft words to Lela that stirred my dragon awake. His growl vibrated in my chest, my beast disliking it.
It was fucking ludicrous.
I should be happy that the poor woman found some loving affection in that prison. But even as I trotted into my courtyard, dismounted, and then retreated into the familiar comfort of my home, I felt wholly disturbed. Completely distraught. And it was all because of Lela.
IIILELA
I neared the pharmakopoles, Mitko and Grigor shadowing behind me. Valerius’s beefy Macedonian slaves served as litter-bearers and bodyguards. And always my watchdogs if I needed to leave the house.
As usual, I garnered stares and pitying looks from passersby. A plebeian woman clutched her son and moved to the far side of the street. I ignored them, keeping my head high as I walked the familiar route through the backstreets of the Aventine.
One reason I hated Valerius’s parties was that he forced me to wear the suffocating bridle that completely covered my mouth, keeping me utterly mute. It drove me mad to not be able to even open my mouth or say a single word. Today, I wore a bridle made of cheaper metals that he allowed me to wear during the day.
This one was made of iron. It was ugliest in appearance, looking more like a monster’s jaws, with thin chains draping over the mouthpiece. People could hear my voice through the loose chains. Because of its unnaturally fierce design, it made people look away more quickly, as if I must’ve done something hideous indeed to be muzzled by my master in such a way.
Of course, I had. I’d nearly killed him.Nearly.
When I woke this morning, I found my thigh wrapped in a bandage. I remembered Andreas carrying me from the temple to my room. I must’ve fallen asleep before he tended to me, as he always did. I remembered speaking to the senator Trajan as well and everything that transpired between us, but my mind and body floated like in a dream.
The sensation I felt when my blood seeped into his skin gave me a shiver. I snapped that memory closed and focused on the task at hand as I stepped into the medicine woman’s shop, leaving Mitko and Grigor at the door.
