"I will not be saved on my knees to her." Then I turned my attention to the Mistress. "You were a vestalis, the holiest of women. You betrayed that when you helped in the assassination of Julius Caesar. You are a traitor to the empire and to your vows."
A growl emerged from her now, a sound I had never heard from anyone. And with that growl, she threw a wave of magic that passed right through me, one that tried to steal my soul as it exited.
I punched back, but it only came at her like a breeze, and now she laughed. "Did you think you were strong, slave boy? What Diana put into that trinket around your neck is only a little play magic. But what she gave me, to keep me alive all this time, is real power. And once you return the Malice to me, I will show you the worst of it."
While she spoke, I had been looking around the temple for any hope of escape. Though it was still dark in here, my eyes had adjusted somewhat. Above me, I saw claw marks on the walls and attempts to scratch between the marble blocks, but nothing to suggest there was a way out.
Except I knew better, because I had spent too much time in the mines of Rome to believe this was sealed up forever. She might have Diana's powers, but she did not have Diana's lungs to breathe. The Mistress needed air.
And if air had found a way in for the past three hundred years, then I had a way out. For that, I didn't need the strength of the bulla. I needed the quiet magic of the Divine Star.
Using it meant I would not have its powers to continue healing my wrist. But I braced my arm against my chest and then used magic from my shoulder to feel for the flow of air.
Ahead of me, Brutus was groveling to the Mistress about the Malice, about all he had done to protect it, and promising to find it again for her. It was pathetic, but I supposed this had been the entire purpose of his life thus far, to hope to grovel at her feet.
He did that while I detected gaps between the stone walls. There hadn't been any before. Indeed, the workmanship of this temple was perfect, or it had been until Atroxia collapsed her own floor. That destruction had created gaps that I could use to escape.
Using my good hand, I sent the Divine Star's magic through the gaps, wearing away at the mortar and worming out even larger holes.
"What are you doing?" Atroxia snarled.
Invisible hands clutched at my shoulders and threw me high into the air and against the temple wall, above even where the main floor had once been. I expected to fall and tried to brace myself for the impact, but instead she held me there.
"You stole the Malice," she said. "If you want to live, then tell me where it is."
I shook my head. "If I want to live, the last thing I can do is give you the Malice. I know your plans."
At this height, and with my own magic, I was feeling air begin to move between the marble blocks. Enough air that I could get a grip on the real world outside. And I used it.
"Give me the Malice!" The angrier she became, the deeper Atroxia's voice rumbled.
I created a rumbling of my own, in the vibrations between the blocks. All I needed was a good burst of magic and they would tumble like stacked dice.
Atroxia's eyes widened -- even from as high as I was, and pressed far against the temple wall -- I saw them redden with anger.
"Not to my temple, you won't!"
"This is not your temple!" I yelled. "This is your tomb, you traitor!"
She threw a ball of magic at me, but I used my own magic to push it away. There was so much power in the combination that I was forced harder against the temple wall, which shuddered at first, and then blocks began to fall.
I landed on some stone blocks that fell outside the temple, not far from the Praetors who had obeyed Brutus's orders and were still on their knees. But upon seeing me, they leapt to their feet, startled, and unsure of what to do.
I wasn't much more clear on what should happen next. The temple's collapse was massive, stones falling upon one another and sending up a storm of dust.
Choking on it, I backed away, still keeping my injured wrist against my chest. Once again, it had started to heal. Until I careened through several feet of marble. Surely there would come a point when the Divine Star would refuse to heal me anymore.
There was silence amongst the Praetors until the last brick fell. Then all eyes turned to me, realizing I had entombed their leader, trapped the Mistress, and destroyed any chance they might have had to get the Malice.
From far in the back, someone yelled, "Get him!"
I was in no condition to fight, or at least, no condition to fight well. But I'd come this far, and I would not let the Praetors win now. Rather than send out any attack, I did as I had done before and collapsed the ground in a circle around me, creating an impassable ditch so no one could get close to me. It wasn't useful for my escape, but it prevented them from laying a finger on my magic.
From there, I worked to heal my wrist while I used my right hand to throw magic wherever I could. Outside of the suffocating bounds of the temple walls, my magic was stronger and easier to access, and I took full advantage of that. Without their leader, or really, even a purpose left to them, the remaining Praetors didn't put up much of a fight.
Livia was no longer hiding beneath the bushes, so I hoped either Radulf or Crispus had gotten her away somehow. I wanted to search for her, but arrows had started flying from the vineyard. Aurelia was still here too, obviously.
I should've been angry with Crispus for failing to get Aurelia away, but I wasn't. We both knew how impossible it was to make Aurelia do anything against her will. Aurelia would never willingly leave me behind.