Mark of the Thief (Mark of the Thief 1)

"It means you're not the first person to bear the Divine Star. Radulf has found all of them, sooner or later. He pulls out their magic to make himself more powerful, then sucks out their lives along with it. He's done that to all of them, Nic. He'll do it to you too."

Did Felix know that? Because even if I gave the bulla to the emperor, I couldn't remove the Divine Star from my shoulder. And if Radulf was going to come after me, then I needed to keep the bulla. Figuring out how to use what little magic still remained in it was probably my only chance to survive Radulf's eventual attack.

"How can your father protect me?" I asked Crispus.

"He could train you to harness the power in the mark."

"I told you already, it has no power! You're not marked, so you're only guessing that it's magic. What if it's not?"

"And what if it is? You need our help."

I nodded. "If your father really wants to help me, then he must free my sister, Livia, from the mines. That's what I need most."

Crispus chewed on his lip while he considered that. "If he does that for you, he will expect something in return."

Of course he would, and I doubted it was anything simple. "What?"

Crispus shrugged. "Let me tell him your request, then see what he says. And for now, you stay out of Radulf's way."

That seemed rather obvious, but I smiled anyway. "I can definitely keep my part of the bargain."

As we walked out, Crispus grabbed an apple from the market stall and gave it to me. I started to hand it back to him, but he said, "They won't charge me for taking it. Just eat."

I bit into it and savored the sweet crunch. "They'd cut off my hand for doing that."

Crispus laughed. "Who will they report it to? The Praetors? They won't arrest the son of a senator."

Yet, according to Felix, the Praetors were dangerous. Did Crispus believe that too?

He bid farewell to me at the top of the ramp. I tossed the apple core aside, then walked down to the end of the ramp, where Felix had worn circles in the dirt with his pacing.

"What did he want?" Felix asked.

"Fashion advice." He grunted, and I said, "He doesn't know about the bulla."

Felix seemed to breathe easier, though it was also obvious he had used the past half hour to put together a plan of his own. On the other side of the nearest archway was Aurelia, the girl who had ridden with us into Rome. She sneered at me as if the last thing she wanted was to be here. I completely agreed. I had no interest in seeing her either. I folded my arms and angled my body so I could look at Felix, but not have to see her.

"That senator's son was a risk," Felix said. "I want you to have a protector."

"Her?" I felt like he had slapped me. "A kitten could do a better job."

"He couldn't find one foolish enough to do it," Aurelia said. "If I didn't need the money, I wouldn't have agreed to do it either."

I took Felix's arm and turned him to face the wall. "The senator and his son are no threat to me. But if an actual threat comes, do you really think this girl can do anything to help?"

"Well, I can't exactly hire the Praetorian Guard to watch you, can I?" Felix countered. The emperor's personal guards? No, I supposed not. He added, "She's stronger than she looks, and nobody will question her being here. Besides, I trust her."

But did I trust Felix? He had misled me about Caela's role in the games. It was possible he was lying now, maybe even likely. Besides, even if I did need help, I doubted Aurelia was the answer, and I had no intention of making anything easy on her.

I stomped away, and heard her follow behind me. Whatever Felix was paying her to watch over me like a nursemaid, I decided to make her earn every single coin. So I found work that smelled bad enough to curl her nose hairs. I darted from one end of the hypogeum to the other, dodging around corners, or climbing into high places that I was sure she wouldn't be able to reach. I loved the idea of forcing her to go back to Felix and tell him she had given up, but hour after hour, she stayed near me, and climbed even higher than I did, just to prove she could. Never speaking a word, only rolling her eyes when I was close enough to notice.

Finally, I found a quiet corner and announced to her how I intended to use the space.

"That's disgusting," she said. "They've got to have latrines somewhere."

"Not for slaves," I said, grinning. "So do you still want to guard me, keep me safe?"

"Don't you want my help anymore?" she asked.