Wrath of the Storm (Mark of the Thief 3)

"Are you?" Aurelia put her hands on her waist. "This morning, had you pledged loyalty to the man who wants to destroy Nic's life?"

The sting of her words registered on Crispus's face. He said, "While you were in the tunnels with Radulf, Praetors were there too, Aurelia, ready to kill you both. What I did saved both our lives, and maybe Nic's as well! And I spent today learning from that man about his plans for Nic. I can warn him now."

I didn't like the tone of his voice. "Warn me about what?"

"They're not finished with Radulf. They know he's lost his magic, so for the first time since he came to Rome, he's vulnerable. After they get him, they'll come for you."

Of course they would. Crispus shouldn't have needed a day with Brutus to figure that out.

"I can defend myself," I said. "The Malice will ensure that." I hadn't yet decided whether to destroy it, as Radulf and my mother both wanted. The gods had given me this magic, including the key to find the Malice.

But was that their gift to me? Or their curse? Maybe I was just as cursed as Atroxia and didn't know it.

Crispus continued, "There are no limits to what they will do to get control of you. Do you remember before the chariot races, when my father urged Radulf to get you out of the empire? It's not too late to leave, but soon it will be."

"Where would I go?" I shook my head. "I have nowhere to go. Nowhere to hide my family."

"I do." Crispus stepped toward me and Aurelia. "My family is very wealthy, you both know that. When it came time to choose a wife, many young women were presented to my father as desirable options. Do you know why he chose my mother?"

Aurelia smiled. "Love?"

Crispus snorted. "That was never a consideration. It was because my mother's family held vast amounts of property up north. When she was young, they came here from the northernmost border of the empire, in hopes of gaining power within Rome. However, they never abandoned the home they left behind, up in Britannia."

"Britannia?" Aurelia said. "It's wild lands up there, cold and rainy, they say."

"It's also very beautiful, but more important, it's outside the empire now. Some of Rome's recent military campaigns haven't gone well, and the borders have receded to Hadrian's Wall. My mother's family lands are beyond the walls." Crispus hesitated, as if I should've understood his meaning. When it was clear I didn't, he added, "Her land is no longer part of the empire."

I shifted my weight, trying to be sure of what he was hinting at. "My family could go to Britannia?"

"Yes. I'll bring my mother too, and Aurelia."

Aurelia, who would become his wife.

I shook my head. "Thanks for your offer, but I'll find something else for my family."

"I could order us a carriage for morning," Crispus said. "Within a short journey, we could be free, all of us."

"No, not all of us." I was so uncomfortable by now that I started backing away, just to move. "Not me."

"If Nic stays, then we've got to help him," Aurelia said to Crispus.

"It's not safe here anymore," Crispus said.

"Then it's not safe for Nic either!" Aurelia countered. "He needs our help."

"I don't want anyone's help!" I was surprised to find myself shouting. There was no reason for it. Crispus had just made a generous offer, one I knew my family should accept. And the arrangement between him and Aurelia was exactly what it had to be, for any number of reasons. But I was still shouting. "You will go with Crispus to Britannia! You belong with him there!"

Crispus exhaled. "We've got to discuss that too."

I held up my hands. "No, we don't. We could discuss it a thousand times and the answer would still be the same. If she marries you, the Praetors will leave her alone. And they will never leave me alone, not while I have magic they want."

Aurelia started in. "Nic --"

"I'll speak to my family tomorrow." I was already leaving the gardens, on a near run to escape into Radulf's home. "Thanks for your offer, Crispus. I'll have an answer for you soon."

I went inside through the stables, which took me past Radulf's baths, newly repaired from when Livia and I escaped his home once. Just to release some of my emotions, I shot a ball of magic into his tepidarium, which exploded half the water throughout the room, soaking me for the second time that day. I merely shook it off and kept walking.

"Nic, wait!" Crispus ran in behind me, though he paused when he saw the walls still dripping wet. "Everyone knows how you feel about Aurelia. Why won't you just say it?"