Aurelia's proud shoulders fell. For the first time, she seemed to understand at least this one reason why I had not offered marriage. As long as she was connected to Crispus, she was safe from the Mistress.
"If that is true," Brutus said, "then my only business here is with Nicolas. I have an offer for you."
"My answer is no," I said, which would be the response for whatever he wanted. Enough magic had returned to me that I could
get both Aurelia and myself away from here if I chose to. But something had changed in this conversation. Brutus wanted to talk and not simply fight. I needed to stay and hear what he had to say.
Brutus arched a brow. "You answer quickly for someone who is in the process of losing everything."
I kept my expression even. I wasn't losing. I had the Malice and the bulla, the Mistress was trapped, and my mother and Livia were safely on their way to Britannia.
Yet at the same time, I knew I wasn't winning either. The greatest force of my magic had failed to destroy the Malice, which meant I was still a target and always would be. The Mistress was constantly in my head and would inevitably escape from the cave one day, with my name at the top of her list for revenge. And even if my family was safe, everyone else I cared about was still in terrible danger, Radulf most of all.
Maybe he was right. I really was in the process of losing everything.
"What is your offer?" I said to Brutus.
"Accept it." The Mistress's growl echoed within her cave. "Pledge loyalty to me, or face a battle such as you have never seen." Only I could hear her. I knew that, yet I shook my head to try to separate from her voice.
"Don't listen to him!" Aurelia said.
"Don't listen to her," Brutus said. "You have warred against me, Nicolas, as if I am the enemy. What if I'm not? What if I hold the only solution to the one thing you want most? Your freedom."
The beat of my heart quickened, but I still spoke with caution. "If you claim the power to give me freedom, then you must believe you have the power to take it back again. I will claim my own freedom instead."
"Then claim it while you stand at my side," Brutus said. "The price is less than you think, and the rewards are sweeter than you can imagine."
"What rewards?" I asked, taking a step toward him.
Brutus arched a brow. He liked that I was curious.
Aurelia was somewhat less enthusiastic. She grabbed my arm and gave it a tug. "Let's go."
I shook it off. "You want me to make a Jupiter Stone, is that it?"
"You would hold the full power of the gods. What finer reward could there be?"
"It wouldn't be my reward," I said. "The Mistress wants to use it, to use me."
"Yes, she does need you," Brutus said. "Imagine the greatness of what she offers. Perhaps she would give the orders, but you'd be the one holding the power."
"Our power," the Mistress whispered to me. "You would be the most powerful human in the lands, riding astride the most powerful of creatures. A dragon." She was laughing now, not from anger or a desire for revenge, but from hope. It was the first time I'd felt that emotion from her.
"He's lying to you, Nic!" Aurelia said. "The Mistress has no intention of sharing power with you."
"The Mistress needs his magic," Brutus said. "And this boy needs her strength."
"To destroy Rome?" Aurelia asked. "Why would he do that?"
Brutus casually waved her off. "Rome will fall sooner or later. Why not be the one to control the fall, to see that it falls in the best possible way? You can be part of raising a new and better empire!" He stepped toward me, and his eyes lit with anticipation. "Make us a Jupiter Stone. In exchange, I will return your treasonous grandfather, alive. I will give you more than freedom, I will give you power and protection for your family." He glanced at Aurelia and then back at me. "You would be free to live your life, even with a sewer girl, if you want that." He took yet another step and now was almost close enough to touch me. Almost. "Nicolas, give me the one thing I want, and I will give you everything you want."
I felt Aurelia tugging on my arm again, trying to pull me back with her, away from Brutus. I understood why and knew she was right to do so, but I still wasn't moving.
He took his chance to continue persuading me. "Release the Mistress. Set her free, and she will help you create the stone."
"Come with me," Aurelia said. "Don't listen --"
"How can the Mistress help me?" I asked.