"But it will not save me," I whispered.
"To become free, you must walk through the fire," the vestalis said. "Haven't you always known this was how things must end? Every move leads you closer to it. Every attempt to avoid it fails."
I shook my head again. "You want me to create a Jupiter Stone and break the curse. But if I fail, then the Mistress gets the Jupiter Stone."
The vestalis smiled. "Obviously, then, you cannot fail."
"I'll destroy the amulets instead. If there are no amulets, there can be no Praetor War."
"Yet the dragon would remain, carrying out her own revenge against this city. Besides, what power can destroy amulets made by the gods?"
"It doesn't matter anyway," I said. "The stone isn't where we left it. I believe the Mistress has it, and she won't give it to me if she believes I'll use it to destroy her."
Without looking away from me, the vestalis stretched out her hand, then rotated her wrist to reveal the white rock I instantly recognized as the one I had taken from Jupiter's eagle.
I took the rock, rolled it around on my palm, and said, "I used to think you were saying I'd have to walk through dragon fire. But I've done that and nothing happened. You're speaking of the fire that comes with lightning."
"You must face both fires. The one will refine your courage, and the other will test its limits."
"I know the limits. I know the price of bringing in lightning." My heart pounded, even as I folded my fingers around the rock. "Do not ask me to do this. I will lose everything."
"To win, you have to lose. That is what you must understand."
"Understand what? Your riddles? Your advice that sounds exactly like what my enemies would say? I was brought here as a slave, and if the world made any sense, I wouldn't even be here, not in one piece. By your mercy, I am still alive, and that is the way I hope to remain. I thank you for my life, Domina; please do not ask me for it now. I've promised never to make a Jupiter Stone. I must keep that promise."
I went to give the rock back to her, but she held up her hands to refuse it. "That rock is yours. You fought Jupiter's eagle to get it. Keep it or destroy it as you will."
"It is not my fate to end a war in the heavens," I said.
She frowned. "If that is true, then no one can do it."
Sounds of an approaching horse caught my attention for a moment. When I turned back to finish the conversation with the vestalis, she was already gone.
Nic!"
Aurelia called my name while they were still at the far end of the square. She was riding Callistus, and Crispus was behind her in the saddle. Although I didn't think it was particularly wise to have brought Callistus so out in the open, it was hardly the biggest of my concerns.
Aurelia leapt from the saddle even before Callistus had fully stopped, and threw her arms around me. I tried to hold her too, but the pain of moving so swiftly stopped me. I gasped, and she immediately drew back.
"I'm sorry," she mumbled. "If I just hurt you, I'm sorry, but I wasn't thinking ... I can't think ... I can't believe ..."
"I came back from it." I was safe now, and more important, I intended to remain that way. Before Aurelia could ask me any questions about the rock, I slipped it into a pocket of my tunic.
"Why are you here?" Aurelia asked, looking beyond us to the column. "Was the vestalis here with you?"
"It doesn't matter," I said. "I told her no."
She furrowed her brows, clearly concerned at why my answer was so vague. But instead of pressing the issue, she reached inside the satchel now looped over her arm, and handed me the bulla.
Eagerly, I put the strap over my head, burying it beneath my tunic. I felt its strength immediately and the warmth that accompanied its magic.
"Get the chains off your wrists," Aurelia said. "You were freed from the emperor's sentence of death, and you have been freed as a slave. If you won't remove those bands, then all of that is for nothing."
"I'll gladly do it." The bulla easily allowed me to break the locks, and I let both bands fall to my feet.
Next, I gave attention to the
worst of my injuries, those where time had not lessened their sting. With each wound that closed, relief poured over me. And while I let the magic work, Aurelia took my hand and continued to stand close by me. She withdrew the Malice and cuffed it around my arm, bringing with it immense strength and bolstering my ability to heal every wound I had received yesterday.