Page 35 of Firebird (The Fire That Binds #1)

XXXIV

MALINA

The house had been quiet upon our return. The cook whose name I still didn’t know, nor did I care to know since I didn’t plan on being here much longer, put us to work washing and cutting vegetables for the master’s dinner.

There was a hubbub of noise when Ciprian returned home with his slaves, the bearded one and the others who’d attacked me that one day on the streets. They’d sequestered themselves in one of the parlors, then I heard Ciprian shouting orders for a bath and his dinner right after, but I kept away in the kitchens. As far away as I could .

I’d washed and changed my own tunic, afraid that he would somehow know I’d been with Julian. Rhea had been summoned to serve him dinner, but not me. I was both afraid for her and relieved for myself. While I was confident that I could tether him again and put him to sleep if necessary, that nightmare I’d had last night still lingered. A single thread of foreboding had followed me all day, especially after I’d left Julian’s arms.

I waited in my bedchamber for Rhea to return when the bearded slave stepped into the open doorway. “Dominus commands you to come.”

Stricken with alarm, I didn’t show an ounce of it. I stood and followed him into the same dining hall where I’d made Ciprian spill his guts last night.

I paused when I first entered the room. It wasn’t the fact that my attackers stood about the room or that Rhea was absent. It was the undeniably smug expression on Ciprian’s face and the cloying sense of dread tapping on my magic.

His eyes weren’t brown as usual. They glowed red with his dragon, which meant something had stirred his beast to the forefront. Something that excited him from that gleeful expression on his face. His bruises were already fading and he wore no bandages, his sutures visible. He didn’t seem bothered at all by his injuries.

“Have a seat with me, Malina.” He drew my name out in a long, sickening breath.

“I prefer to stand. What is it you need, dominus?”

“You will sit,” he ordered with a hint of aggression, but that eerie smile remained.

So I sat upon the cushion opposite where he reclined on his chaise, his goblet of wine in hand, a platter of roasted meat and turnips I’d chopped today spread out before him.

“Eat.” He gestured toward the platter.

I didn’t want to raise his ire and refuse, so I picked up a cold turnip and nibbled, the bite cold as it went down. He seemed content that I obeyed, watching me over the rim of his wine goblet.

After a moment of silence, he said, “Drink with me.”

That was when I noticed the second goblet. He leaned over and filled it himself with the decanter that had been left by Rhea.

I lifted the cup and took a small sip, then asked, “Do you often have your slaves dine with you?”

“Never,” he admitted, red eyes gleaming.

“Why have I been singled out as special?” Yet again, I never could hold my tongue.

“Because you are special, Malina.” He lifted his cup as in a toast to me. “Aren’t you?”

My pulse pumped a little faster, sensing he knew something. I hid my reaction behind the goblet as I took another sip of wine and made no reply. He said nothing for a moment, the tension stretching. The bearded one and his two comrades stood at attention at the doorway, glaring at me, grim as always.

He swirled his wine cavalierly and said, “I know your secret.”

I froze, cupping my goblet in my lap. “I have no secrets, dominus.” All the while, visions of Julian thrusting inside me at the temple this morning ran through my mind.

“You have many, witch.”

He sat up on the chaise, which put me on alert. But he simply placed his goblet carefully on the table and observed me. There was no malice in his gaze, at the moment. No, he was simply looking, as if trying to figure out a puzzle.

“And apparently, so does Julian.”

When I couldn’t keep my expression blank, knowing my eyes widened at his accusation, he tossed his head back on a bark of laughter. I remained completely still, my hands focusing on clutching the cup so I didn’t panic .

“My former master?” I asked, wondering if he’d forced Doro or Rhea to tell him about my tryst today in the temple.

“Indeed, Malina. Your former master.” He chuckled again, his canines sharp as he’d let the dragon slip a little more. “Seems he’s been doing some extracurricular activities.”

He knew. Gods, he knew .

“Sergius saw something very peculiar last night.” He gestured back to the bearded slave, who still fixed his malicious glare on me. “Very strange indeed.”

This wasn’t about today. What was he talking about?

“Oh?” I asked innocently.

“The honorable Julianus Dakkia returning in dragon form by the cloak of night. Even stranger, he shifted outside of the city and rode his horse back to his home. Now, I may not be the strategist that he is, but I do know the laws. And I know what looks like covert maneuvers.” He leaned forward, bracing his elbows on his knees and said in an intimate manner, “You know what’s even more curious? He wasn’t alone. Sergius, diligent spy that he is, watched the skies and saw two more senators return to the city in the same way.”

My heart pounded in my throat while I remained as still as possible, listening to Ciprian tell me that he suspected Julian as some sort of conspirator. Which, of course, he was.

“Cunning, aren’t you?” he whispered. “From your expression, I’d think you knew nothing at all. But by the tripling of your heart rate and the dilation of your eyes, I can feel the fear running through your body.” He grinned wider. “It’s delicious.”

“I’m just a slave.” My voice barely shook. “What would I know?”

“But you aren’t just a slave to Julian, are you?” His brow rose in a mocking question. “You’re his prized possession. I can fucking smell him on you,” he growled, “and I know you know more.”

“I don’t know any— ”

With unnatural speed, he reached across the table and backhanded me to the floor. My goblet clanged across the stone and my head buzzed at the shocking pain. There was a sudden, sharp stinging in my scalp as Ciprian crouched over me and curled a fist into my hair. With a sharp pull, he hauled me back onto my knees.

“Ah!” I cried out.

“That’s right,” he hissed in my ear, wrapping his other hand around my throat. “Get used to the pain.”

I reached for my tether but it felt slippery and elusive, not tangible like it always did. Something was wrong.

Ciprian laughed in my ear, pulling me tighter against his chest where he knelt behind me. “You won’t use your witchcraft on me again. Like you did last night. And at my own Rite of Skulls celebration, you fucking bitch.”

My limbs felt lighter, looser, not my own as I slumped in his tight hold.

“That’s right. The sedative won’t kill you. It will simply cloud your mind and senses, but not enough you can’t answer my questions.” He firmed his grip on my throat. “And not enough you won’t feel everything I’m doing to you tonight.” He laughed and licked my cheek with his long tongue. “And we’re going to have a lot of fun tonight, witch.”

It dawned on me far too late that he’d drugged me. In my own arrogance, I sat and ate and drank at his table as if I were invincible. But I was not. Whatever it was he’d given me not only numbed my body and mind but it also dulled my connection to my magic. I tried again and again as he dragged me across the floor by my hair but I couldn’t call upon my tether.

“Oh, I like that! Don’t you, Sergius? She screams prettily.”

“Yes, dominus,” said Sergius.

I hadn’t realized I was screaming, my mind drifting, when he hauled me roughly to the chaise and propped me up. I sat limply, my arms useless at my sides. He picked up his goblet of wine and gulped some down, then he winked at me.

“Would you like a sip?” he asked lightly. “Mine isn’t drugged, so it’s safe.”

I simply stared, my heart beating so fast I was afraid it would pound right out of my chest. I’d never felt so helpless.

“Now, if you can scream, you can talk.” His voice had darkened, his red eyes—slit like a serpent’s—narrowed on me. “I want to know who Julian’s plotting with. Tell me who he’s been meeting with. Who’s been coming to the house.”

Thank the gods, he didn’t know everything. He only suspected.

“Sergius has already delivered my message to the emperor tonight. I’ve listed Julian’s suspicious behavior, along with the two senators’, which only points to the fact that he’s plotting against his uncle. But I’d like to bring a few more names to Igniculus, and you’re going to give them to me.” He lunged onto the chaise, straddling me and gripping my throat again. He didn’t squeeze this time but my head fell to the sofa back, my entire being recoiling from his loathsome touch. “Come on now, Malina,” he whispered, so close his lips brushed mine. “Give me what I want so we can really play.”

There was only one defense I had at that moment, so I opened my mouth and bit his lip. He roared as he reared back, knocking me over. My body rolled halfway off the chaise until my cheek was planted on the seat cushion. I panted from the terror coursing through my veins, my limbs useless as I tried to right myself.

“Fucking witch,” Ciprian hissed behind me, most probably wiping the blood from his lip for I tasted the foul tanginess of it. “On second thought, I like this view of her better. Maybe a good fucking will loosen her tongue.”

“No,” I mumbled and struggled, barely able to move my arms as I tried to scramble away .

“I enjoyed the taste of your blood too.” I felt the tip of a cold blade against the back of my neck. “I think I’ll have another taste.”

Without another thought, I spoke through the one bond that never broke, the tether that had latched tight and never severed, the one to Julian.