For the Sake of an Empire Ch. 08

The following is a complete work of fiction inspired by Roman history, with a strong fantasy aspect for the use of artistic license. For those who wrote to me about this series regarding its lack of overly explicit sexual content, I will state for your peace of mind that it is NOT a stroke story. If that interests you, you'd be better off reading something else. This chapter actually has no sex in it, though I think the action sequences make up for it cause it's getting hot up in here!. Hopefully y'all agree.

Disclaimer:

The following story may contain erotic situations between consenting adults. If it is illegal for you to read this please leave now. Please do not copy or distribute the story without the author's permission.

Important -

Please feel free to send any feedback or comments through PM or you email me. I appreciate you taking two seconds to vote and leave a comment. And as always thanks to the people who have continued asking for this story and inspired me to do so even after I considered dumping the entire thing. Take care.

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"General Aurelius?"

Marcus turned as Felix appeared in the doorway, pulling him from his thoughts. He had had his men looking for Portia for the last twenty minutes since she had disappeared from her room. Against his better judgment he had sent a messenger to inform the members of the High Council of the attempt on his life and her disappearance. Murmurs had already begun, opinions formed of who was responsible and what would come next. They had lost their king and now their champion's life had been threatened. The city walls pulsed with tension, fear sweeping through the streets like wildfire.

And you can do nothing about it.

Dark brows furrowed as his second in command stepped further into the room. "What news, Felix?"

"We have yet to find any trace of either of them, General Aurelius."

"Have you had the guards check all of the palace and the catacombs?"

"Magnus is leading a group of the home based guard as you requested. It seems more catacombs and secret passages were added after we left the city walls to help protect the royal family if the palace was attacked by intruders. There is one tunnel leading out to the back side of the palace from the Lady Portia's bedroom. We found signs of a struggle-shards of broken pottery and blood stains against one wall."

"Did it seem the sign of a grave injury?"

"No, but it was enough to make me believe that she did not leave that room willingly. Her lady-in-waiting said the last person she saw enter her private suites was Captain Sirrus and when Hector questioned the home based guard they were already aware of Sirrus's disappearance. Several of his men sought him out earlier and could not find him. His second in command when questioned, admitted to Hector that he was behaving oddly all afternoon." He paused, hesitating long enough to make Marcus's eyes darken in silent question.

"It was him that attacked Gemella, General Aurelius. One of the serving girls confessed it to me when I was returning to the main hall. She said Gemella came to her for assistance after the attack."

He paused again, watching the line of Marcus's shoulder. The tension was obvious, muscle knotting through the broad expanse of his back. He didn't have to ask what he was feeling. He had served with him for over ten years and been there the night they had found the bodies of his wife and son. He had thought he would join them that evening, drowning in a river of mead instead of the river that he had pulled him out of.

He had never seen such pain across any man's face before and that pain was mirrored now, glimpsed briefly for a moment before it was obscured by a shadow that deepened the gray of his eyes. There was a darkness there that hinted at violence though he knew Marcus was too bound by honor to ever act upon the emotions. If he had been less disciplined, he might have been a happier man.

"I want him found."

"Yes, General. I gave the order to bring him back unharmed. They know their priority is the Lady Portia."

"And yet should it be?," Marcus murmured.

"General Aurelius?"

"She may be in danger at this very moment and yet I find myself wondering if to save her tonight is to condemn my country."

"General Aurelius...I.."

"You think I do not know where your mind is? I saw it in your face when you came to my aid earlier. We both know that Gemella would never have harmed me of her own will."

"I know she cared for you."

"Yes she did. She cared for me as much as Portia has always resented me. I know that you believe she is responsible for the attempt on my life and for the death of my uncle. The men believe it as well. I hear the murmurs that follow her steps in the hall. I see the way they watch her as if they are afraid to step to heavily into the venom she had sown."

His words were bitter as he ran a hand back through his hair, shaking off Felix's hand when it landed on his shoulder.

"You are right. These walls have ears and I do not wish them to hear these words. Come in and lock the door."

The other man obeyed without question, as obedient within these golden walls as he was on a limb-strewn battlefield. There was no room for arrogance or pride in the life of a soldier. Those who did not know the Celaenian rules of honor, integrity and unrelenting obedience to superior officers were men who were the first to fall.

In a battle, all a soldier had to depend on was the sharpness of his sword, the extent of his skills and his brothers in arms who would not leave him behind. Those bonds that were forged between men into situations of life and death were ones that went far and deep and Marcus knew that if he could trust no one else in these times, he could have faith in his men.

He moved to the window, his back to the younger man, the one person he did not fear would stab him in it when these walls dripped with treacherous secrets.

"This country is no longer the same one I remember. It mocked me with the loss of my uncle and now it does so again with the loss of Gemella. I hear the rumors against my cousin and do not know what to think. I know she has always been ambitious but my uncle was a good man. He deserved loyalty from those he must trusted!"

He lashed out abruptly, his blood staining the wall as he struck it with enough force to peel the skin back from his knuckles. He focused on the warm trickle moving down his arm to splatter the floor, the pain too small to make him forget about the greater one in his heart. The guilt that he had carried with him for ten years crashed down upon him now like a wave that crested on the shore during a storm.

His eyes closed, throat thickening. "He trusted me, Felix. He offered me the throne and I denied him. He was the only father I could remember. He gave me everything and I in my arrogance threw it back at him."

"General Aurelius, this is not your doing."

"But it is, Felix. Had I remained and done my duty when it was asked of me I would have been here to note that his health was failing and that Portia waited in the shadows for her moment of opportunity. I would have taken the throne as he wanted and the country would have continued to know peace, not this darkness that is choking the life out of every man, woman and child who after this night will forever look over their shoulders in fear."

He smiled, the humor not reaching his eyes as he rubbed his uninjured hand over his face. "He would still be alive and not dying slowly, the knowledge that I betrayed him darkening his heart. Aurelia would still be alive, my son that of another man, both of them free from the fate that my intervention caused."

"Marcus..." Felix hesitated for a moment. Though Marcus had always given him the right, it was rare when he called him by his given name rather than by his rank and he saw the impact of its use when Marcus tensed. He knew that Felix would never have taken such liberties if he hadn't felt the same darkness closing in around them. It was creeping in, waiting in the shadows for the moment when it would completely obscure the city that had once held one of the brightest futures written in the stars.

"You cannot blame yourself for the deaths of Aurelia and your son anymore than you can place the death of the Emperor on your shoulders. Their deaths were fated. You are a powerful man but you are not a god. They are in the Eternal Gardens. They feel no pain. It is we who suffer now. It is the people of this city that need you and steal from you the luxury of immersing yourself in your own pain."

A long silence stretched between them. Marcus nodded slowly, tones quiet. "You have always spoken clearly to me, Felix. Do so now. Do you believe she is guilty?"

"I have been gone for as many years as you, General Aurelius. I cannot speak pure truth because I do not know it. But I feel the change in the winds and I hear the unease from the men. Your lady cousin is beautiful but it is her intelligence I fear. If it is true that she seduced Sirrus as they say, it was a strategic move, ensuring she would have the loyalty of the home based guard."

"I do not doubt her intelligence, Felix. I doubt her innocence."

"Go to the High Council, General Aurelius. Speak with them about your thoughts."

"I cannot, Felix. Suspicions without proof mean nothing."

"Caius was a loyal servant to this house for many years. So was Sirrus. Do you really think it a coincidence that they both faltered only days apart?"

"I hear what you say Felix, but I need the proof."

"You are the proof, Marcus," he insisted. "She was always jealous of your relationship with her father. When you left the city, she saw her chance at leadership. The King took that from her when he promised her to Marius of Sergia. Your uncle was giving her into wedlock, not handing her the throne of Celaenia. A woman with your cousin's ambitions could not suffer that fate."

"Portia has always been an opportunist. Those who have known her since she was a child know it is true, but we must be very careful to who we speak these thoughts."

"If Portia played any part in the death of the king she is a traitor to the Empire and must be dealt with accordingly."

"And who would judge her? We have been gone for two years, Felix. This is not the same Celaenia that we remember. There are secrets lurking beneath every stone and we do not know how many offer her their loyalty. To go to the tribunal with so little evidence would be to show our hand and provoke a civil war that would tear apart the people of this city. They are the very heart of Celaenia. Felix. I cannot sacrifice them."

"And what of Gemella's sacrifice? She died to protect you, Marcus."

Marcus's jaw tightened but he said nothing.

"The High Council would listen to you. There is much mistrust of the Lady Portia. No one dares to speak against her because until we returned, she was the only reigning power. That has changed now. Your uncle wished you to have the throne. You're trusted by the people and the Council heeds your words."

"How can I take the throne now when I shunned it once? I denied my country, Felix."

"Then make it right now, Marcus. I know that you have never wished the throne. You are a soldier and I have always been proud to serve at your side. I would follow you to the grave, but if you tell me now that you will not fight for Celaenia now as you have for your entire life, I will doubt my decision."

"I am no king. "

"Then become one! By the Gods, Marcus! You asked me to speak clearly so I will." His eyes glittered fiercely as he moved around to meet Marcus's eyes. "I too loved Aurelia. She was the dearest friend I had, but she is dead and she would not want your guilt to prevent you from doing your duty. Do not shame her memory with cowardice and self indulgence, Marcus. If you wish to avenge your uncle, take the throne."

Marcus's expression darkened, his hand tightening on his sword. He knew that the other man spoke truth but to remove Portia from the path to the throne was to put himself squarely in the middle of it. He had already steered far from that path once before. He could still see the pain that had flickered through his uncle's eyes when he had refused the throne in front of the High Council. He had never spoken a word in reproach, but Marcus had felt his disappointment as sharply as a knife through the side.

For years he had half regretted the decision, surviving his guilt only because of the happiness he found with his wife and son. Their deaths had changed everything and he had found himself walking broken paths, trying to avoid the one that would eventually come to a point of no return. He had stumbled onto it tonight.

"You know where my loyalties lie, General," Felix said quietly, breaking the silence. "I dedicated my life to you until death takes me. I will trust you now as I always have."

Marcus met his eyes but his response was stilled by pounding at the heavy wooden doors. Felix moved to open it, a rapid exchange of words preceding his solemn expression as he turned.

"They've spotted them on the cliffs."

* * *

Portia woke to the sound of the sea in her ears. She moaned as pain shot through her body when she tried to sit up. Her world swam around her and she leaned forward as the contents of her stomach came up, splattering across the rocks. She swallowed around the bile in her mouth, her vision slowly steadying until she could make out Sirrus standing a few feet away on the cliff edge with his back to her. The stiff breeze coming up from the water swirled his hair around in the wind like snakes daring her to come closer. She had always considered snakes to be the animal she most associated with, but now she feared the sting of their bite.

He turned when she made a sound as the throbbing ache in her head slowly intensified as she regained full awareness of her surroundings. They were on the cliffs outside the palace, its silhouette ghostly in the moonlight. It seemed to be another world away, too far for her to reach to escape the unfolding nightmare.

Portia stiffened as Sirrus's gaze dragged over her torn chemise, lingering on the pale pink tips that peeked through. She held one hand out to ward him back, the other gripping her torn bodice. Pain shot through her palm as stones embedded themselves into the soft flesh when she tried to scramble backwards.

"Do not touch me!"

When she shielded herself from his site, Sirrus's jaw tightened. An ugly emotion entered his eyes, making her heart lurch.

"Just days ago you let me stroke them and suck them into my mouth. Now you will not even allow me to see them?"

"You have gone mad! Stay back!"

"Or you will do what? Scream? No one will hear you and if they do, do you think the will truly care?" He leaned forward but didn't touch her. "How many do you think plot your death nightly? Your reign is one that people dread here."

"Leave me alone, Sirrus. I want you to go from this country and never return."

"Is that a royal order?"

Her breath caught as he reached for her and she screamed. She lashed out, catching him off guard as her foot connected hard enough against his chest to send him stumbling back. He fell onto the rocks, shouting out as jagged pieces cut into his back through his clothing.

Portia scrambled to her feet. She stumbled forward, still dizzy from the blows that she had received in her room. The rocks far below the cliffs seemed to beckon to her, the waves calling to her like the legendary sirens of the sea. It would have been so easy for her to go to them, to leave all of her struggles behind. But she couldn't. She was a queen of Celaenia and to abandon her people would have been more painful than her body breaking upon the serrated rock forms jutting from the water.

She kept moving forward, trying to put as much distance between her and Sirrus as she could. She could hear him behind her, but didn't dare to waste precious time looking back to see where he was. She could see the castle's dark silhouette in the distance. They hadn't gone far but she knew no one would hear her over the crash of the ocean on a night like this.

She cried out as Sirrus caught up to her. He grabbed her ankle, yanking her backwards over the rocks, trailing dark stains over the rocks and sand where her knees and hands bled, evidence of her desperation.

She struggled against his terrible grip, feeling his fingers digging tighter, crushing her bones together as if he wanted to break every one in her body.

He didn't release her, yanking her around. Her hands flailed, trying desperately to keep him away. "Sirrus, no!" she panted hoarsely, fear striking deep and holding her in its icy grip as she looked up at the man she barely recognized, a strange gleam in his eye. "Let me go!" she demanded, hating the note in her voice that sounded so much like begging.

"Are you begging, Portia? I thought begging was beneath you. You beg for nothing from any man. You need nothing from any man. Isn't that what you always told me?"

His mocking words cut her to the bone. She closed her eyes, willing the gods to give her the strength she so needed in these moments when she saw her world ended and her body broken upon the rocks below. Death had come for her but she would not allow this weak excuse of a man to be the one who had the satisfaction of turning her over. She was a daughter of the empire, a queen by birth and by right. He was nothing but a pawn. Nothing but a ...

"Coward," she screamed at him. "You show your moment of strength in the moment of weakness you force on me!"

"Silence!" he shouted pinning her arms over her head with one hand as his other hand reached for the largest tear in her sleep shift, the silk ripping with a wet sound like a scream.

Portia's cheeks flamed. He knew every inch of her. He had caressed every crevice with his lips and tongue and yet when his gaze lingered, she wanted to claw out his eyes for taking such luxuries. She struggled, yanking her arm free from his grip, slapping him with all the strength she had, her hand vibrating with the painful impact.

She heard his roar of displeasure and pain, his eyes darkening with rage a moment before he retaliated. He held her with one hand, the other slapping her hard enough to make the stars overheard dance in her line of vision. Before she could recover from the blow, he struck her again and again till she could barely see through the blood that trickled down from the cut above her eye, the ring that he wore with her crest, dark with blood in the moonlight.

Sirrus looked down at his own hand, something akin to horror appearing in his eyes as he looked at his own stained hands and the body of the woman who sit blood at his feet. It spattered dark across the rocks and he shook his head slowly.

"Why do you make me treat you this way, Portia? I wanted to cherish you, to share everything with you at your side. Why do you respond only to violence? Are you so afraid to open your heart?"

His eyes glittered with pain and rage, the emotions conflicting as the proud Queen who needed nothing and no one Portia struggled to her hands and knees before him, her breasts falling from between the torn pieces of material, rosy nipples tightening from the cold.

"No," she groaned, her lip already swelling, blood trickling from the split in her lip. "I just have..." she paused to cough, pain doubling her over. "...no use for the weak. Your jealousy wounds you and makes you weak. I do not know how I missed it, but you are. I can smell it on you like a sickness." She closed her eyes as her head spun, then opened them defiantly. "You asked why I never chose you as my consort...this is why."

She cried out as Sirrus dragged her to her feet, shaking her hard enough for her teeth to click together.