Chapter 14

14

T he night was stormy and humid, and it made Laverna's mood increasingly bad. The one good thing the constant sprinkle of rain did was clear out most of the tourists who loved to linger around the archaeological park to take moody photos of broken columns in the shadowy light.

Laverna had seen it when the temples and streets had been new and alive. To her, the place felt like a graveyard. She thought of Jupiter and the other proud gods who thought they would rule forever.

Laverna had always been on the outskirts of all the pantheon dramas, and she had preferred it that way. Like Hermes, she managed to keep the major pantheons from giving her too much grief and stayed friends with the chthonic gods. They were both creatures of above and below. She idly wondered if he had noticed the key ring she had stolen from him during the twin's baby shower.

Laverna stared at the remains of the temple of Jupiter and lifted her middle finger up at it. It seemed like the gods and goddesses that had always been made into the outcasts had survived throughout the centuries when all the Jupiter's and Zeus's of the world had gone.

Good fucking riddance , Laverna thought. The world was better off without bullies, especially those with divine power to throw their influence around.

Once, she would have added Romulus to that mix. Now, she wasn't so sure she'd ever known him at all. Maybe she had always refused to see another side of him. She was starting to think they had always misunderstood each other and never bothered to seek clarification.

Maybe she was just getting melancholy in her old age, but standing amongst the stone bones of the past in the middle of the night tended to bring it out in her.

Something about what Claudius had said about her being the one thing in the city that lived outside of Romulus's control was rattling through her head repeatedly. It would have been like having a perfectly oiled machine with one squeaky wheel that could never be fixed. She grinned, the thought making her happy.

No wonder he used to be annoyed by the very sight of her. His sleepy smile from that afternoon returned to her, and she couldn't help but wonder what the sight of her did to him now.

Laverna dug through her jacket pocket until she found a lollipop and put it in her mouth. She had brought a stash with her, amongst other things, in case she needed them to smooth out a conversation with people. People appreciated a sweet or a cigarette or a spare tampon. It was never about the big things that people needed and most wouldn't accept them anyway.

Laverna strolled slowly down into the Domus Tiberiana and stood underneath one of the arches to have a break from the rain. She shook the water off her leather jacket and hood before she paused, her senses suddenly on full alert.

The hair on the back of her neck rose, and she turned around quickly. Nothing. There were plenty of ghosts around, but they never bothered her because of her chthonic side. She cast her eyes up at the structures around and above her but didn't spot anything.

There was still no doubt that Laverna was being watched. She slid her hand into her deep pocket and wrapped her fingers around the hilt of her dagger. Just in case.

Laverna strolled back out into the rain, her senses on high alert as she wandered back to where there were more people. She had put out a curfew on her people to be inside by midnight, and they were getting close to it. She had talked to a few on their way to the shelter for the night, and they had all seen Canidia in the last few days, taking photos and pretending to be a tourist with all the others.

Laverna was going to do one more lap of the park to the Colosseum to ensure everyone had left before going back to the catacombs.

None of the wolves had messaged her to say their hunting efforts had been more successful. Romulus hadn't been exactly cheerful after their encounter in the kitchen, but fuck, what did he expect from her? Laverna doubted that even he knew.

Laverna's senses prickled again just as a woman appeared ahead of her, carrying a large black umbrella. It tilted a little, revealing the profile of a beautiful woman with perfectly curled copper hair.

Laverna turned her attention back to the ruins, heart leaping as she hoped the witch Canidia didn't see her. She had seen the photos, but Laverna had secretly hoped that she wasn't still as beautiful as the last time they clashed. She hadn't aged a day. It was magic that kept her looking so perfect all the time. Laverna knew it and still resented it. She was a goddess, and her hair still became a mess in the humidity.

Laverna counted to ten before glancing back toward Canidia. She had begun walking again, her heeled boots clicking against the wet footpaths. Laverna's fingers tightened around her dagger as she followed at a distance. She wanted to pounce on her and cut her throat for what she had done to Romulus. That wouldn't help them find Sidonius or the missing children.

She needed to follow her back to wherever she was hiding out and call in the wolves. It didn't annoy her as much as she expected it to. Laverna's people weren't soldiers, and Romulus's were. They knew how to handle a fight.

Canidia didn't turn or indicate in any way that she was being followed. She looked like all the other tourists stopping to take photos of the monuments.

Laverna followed her to the walkway that stood above the remains of Palatine Hill. It was a stretch of grass with broken pillars sticking out in rows.

Laverna remembered the cave underneath, called the Lupercal or the Female Wolf, which honored the she-wolf that had found Romulus and Remus. Underneath their feet was still the domed roof with its stunning mosaics and a white eagle in its center. If she closed her eyes, she could almost feel Romulus's power thrumming through the ground.

Laverna swallowed hard and tried not to think about it. Canidia stood at the railing that overlooked the grounds.

"Are you going to come and say hello or just lurk about all night?" Canidia called and gestured at her.

Shit . Laverna was busted, so she walked over to the rail but kept a few meters between them. "You shouldn't have come back," she said, pulling out her lollipop so she didn't have to talk around it.

Canidia hummed. "Why not? I left Rome, and look what you two did to it," she said, waving a hand at the ruins.

"Time and humans did that, not us."

"You and Romulus could have stopped it from becoming such a mess, but you didn't. Maybe it's time you let someone else have a turn to make it an empire again," Canidia replied.

Laverna laughed. "Romulus is Rome. You can't take it from him. It's impossible. You kill him, and the city will collapse before your eyes."

"It was a problem I pondered over for many years, and the solution was right in front of me," Canidia said and laughed softly. "Rome always had two founders. I just needed to find the right one who would see things my way."

Laverna snorted. "What the fuck are you—" A wall of muscle and stinking fur slammed into her, driving her over the edge of the walkway. She was still trying to pull her dagger free when she hit the grass, and all the air whooshed from her body. Dazed and gasping, Laverna willed her divine healing to hurry the fuck up.

A heavy thump landed beside her, and she got her first look at the creature they had been hunting. It was seven feet tall with the head of a wolf and the torso of a man. Claws stuck out of its fingers and toes, and a tail hung between its legs. It was covered in patchy gray hair and bore a long scar across its chest.

Laverna fumbled for her dagger, but her arm was numb from when she had landed on it. Something was dislocated. She tried to sit up, but the creature pounced on her before she could.

"Smell like...him," a voice growled out from its stinking jaws. Laverna cried out as claws swiped across her chest. "You will be my mate. Not his."

Laverna tried to push herself back from underneath it, tears streaming down her cheeks as ichor poured out of her. The wolf's jaws clamped down on her shoulder, and she screamed again as it shook her violently. Pain seared her through her veins, and for the first time in her existence, she wondered if she was about to die.

"Enough! Come! It is not the time," Canidia called from high on the walkways.

"You will be mine now," the wolf snarled before leaping away.

Laverna tried to blink the rain out of her eyes. Her whole body was burning in agony. She could lift one hand just enough to fumble for her phone. Ichor was running into her hair and the grass underneath her.

Can't pass out. Have to warn Rom . With her vision tunneling, Laverna tapped on his number. Her hand went numb, and she dropped the phone on the grass. She dragged her body toward it.

"Laverna? Laverna?" Romulus's voice shouted through the phone.

"Rom... Rom...listen. They are working together," Laverna sobbed.

"Tell me where you are," Romulus replied, his voice rising in panic.

"It's Remus... Rom …I need to tell you that I…" Laverna managed to gasp out before the pain tore through her again, and all was darkness.