Chapter 35

Luke

The Gold Room certainly lived up to its name.

Aurelius led us to the room, his familiarity with the layout of the House apparent. He pulled a key from the pouch at his waist and unlocked the door, throwing it wide before entering.

Every surface of the room was some shade of gold. White marble covered the floor, with veins of gold shot through it. The mirrors were gold plated; the tapestries were embroidered with shades of gold. The bed bore layers of sheets and comforters in varying shades, all in accord with the room's name. A low table sat between two chairs with a bottle of wine and some wineglasses nearby. Even the fireplace had a gold-plated screen, tongs and shovel.

I swallowed hard before entering. I had to do this. My friends were counting on me. I had to keep him busy long enough for the others to work. Whatever that entailed. I had no expectation that Aurelius would leave this room alive, it was just a matter of how long it would take me to kill him.

Aurelius waved me inside before seating himself on one of the gold embroidered chairs. To my consternation, the four guards who had followed Aurelius from the great hall entered the room as well, the last one closing and locking the door behind us. I hadn't expected the extra security. I glanced at Rhu and he mantled before bobbing slightly. He'd help me with the extra guards.

Following guidance I had received from Master B and Sylvi, I struggled to be nonchalant. With a whistle and a movement of my arm Rhu took flight and found a perch for himself on a curio shelf. We had devised a few coded directives to make it appear that he was a trained animal. We hadn't had long to work everything out, so I had to hope that we could make it convincing.

I walked to the table and lifted the bottle. It was an excellent vintage, though I had never been a fan of wine. I tilted the bottle questioningly at Aurelius.

"Wine, my lord?" I asked, modulating my voice to change it ever so slightly from my normal tone. Aurelius knew my voice, so I had to make sure he didn't recognize me. I needed to keep him busy until midnight, and it was scarcely after ten. I could feel the rings of power beneath the gauntlets covering my arms. We hadn't discovered a way to make them invisible when using Tesseris powers.

"Please, ‘Lord Poseidon'," he said, an evil smile on his face. He knew, I was sure. He knew I was Luke. I could feel his disgusting gaze sweep over my body as I moved and my breathing and heart rate ticked up. I opened the bottle and poured wine into both glasses while I tried to calm my physical reaction. I could only hope he didn't notice the slight tremor that ran through me as I poured.

Goddess! How could I do this? Memories of all the assaults I had endured from him and Maalik tried to flood my brain. That freezing cold seeping through my blood, making my panic rise, like it always had before. I closed my eyes for a moment, only to feel a swell of love and affection spread through my Bond from Rhu. I opened them only a moment later to see the green flecked golden eyes of his eagle form watching me intently. I could do this. I had to. I struggled to remember everything that Sylvi had said about falling into character. I had to believe I was Poseidon.

I turned and handed Aurelius a wineglass, doing my best to mimic Sylvi's grace. He took the drink with his one good hand, then took the open seat across the table from him. He had removed his jacket and his right arm ended in a stump wrapped in black cloth. Hel had had the pleasure of removing that hand when they had last met. Somehow, that symbol of his vulnerability helped me. Aurelius wasn't untouchable. He wasn't all powerful. He could be beaten. Hel had shown us that.

He sipped without speaking for a few moments.

"An excellent vintage. Hestus, as usual, has all the most…delightful…things," he said, his eyes raking me.

I was thankful for the mask that covered my face, because I didn't think I would have been able to hide the look of disgust that crossed it.

I felt a surge of anger from my Bonded and glanced at him on his perch. He spread his wings and screeched briefly before settling once more.

"Indeed. Master Hestus is a man of interesting tastes," I responded.

"He is a beautiful beast, Lord Poseidon," Hestus said, his eyes landing on Rhu. speculatively.

"Where did you acquire him? White tailed eagles are common in the region but I had never known one to be raised as a pet."

"My father was a falconer. I found Aetos when he was only a hatchling," I lied, falling back on the back story Sylvi had helped me craft. "A storm had come through the area and I found him at the base of a tall tree. I was only a young lad, myself, and my heart went out to him. I brought him home and my father helped me raise him."

"What an interesting story," he said, taking a sip of his wine. "Nature doesn't look kindly upon the weak. Maybe you should have just put him out of his misery."

"Maybe," I responded, fluttering my eyelashes coquettishly like I had seen Sylvi do. "But then, perhaps you and I would never have met, and that would truly have been a shame, Master Aurelius."

His laughter took me off guard. He stood and strode over to me, tipping my chin back, his eyes a flinty grey.

"How long do you intend to continue this charade?" he asked suddenly, gripping my chin. "You cannot hide who you truly are, mikros prinkipus."

Little prince. The name that Maalik and Aurelius had used when they had abused me. My breath caught in my throat, then I returned his laugh, which seemed to confuse him. The title would mean nothing to Poseidon.

"You're not the first to notice the resemblance, my Lord," I said, standing slowly and tipping the mask backward off my head, shaking my hair loose as I pulled out the strings that held it in place. Sylvi had been a very good teacher. "I have met a great many lords and ladies who have indulged that fantasy with me. If that is your desire, your Little Prince I shall be."

I saw doubt enter Aurelius' eyes then. Luke had never been this confident, and he would have never been able to pull this off, but Poseidon? Maybe.

"Turn around," he ordered.

"As my Lord commands," I said, turning slowly to face Rhu.

I heard a knife slide from its sheathe and forced myself not to move.

"I do love the light sting of steel during lovemaking, don't you my Lord?" I said, sighing and leaning back against Aurelius' chest, one hand rising to run fingers through his short hair. I felt him stiffen, then felt his grip as he forced me forward, my hands braced on the chair arms.

"Hold him," he ordered the guards. They stepped forward, one on each side of me, holding my hands to the arms of the chair.

Rhu was glaring at Aurelius, and I shook my head slightly, trying to keep him from doing anything stupid.

I felt the tip of the dagger trace along the back of my neck, then felt one of the guards grasp the neckline and rip the dagger through the silks to my waist. I could see Aurelius study my back, obviously looking for the tattoo.

His eyes flipped up to mine in the mirror, and I licked my lips.

"Hmmm. Perhaps he is not the Little Prince after all," he said.

I turned around stepped closer to him.

"But I could be, for you, my Lord…" I breathed. "But first, more wine?"

I shrugged off the tattered shirt and smiled as I sat down, the look of lust and confusion on Aurelius' face making me smile.

I could do this.

A thought sent stone spearing upward in the hallway, but no sound entered the room.

"Before we truly begin, my lord, it would help me to know what your…tastes…run to? And do you wish to have this conversation before your…assistants?" I asked, glancing at the guards with a small smile.

It was time to exact a little vengeance.