CHAPTER 31

Verian

A BURST OF ENERGY coursed through Verian making his body feel as light as a feather as he walked back towards Shadowholde.

It was the same sensation he experienced after a sparring victory, but tenfold, that sensation of being dunked in cold water and coming up for a breath with your heart racing and every nerve tingling.

A rush of exhilaration.

He should have known, of course. Vita would never have disowned him for what he revealed to her. She was kind, almost to a fault, always accepting him for all that he was.

Still, pure joy buzzed through him, her acknowledgment and acceptance easing a tension he'd been holding within himself for so long. And then there was her own admission. Perhaps an interest in more than one gender was more common that he had originally thought. For so long, he had pushed the idea deep down into his soul, thinking he was abnormal, warped by the Gods upon his creation.

But it seemed they made no mistakes.

Now, his mind hummed with the possibilities. The image of Vita, his sweet girl, riding that oak tree of an elf, well, it did nothing to quell the stiffness in his pants. The thought of Vita and Aurora locked in an embrace? It made him want to turn around and march straight back to the palace.

Not to mention the High Consul…

Even Verian's vivid imagination couldn't picture what he'd look like without his elegant tunic, without that sly smirk that acted as his armor. What would it be like to press his lips against the High Consul's, to get on his knees for him, to take his…

That was enough.

He needed to focus as he stumbled down the stone path, his heart racing and his cock uncomfortably hard, needed to prepare himself for this meeting with the Prefect.

The Curia stood before him, Shadowholde's council chambers. Thoughts of Vita and the High Consul would have to wait.

Verian heaved open the bronze doors, not bothering to take in the beauty of the structure because he was almost late. A strange place for a guard meeting, to be certain, but he didn't make the plans. That was the Prefect's job.

As he entered the council chambers, he couldn't help but let his eyes draw to the magnificent opus sectile, glimmering marble and glass inlaying the floor creating a repeating pattern of suns and diamond-shaped lozenges, vaguely feminine in nature. His mind again turned to Vita, baring herself before him in the Temple of Unera, and he shook his head to dispel the erotic images.

Not the time.

The Prefect, Tertius Lucius, stood at the head of the room on a raised marble platform. He was an older man with short gray hair and a permanent scowl, and Verian tried to slip into formation without causing a fuss. He gave Drusus a terse nod and scanned the space, the eight new Praetorian guards doing little to fill the great expanse of the room as they stood in a line before the Prefect.

Sunlight beamed in through a rectangular window high above the platform, marble friezes containing the seats meant for the council members along each end of the room, depicting scenes of the great High Consuls and Praetors of the past. Shadowholde was not the capital, but it was one of the largest cities in the realm, a place of great importance.

The group waited in tense silence, and he wondered what the holdup was. If the Prefect had something to say, some new information or training for them, then why didn't he get on with it? Before he could get too antsy, a man appeared from one of the side doors and joined Lucius on the platform.

A face he knew well, a face that made every muscle in his body clench.

Praetor Amulius.

Verian was not foolish enough to believe he'd never encounter the man himself, but the Praetor didn't seem the type to stoop to the level of dealing with his lowly guards. The Prefect was the one to handle the training, discipline, and duty rosters.

But now here he was, standing before them with that snide grin he always wore. There was no kindness in his smile like there was in Vita's, just pure vitriol and corruption.

"My new class of guards…" Praetor Amulius mused as he walked across the platform and scrutinized each man.

Verian tried to breathe, tried to stop his hands from clenching into fists at his sides as those dark eyes roved over him, but it was difficult knowing the truth.

Knowing what he'd done to Vita. And others, surely.

The unwanted touches and violent outbursts had been easy enough to forget now that she was in the relative safety of the High Consul's palace, but the scar Praetor Amulius gave her would never heal. Never mind whatever internal scars she carried from her time there .

He was a foul man, undeserving of Shadowholde's respect, but Verian had sworn an oath.

"Very good." Praetor Amulius finished his assessment of the new guards and moved to the center of the stage, arms behind his back. "There are some things you must know as members of my guard. There is a poison in Shadowholde, one that you are going to help me rid the city of."

A poison? In Shadowholde? He desperately wanted to glance at Drusus, to see what his friend thought of this, but he kept his eyes forward.

"There are sorcerers walking amongst us, those with magic who are trying to hide. On the Emperor's edict, we cannot allow these indiscretions to keep occurring, and our leader refuses to do anything to flush out the magicians."

He was speaking of the High Consul, toeing the line of treason.

Did he know something about Vita? It was no secret that she had taken up residence in the palace, and Verian knew full well how obsessed her former employer had been with her. Was the Praetor aware she was a sorcerer?

He tried to still his thoughts, as if someone could read his mind and pull the information out of him, giving away her secret.

"I needed to look each and every one of you in the eye, to be sure you could be trusted. And men, I have found you all worthy. Shadowholde can still be saved, but I need you all with me. Actions will occur soon enough, but for now, I need you all vigilant."

The Praetor's eyes fell on Verian, and it took everything in his power to maintain his stoic facade.

With a wave of the man's hand, they were dismissed, marching out single file until they returned to the barracks. Any elation from earlier sank right into the dirt as he trudged along.

What the Praetor said was treason, wasn't it? As a member of the military, Verian swore an oath to Amulius, but didn't the High Consul's rank supersede all?

He wanted to warn Vita, to divulge the Praetor's words, but surely she was safe at the palace. As he thought about what he should do, his stomach twisted into knots. His entire future lay before him, more murky than ever before.

Going against the Praetor would mean giving up his dream of becoming a centurion, but wasn't it the right thing to do? Sorcerers like Vita didn't deserve the hatred directed their way, all because of the whim of a former Emperor with a complex.

Perhaps some things were more important than duty, more important than service to the city. And truthfully, it had been a long time since Verian really believed he was serving the people of Shadowholde, and not just the Praetor and Prefect and the other men who were in charge.

He had a lot to think about as he headed to the dining hall, Drusus walking silently beside him.