Queen of Kings - Maria Dahvana Headley [90]
“Thus it was that the tribe of the Psylli traveled across thinnest air and arrived at the castle of the Western Wind. Thus it was that the tribe of the Psylli waited for the Western Wind and captured him with their ropes and their magic, slicing at him with their swords until the wind surrendered and gave over his daughter.”
The Psylli stood, his body shining dark and lean in the moonlight. He looked down at the emperor’s form. The man’s eyelids fluttered, and Usem knew he was only pretending to sleep. The Psylli placed his hand on Augustus’s chest.
“Thus it was, by going to war against the Western Wind, that I won my wife. We became parents and I came here, to Rome, to protect my family from war and trouble, from pain and sorrow, as any father should protect his children.”
The Psylli looked at the emperor, and his jaw clenched slightly.
“Any father,” he repeated. “Any ruler of any tribe, any ruler of any country. That is the responsibility of a leader. But a leader should understand that the loss of love can be more dangerous than the loss of a kingdom. He should understand that he risks himself when he tangles his city in such a thing. A broken heart can destroy as surely as a knife, and there are broken hearts in Rome. There are stolen lives in Rome. It would be no shame to give her children back to her. My wife believes that it would calm Cleopatra, and a calm enemy is easier to best. It would be no shame to relinquish the ghost you hold captive. She wants peace for him and for herself. She wants it more than vengeance, at least for the moment.”
The emperor stopped breathing for a moment, feeling the Psylli’s gaze upon him. He said nothing. Then the man removed his hand from the emperor’s chest and turned away.
The breeze became a woman, her hair twirling, her hands outstretched to touch the snake charmer’s. Together, the wind and the Psylli left the room.
In the dark, Augustus’s eyes opened. His heart felt broken and furious at once. Love. Who was this man to talk to him about love? Who was this man to say Augustus did not understand it?
Cleopatra had not been broken by love. She had been broken by her hunger for power, and by her desire to be the queen of more than her own country. Augustus knew it, just as he knew that he himself had the same hunger. He ruled, just as she had. He’d climbed up over obstacles of kin, of friends and warriors, just as she had, and now, here in the Palatine, he stood at the top of the world. She was far below him. He had only to kill her now.
The emperor stepped out of bed, weary to his bones.
He had never loved anyone but Rome, and Rome needed him.
18
The witches met in the corridor outside the emperor’s chambers, Auðr’s silver eyes glittering dangerously at Chrysate, who feigned disinterest. Usem, Chrysate noticed, was armed. His dagger had recently been sharpened, and it was a strange metal, something she had not seen before. She smiled at him. He was a man. Her spells would surely work on him. Never mind the Northerner.
Usem glanced at Auðr. Since he’d seen her in the hallway outside the emperor’s bedchamber, he’d wondered what her goals were. She did not look well, but something about her radiated force.
We will capture her, she said, looking at Usem, and he heard her voice in his own language. Do not let the other know. We are strong enough to do it together. She must be destroyed. We are here for the same reasons.
Usem looked away. What sort of thing was this voice in his head? He did not care for it. Magic and mind control. He wanted to get to the Circus Maximus with his dagger. The emperor refused to surrender the children, and the longer they waited, the angrier Cleopatra would be.
Usem was the first through the door when it opened.