Victoria

A man the size of a mountain stands in front of us. He’s even taller than Nero, which is a feat I didn’t think possible.

His armor is as red as the setting sun. A golden owl is painted across his massive chest. A sword the size of a normal man is strapped to his back.

However, what draws most of my attention is a big diagonal scar running across his face, from the top-right to the bottom left, right across his nose.

The sight fills me with terror. I squeeze Nero’s hand, edging an inch closer to him. I look up at my lover, and to my surprise, his mouth is hanging open.

Is he as scared as I am?

“I can’t believe it,” he gasps. “I thought you were…”

“Dead?” the red-clad man growls.

He has a voice like a truck-engine, a low rumble that you can hear a block away.

“You underestimate me, Nero. Again.”

My hand slips from Nero’s grasp. Instinctively I take a step back, waiting for my mate to pull out his sword, my heart racing as I wonder if he can take this behemoth of a man.

The fear of seeing my mate die is making it hard to breathe.

Nero raises his arms, takes a step forwards, and to my utter surprise… hugs the tall man.

“Romulus!” he says, exasperated. “You’re alive!”

Nero slaps the man on his shoulder so hard that for a second it looks like the giant is going to topple over, but he finds his bearings just in time.

“Of course I am,” the man laughs. “You didn’t think that punk Magnus was going to get one over on me, did you?”

“I see he gave you a souvenir, though.”

“Ah, yes,” Romulus says, pointing at the scar running across his face. “That. Yes, I didn’t walk away unscathed. You should have seen the other guy, though.”

“I did,” Nero says.

Romulus expression instantly changes. “Magnus Bruttius followed you? Here? Did you—did you defeat him?!”

“I didn’t kill him, if that’s what you want to know. He fled.”

“But you defeated him in battle? How? I could barely scratch the guy — he’s like a ghost.”

Nero looks over his shoulder at me.

“I had a little help.”

Romulus follows his line of sight, and a smirk forms on the man’s faze.

“A local? You picked up a canis?”

“Watch your words,” Nero says harshly. “You overstep your boundaries. She is my fatum.”

Romulus seems taken aback. “She?”

“Yes,” Nero says decisively. There wasn’t a single moment of hesitation.

“I see,” Romulus answers.

“What about Gaius?” Nero says. “The others?”

Romulus shakes his head. “He… he didn’t make it.”

Nero looks down at the floor.

“Seeing you alive gave me a sparkle of hope, but…”

“It’s not your fault,” Romulus says.

Nero glances up. “Why do you say that, Romulus? What do you know that I don’t?”

“Nothing.”

“You’re a poor liar.”

Nero turns back to me, his hand reaching out for me.

“Come here, Victoria. I’d like you to meet my good friend, Romulus Valerius.”

I slowly edge forwards, feeling like a child among giants. How tall do these Elbans even get? I realize that, despite the connection I have with Nero, I still know oh so little about him, his people and his culture. I look forward to soaking up all the knowledge I can, though.

I shake the mountain’s hand. His grip is like a vice, and he makes my entire arm move up and down.

“Victoria Snow,” I say.

“Romulus Valerius,” he answers.

“We have a lot to talk about,” Nero says. “Lets not waste another moment.”

* * *

Nero

I can scarcely believe it.

Romulus, my best friend, my confidant, is alive and well. When Magnus Bruttius broke through the door into the observatory, I assumed Romulus had been killed.

I have no doubt he’d give his life for me and Gaius. He’s like a brother to me. We were raised together, as Gaius was his ward. The Valerius family has sworn loyalty to House Octavius, and as a token of goodwill, offered one of their sons.

Gaius accepted the gift, and raised Romulus as if he were one of his own.

I had feared the worst, but I’m elated to see that my friend has survived. While our troubles are far from over, the clouds have parted just enough for a glimpse of sunlight to pass through.

We pace through my house’s space ship, the Classis Octavius. I suppose that technically, it is my ship now. While I have always understood that one day the responsibility of leading my House will fall onto my shoulders, I didn’t expect it for another several decades.

It’ll take some readjusting.

Victoria can barely keep up with the both of us. For every step we take, she has to take two.

“This ship,” she pants. “It’s amazing! The marble floors, the archways… it’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen before.”

“It’s my home away from home,” I tell her. “Do you like it?”

“It’s beautiful. It doesn’t even feel I’m in space.”

“The rest of our fleet is just as amazing, trust me.”

Romulus shakes his head. “The Classis is all that is left, I’m afraid.”

“Ah.”

Of course. It was too good to be true.

Romulus leads me into the paterfamilias quarters. It is a modestly decorated room, with a wooden throne sitting behind a stately desk.

Gaius was never one for needless splendor. I’ve only ever been here with him… the room still smells like him. Old parchment and wood. I didn’t like it when I was a kid, but now, it reminds me of better times.

“We can talk in here,” Romulus says.

Out of habit, I sit down on the visitor’s side of the desk, instead of behind it. I don’t notice it until Romulus points at the throne.

“Go ahead. Sit. It is your place.”

It feels strange. I suppose I am the leader of House Octavius now…. Or what’s left of it.

If what Magnus Bruttius said was true, I’m not even a real Octavius. But blood doesn’t matter. I am Gaius’s son, no matter what anyone says.

Romulus then turns to Victoria, and although he doesn’t say a word, I can read his mind from his expression alone.

“She stays,” I say.

Romulus gives me a look.

“Anything I can hear, she can hear.”

“With all due respect, Nero, she’s an outsider. These matters are—”

“I am now the head of House Octavius,” I say coolly. “She stays.”

“Yes, sir,” Romulus says.

I hate to pull rank on my good friend, but I have made up my mind. Victoria is my mate, my everything. I can see that now. She has a lot to learn about me and about my world, but there’s nothing I want to keep secret from her.

“What happened, back at the mansion? How did you escape?”

Romulus avoids my gaze.

“Magnus Bruttius took me out with a well-placed hit. I’d like to say I rose back up and rallied the troops to a victory, but no, I… I crawled away. I hid. After the Bruttius troops left, on their way to sack a new House, I snuck back in and looked for any sign of you. I found Gaius, and his documents, and I pieced together that he developed some kind of wormhole, capable of transporting entire ships across the entire universe. I followed the trail, and I’m glad to say it followed me here, to you.”

He looks up, and for the first time in my life, I see that there are tears burning in Romulus’s eyes.

“This ship, the skeleton crew… it’s all that is left of House Octavius. I am sorry. I have failed… again.”

“Don’t be sorry,” I say. “You did all you could. None of us could have anticipated this attack, this betrayal.”

The room is silent.

It’s up to me to formulate a new plan, a new course of action… but the problems we’re facing seem insurmountable. I wish Gaius was still here.

He always knew what to do. He had experience, cunning, the intellect and the wit to outmaneuver anyone… and even he didn’t see Magnus Bruttius’s betrayal coming.

Even he couldn’t save himself.

What chance do I have?

“Magnus Bruttius said some things,” I say, clearing my throat. My gaze is fixed on Romulus, watching him like a hawk. I need to know the truth.

“He says Emperor Decimus is my real father. Is that true?”

Romulus’s eyes widen for a fraction of a second, but that’s more than enough for me to know that yes, it is true, and yes, he knew.

He knew.

I fly up out of my seat.

“How come you never told me?!” I bellow, swiping the documents off the table. “How could you keep this from me?!”

“It wasn’t my place,” he growls. “I wasn’t supposed to know. I overheard Gaius speaking to Marcius Livius one night years ago, when I was sneaking around the mansion, poking my nose where it didn’t belong.”

He shrugs those massive shoulders of his.

“I figured Gaius had a reason for not telling you. The old man always had a plan. It wasn’t my place to tell you. Gaius told me that if you go sneaking around, you just might find something you wish you didn’t… and he was damn right.”

He sighs deeply.

“Feels like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders. I’ve been carrying that secret for years. You had no idea, all this time?”

“None,” I say, falling back into my seat.

“And Gaius never told you?”

“No… well, in the last moments, right before Magnus showed up, he did say something about… being the master of my own fate. And that only I can decide who I am. I wish I could remember everything he said but… I panicked.”

I stare into nothingness.

“So everything that happened is my fault.”

“It’s not,” Victoria speaks up.

We both turn to her.

“It’s not your fault if you don’t know who your biological father is. All of this is Magnus’s fault. Don’t blame yourself for his evil.”

She’s right, of course.

Yet it doesn’t feel that way.

I would trade my life for those of my people in a heartbeat… before I met Victoria.

Now, I’m not certain I could make that same promise, and that fills me with shame.

“Either way, there’s the matter of the wormhole,” Romulus says. “It’s still active. We could destroy it with a torpedo, but Magnus could simply open a new one, now that he has Gaius’s research. It’s only a matter of time before he returns.”

“Yes, and I fear he’ll want to add Earth to his empire,” I say.

“You can’t let that happen!” Victoria says.

“I don’t want that to happen either,” I reply. “Romulus, what can we do to stop it?”

“There’s only one thing we can do… return to Elba and destroy Gaius’s research.”

“That’s a suicide mission.”

Romulus nods. “It is. It’s either that, or spend our life on the run.”

Then the choice has already been made.

We must face our destiny.

“Please, give us a moment, Romulus.”

My best friend gets up and nods.

“The wormhole is unstable,” he says. “Whatever your choice is… make it soon.”