"My mother told me about that, sir. Only a few months after the assassination, a comet appeared in the skies for seven full days, bright enough it could even be seen in daylight. The people said it was Caesar's soul, rising to join the other gods."
"They called it the Divine Star. But its journey did not end with Caesar's death." Felix pointed to my shoulder. "That is the mark on your back."
I leaned forward, certain I had heard him wrong. Was he saying that Caesar himself had marked me? Why?
Felix rested his arms on his legs and looked directly at me. "When I held that bulla, I felt nothing. But your hand is rarely an inch from it, and even now, you can't let it go. Tell me, is there any magic left in the bulla?"
My heart pounded. I wanted to lie to him. A convincing lie would allow me to eat the rest of his food in peace, and then go back to Caela's side. The right lie would end this conversation and any special interest in me. The problem was that I had more questions than ever before, and only the truth would get me any answers.
So I nodded. "There's some magic left, but not much. I can feel it, but that's all. Maybe when Caesar put the bulla aside, Venus's power left it."
"Or maybe the gods have waited three hundred years for someone else to pick it up. Someone with Caesar's mark on his back perhaps. You got that mark from the griffin? She is a creature of the heavens, you know. Only something born of the gods could give you their magic. The magic is stronger than when you first felt it, correct?"
I couldn't deny that. But stronger wasn't necessarily a good thing. I hadn't told Felix about the whispers in the cave, warning of the curse that came with this bulla.
Felix clasped his hands and said, "You come to Rome at a dangerous time. The foundations of our empire are crumbling, and we are so large that if we collapse, the entire world may fall with it. For centuries, the barbarians have run in fear, but now they gaze at our walls and see cracks have formed. We are not as strong as we once were."
I pressed my brows together and tried to absorb everything he was saying. Having seen the greatness of Rome, it seemed impossible that it could ever fall. If it did, I couldn't imagine anything but darkness would replace it.
Felix continued, "Emperor Tacitus can see the cracks in the empire, but he doesn't know how to fix them. If only the gods would help him, but they have been silent. If he had a touch of their power perhaps ..."
Felix's voice drifted off as his eyes fell to the bulla. I wrapped my fingers around it, letting the vibrations travel up my arm.
"Sir, whatever you think I can do with this bulla, I can't. I certainly can't use it to save an empire."
"Can you use it to save yourself? Because people have been searchi
ng for that object since Caesar's death. Some want it to expand this empire, others want to destroy it. And if they know you can use it --"
"But I can't use it! I'm nobody. Just a slave --"
"A slave who happens to be holding the most powerful magic the empire has seen since the days of Julius Caesar! And you're right, Nic. You are nobody to this land. No one will fight a war to save you. No one will care if you fall. And if the enemies of this land surround you, even with that bulla, you will have no chance against them on your own."
I felt dizzy. "No one knows I have it. Or even that it's been found."
"Not yet. But how long can something like this remain a secret? Do you think anyone would hesitate to kill you in order to get that bulla?"
My head was already swimming, but I croaked, "Then I will throw the bulla away. Destroy it!"
"Something created by the gods will not be destroyed by a mere human. Besides, if you are captured by the enemy, how much torture can you endure before you convince them it's truly gone?"
This was what Valerius had warned me about. I was in a great deal more trouble than I realized. Because keeping the bulla would destroy my life. And getting rid of the bulla couldn't save it.
"What should I do, then?" I asked.
Felix smiled. "Give it to Emperor Tacitus. Let him bear this burden for you. He can protect the bulla, and use it to destroy our enemies."
"How? You can't feel the magic. If he can't either, then it'll do him no good."
"He believes the leader of his armies, General Radulf, will know what to do."
"Radulf?" I shook my head. "He's the enemy, Felix. He tried to get this bulla for himself. He would use it against the emperor, against all of Rome!"
Felix leaned forward. "How do you know that?"
"I heard him speaking to one of his men. He intends to destroy the empire!"
Felix waved a hand in the air. "We'd better hope to the gods that you heard wrong. General Radulf is extremely powerful. If he were to turn against Emperor Tacitus, that would be a cause for concern. But so far he has remained loyal."