Most of the Praetors had already emptied the room by then, pushing their way past Brutus, who was still hurrying toward me, his hand outstretched. He meant to touch me and take my magic.
"Two."
Only Brutus and I remained in the room. I was protected by a shield and only steps away from the exit. Maybe he didn't know that.
Or maybe he knew that the magic to collapse this home would cause my shield to fail. He was on a full run toward me.
"Three." I raised both arms and exploded out the sides of the home. The ceiling shattered into a thousand pieces and began raining down on us both. Br
utus lunged for me, but I was already out the door. Aurelia grabbed my outstretched hand, and as soon as we had climbed onto Callistus's back, we raced away from the stables and whatever was left of the home. I glanced backward and saw Brutus slowly get to his feet in the stables. I had to admit that he was a stronger man than most around him. Even if he had no magic himself, some of the blood within his veins came from the gods.
Safely away from the villa now, Callistus slowed to a steadier pace. From behind her, I brushed my hand against Aurelia's arm, and this time she was the one to shake it off. "Are you mad at me?" I asked.
"Of course."
"I found out how to remove the curse on the Mistress."
"How does that help anything? If you hit her with a bolt of lightning, what do you suppose that'll do to you?"
"It's either that, or I have to kill her. At least I know it's possible to break the curse. Besides, I did get us out of Radulf's home."
"Only because his home no longer exists. You didn't have to explode it."
"True," I said, smiling. "But it did make for a fun escape."
It took at least a half hour to convince Aurelia that I had never seriously considered Brutus's offer. Or rather, it took five minutes to convince Aurelia, and the rest of the time to get her forgiveness for not including her in the deception. I didn't think she was truly angry, only that she had been afraid of the consequences if I had really intended to join him.
"When I believed you were listening to him, my only thought was that I couldn't follow you," she said. "That's still true. Even if you think you're doing the right thing, I will do whatever it takes to stop you from creating a Jupiter Stone."
"What if I'm doing it for you?" I asked. "To save your life?"
"Even then," she mumbled. "If necessary, I will become your enemy."
"We started out that way, more or less." Then I added, "At least we are friends now."
"More than friends." Aurelia shrugged. "I can say it, even if you can't."
"Neither of us can say that," I corrected her. "Or at least, neither of us should."
Still irritated with me, she groaned extra loudly. "Have you ever spoken to Crispus about our betrothal? Do you know how he feels?"
"How he feels?" I shook my head. "We're boys. We don't talk about --"
"That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard. Speak to Crispus. You might learn a thing or two."
"I don't have to speak to him. I know why he offered you marriage."
She harrumphed. "Really? Why is that?"
"You had just inherited your father's wealth," I said. "Or you would inherit it, if you were married. He made the offer to help save your inheritance."
"Do you think the money ever mattered to me?"
"If it did matter, I wouldn't think worse of you. I have nothing, Aurelia. I can't blame you for wanting to keep what is rightfully yours."
"So you won't blame me for anything I choose to do with my inheritance?"
I waved off that concern. "Whatever brings you the most happiness, that's all I care about."