The first tear fell onto her cheek. "I'll make you this bargain. Come back from this, and then you can offer marriage in a proper way. Please come back to me, Nic, and hear my answer."
That wasn't exactly a yes, but I leaned in to her anyway, determined to get one last kiss. Before I could, something heavy crashed onto the roof above us. With Aurelia's hand in mine, we looked up to catch a glimpse of a large eagle's wing, and a lion's tail dipped inside the oculus opening.
Caela.
My distraction.
Her arrival sent the Mistress flying in circles beneath the oculus again, ready for a fight if Caela chose to enter the Pantheon.
"Did you call her here?" Aurelia asked.
Before I could answer, I covered my ears when a series of piercing squawks echoed inside the room. I looked over at Aurelia to say something, but she was covering her ears too. The Mistress hissed and spat out rings of smoke, warning Caela to stop.
If I was lucky, then I had just enough magic left in me to temporarily slow the Mistress in time for Caela to get Aurelia and escape. I'd already told Caela what I wanted. Once Aurelia got onto Caela's back, she would protest or threaten or even kick at Caela to make her return to the Pantheon, but Caela was not to let her go until they had arrived in Britannia. Aurelia would forever be furious with me for this, but at least she would be alive.
"Get ready to jump on her back," I said to Aurelia. "When Caela gets down here, you won't have much time."
"I won't leave you," she said.
I only smiled back at her. "Then Caela will snatch you in her claw. Trust me, it's far more comfortable riding on her back." Aurelia continued protesting, but I'd already left the alcove.
By now, the Mistress had landed on a different coffer, lower on the roof where the concrete was thicker. When her claws dug into it, two bronze sheets fell to the ground, followed by chunks of concrete thick enough to crack the tile floor. I wondered how many chunks of concrete could be pieced away from the roof before the entire dome collapsed. As bad as that would be, I also wondered how much more damage would be done in this elegant room before the night was over.
I no longer had enough magic to do any harm to the Mistress, and that wasn't really the point anyway. All I had to do was get her out of the way for a few seconds. It would empty my magic completely, but once I got the amulets back, it would quickly return. No matter how angry he'd be after Aurelia escaped, Brutus would still allow the vestalis to return the amulets to me. What other choice did he have?
I climbed onto the altar in the center of the room and checked again that the Mistress's claws were dug into the bronze sheets. I wasn't sure that anyone even noticed me; they were still distracted by Caela's awful cawing.
I aimed my hands toward the Mistress, or rather, to the bronze sheets, and used magic to tear them from the concrete roof. The Mistress fell with them, struggling to regain her balance in the air. She might've been more successful, except that I was rotating in a circle, pulling down several other bronze sheets still in the dome. Some landed on her head or wings, their heavy weight throwing her off balance again. Those that missed her still kept her from flying properly since she was trying to avoid them.
There were only a few places in the Pantheon that were safe right now. Directly beneath the oculus, I was safe. The alcoves were safe -- Aurelia was still in Saturn's alcove and, unfortunately, Brutus was hiding in another of them too. I didn't know where the vestalis had gone, but Callistus would keep her safe.
Caela flew into the Pantheon, trailing behind the Mistress where the bronze sheets had already fallen. After making a half circle around the dome, she landed on the floor and cawed out for Aurelia to run toward her.
Aurelia didn't come out at first, and I wondered if above the sound of bronze sheets clanking onto the marble, she even heard Caela. But this was her only chance. She had to go.
I was out of magic. Whatever was done was the most I could do. And I was also out of strength, though I refused to fall. If I did, Aurelia would try to help me and I couldn't allow that. So I forced myself to remain standing, just until I could gain enough energy to get down from the altar.
Finally, Aurelia ran forward, but it was a moment too late. For by then, the Mistress had regained her balance and crashed directly into Caela. They rolled together on the floor, wings tangling with claws, while one screeched and the other growled.
Caela had lionhearted courage, and talons far sharper than the Mistress's claws, but puffs of flame kept erupting from the Mistress, which forced Caela back. Once they untangled, the Mistress took to the air first, though Caela shot up immediately after her. From below, Brutus cried out his support for the Mistress. I found just enough magic within me to send him into a coughing fit. I'd have caused him to choke on his heart instead, except that I wasn't sure he had one.
Overhead, Caela was screeching again, and the Mistress had smoke billowing from her nostrils. From what I could see, Caela had more than her share of wounds. She was losing.
I needed to do something to help the griffin, though I knew I wasn't up to it. I tried sending up bursts of magic, but they came from me with little more force than whispers and feathers.
"Stop this!" Aurelia yelled it loud enough to get everyone's attention in the room. Even Caela fluttered to the ground and the Mistress returned to the coffers, her claws digging into the bare concrete.
I turned to her and raised my hands, but not to fight. It was in surrender.
Amidst the confusion, Aurelia must've found Callistus and gotten her bow and arrow from his saddle. An arrow was nocked and aimed directly at me.
Aurelia's eyes remained on me, but she was speaking to the entire room. "Every one of you wants something from Nic, do you not? Well, I can stop the Praetor War right now. All I have to do is shoot him, and unless you listen to me, that's exactly what I'll do."
Aurelia did not have the magic of the gods, nor the strength of a dragon, or powers of either a Praetor or a vestalis. Yet she was the one suddenly in command of the room.
Aurelia pulled the arrow back even further, and the tone of her voice made it clear she would not hesitate to release it. "I warned you, Nic, that I would not allow you to make a Jupiter Stone. Even if it requires me to become your enemy, for your own good, I will stop you."
I didn't particularly want to be shot with an arrow tonight, but if that happened, I knew I'd come back from it. Despite the heavy tone of Aurelia's voice and her threatening posture, this was not the act of an enemy. Aurelia would shoot me, bringing me down, and then once I was given up for dead, she would help me heal. If I could figure out the plan this easily, then so could the Mistress. This trick would never work.