She was alive and unharmed. And she was the most beautiful vision his adoring eyes had ever beheld. Her long, golden hair was tousled, her cheeks bright pink. She clutched a very thin white sheet over her nude body. "Kyrian?" she asked sharply.
Relief rushed through him and tears filled his eyes. She was alive! Thank the gods. Blinking the tears away, he swept her up into his arms and held her close. Never had he been more grateful to the Fates for their mercy.
"Kyrian," she snapped, bristling under his touch. "Put me down. You smell so bad I can barely breathe. Have you any idea how late it is?"
"Aye," he said through the tight knot in his throat as joy pounded through him. He set her down and cupped her face in his hands. He was so tired he could hardly stand or think, but he wouldn't sleep. Not until she was safe. "And I must get you away from here. Get dressed."
She frowned. "Take me where?"
"To Thrace."
"Thrace?" she asked incredulously. "Are you mad?"
"No. I've received word that the Romans are headed this way. I'm taking you to my father for safekeeping. Now hurry!"
She didn't. Instead, her face darkened dangerously as fury snapped in her gray eyes."Your father? You've not spoken to him in seven years. What makes you think he'd shelter me?"
"My father will forgive me if I ask it."
"Your father will throw us both out. He made his proclamation quite public. I've been embarrassed enough in my lifetime, I don't need to hear him call me a whore to my face. Besides, I don't want to leave my villa. I like it here."
Kyrian disregarded her words. "My father loves me and will do as I ask. You'll see. Now dress."
She looked past his shoulder. "Polydus?" she said to the old servant who had been waiting all that time behind Kyrian. "Have a bath prepared for your master and bring him food and wine."
"Theone—"
She stopped Kyrian's words by placing a hand on his lips. "Hush, my lord. It's the middle of the night. You look dreadful and you smell even worse. Let us clean you, feed you, and put you to sleep, and then in the morning, we can discuss what needs be done to see me safe."
"But the Romans—"
"Did you see any on your way here?"
"Well… no."
"Then there can't be any danger at the moment, now can there?"
Too weary to argue, he conceded. "I suppose not."
"Then come." She took him by the hand and led him to a small room off the main corridor. The next thing Amanda saw was a room lit by a small fire and candles. Kyrian was leaning back in a gilded tub while Theone bathed him.
He captured her hand in his and held it to his whiskered cheek. "You've no idea how much I've missed you. Your touch soothes me like nothing else."
She smiled a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes and handed him a cup of wine. "I heard you took Thessaly from the Romans."
"Aye. Valerius was incensed. I can't wait until I march on Rome. I will have her yet, mark my words." Kyrian drained the cup, then set it aside. His body burning, he reached for his wife and pulled her into the tub with him.
"Kyrian!" she gasped.
"Shh," he breathed against her lips. "I would have a kiss from you."
She acquiesced, but there was a coldness to her. He could feel it.
"What is wrong, my love?" he asked, pulling back. "You seem so distant tonight. As though your thoughts are somewhere else."
Her face softened as she straddled his waist and took him into her body. "I am not distant. I am tired."
He smiled, then groaned as she moved against him. "Forgive me for waking you. I just wanted to know you were safe. I couldn't live if anything ever happened to you." He cupped her face in his hands and stroked her cheeks with his thumbs. "I will always love you, Theone. You are the very air I breathe."
Kissing her lips, he savored her taste. She seemed to relax some in his arms as she slowly rode him. All the while her gaze watched him as if she were waiting for something…As soon as he climaxed, Kyrian leaned back in the tub to watch her. He was as weak as a newborn whelp. But he was home, and his wife was his strength. His haven.
No sooner had that thought crossed his mind than a strange buzzing started in his head. A wave of dizziness swept through him. And in an instant, he knew what she'd done. "Poison?" he gasped.
Theone scrambled off him and left the tub. Hurriedly, she wrapped a towel around herself. "No."
Kyrian tried to get out of the tub, but another wave of dizziness gripped him. He fell back into the water. He couldn't breathe as thoughts wandered randomly through his drugged mind. But foremost in his mind was the very treachery of the woman he loved. A woman he had given the world to.
"Theone, what have you done to me?"
She lifted her chin as she watched him coldly. "I'm doing what you can't. I'm protecting myself. Rome is the future, Kyrian. Not Andriscus. He will never live to ascend to the Macedonian throne."