Aurelia || SERIES ROMANA I

Chapter 105 ~ Insidiae II

Her question reverberated in his ears, but he did not understand it. Her voice trembled with fear. He turned to her thoughtfully and tried to catch her gaze. But she stood with her back to him at the open window, gazing out over nocturnal Rome.
Silently he crept to her and gently put his arms around her. Her body trembled with tension. Gently he forced her to turn to him in his arms so that she had to look into his eyes. A thousand unshed tears glistened in her beautiful eyes, in the depths of which he sank again with every single glance after all these years. Tenderly, he took her face in his hands and lifted it towards his. Instinctively she nestled against him, and he sucked in her intoxicating scent.
"How can you think for one moment that you are a bad mother?" he asked her incredulously. With a look, he silenced her weak protest. Desperately she searched his words for support as he continued, "There is nothing you wouldn't do for our children. You have taken my place - in the state as well as in our family. No teacher is good enough for Britannicus in your eyes because you want the best for him as much as I do. You protected Tonilla from my sister before she even saw the light of day, when that task should have fallen to me. I should have protected you both from her. But you alone have always protected us from all dangers. We both sacrificed precious time with our children so that they could grow up in safety. If that makes you a bad mother, then I must be a horrible father to them as well."
Sobbing, she broke down in his arms and clung to him. Gently he pulled her closer and just held her. His heart broke at the sight of her, and anger flared up inside him. Who dared to hurt his strong, confident wife, the best mother he could have wished for his mother, like that?
Still crying, she raised her head and pressed her salty lips to his mouth demanding. Her beguiling taste inflamed his body. Instantly her tears dried up. At last, she believed him. Just as he lifted her to carry her to her bed, the doors to her chamber were ripped open, shattering their moment. Furious, Gaius peered over her shoulder and looked into the serious faces of his Praetorian prefects. Immediately he set Aurelia back on her feet.
"We are under attack," Suetonius declared. Aurelia nodded at Clemens, who turned on his heel and left the room with long strides, while Aurelia's fingers slipped between Gaius', and she forced him to follow her. In the next room their children were sleeping peacefully. Immediately Aurelia broke away and took her daughter in her arms, while Gaius ran to Britannicus and woke the boy. His son was immediately awake and jumped out of his bed. Over Tonilla's shoulder, Gaius caught Aurelia's glance and understood. He grabbed his son's hand and left the room. Aurelia and Suetonius were right behind them.
Straining, Gaius listened to the sounds in his home. From the atrium the familiar clang of clashing weapons reached his ear, and his unbridled rage made his blood boil. But his first priority was to get Aurelia and the children to safety.
To his surprise, Britannicus was able to keep up with him. But they were still moving more slowly than Gaius would have liked. Quietly, Britannicus called out to his mother that he had a plan. Gaius could not understand Aurelia's reply. Again and again he quietly admonished his son not to slow down under any circumstances.
Abruptly the sounds of fighting died away and in the next breath came a hasty trampling of feet up the stairs. Attentively Gaius listened to their footsteps and tried to calculate the distance. When he heard Suetonius swearing softly behind him, his worst fears were confirmed. Automatically he reached out and got hold of Aurelia's arm. Desperately he tried to speed up. Then he noticed that his son's breathing was now intermittent and sweat was running down the boy's forehead.
The intruders were moving inexorably closer, and Gaius knew they could not escape them. His grip on Britannicus' hand and Aurelia's arm automatically tightened as he tried to increase his pace again. Their situation was hopeless. But suddenly her small handheld him back and he stopped with a jerk. Questioningly, he turned his gaze to her and could read in her sea-blue eyes that she was thinking the same thing as he was. Wordlessly she handed him her little girl and bent down to Britannicus. From the folds of her dress, she brought out a dagger and pressed it into his trembling child's hand.
"Take care of your sister," she murmured to him, kissing his forehead. Then she stood up, listened and gave Gaius a fleeting kiss.
"Tell Clemens we are going to plan Horatius," she whispered, and he grabbed her arm with his free hand. Unable to make sense of her words, he searched her face for answers. For a heartbeat, he forgot about the intruders in his home and sank into her beautiful eyes that brimmed with determination.
"You will not harm me," she promised softly, freeing herself from his grip. "Your lives are more precious than mine"
Before he could stop her, she turned on her heel and ran towards the attackers. Without hesitation she grabbed the sword of a statue and to Gaius' surprise a gladius slid from its scabbard. Since when had the wooden dummies been replaced by real swords? As she disappeared around the corner, he felt a movement on his right leg. A tremendous crash sounded from the direction in which Aurelia had disappeared and her pursuers paused for a moment. Presumably they were conferring. The next moment he held his son's hand, which pulled him on. Away from her. Away from the attackers and Gaius' mind woke from its rigidity. Instinctively he tightened his grip on his daughter and just as he was about to lift his son too, the boy dragged him towards one of the tapestries, behind which was a narrow, dark tunnel. Confidently, the boy pulled him on.
Tonilla clawed at the fabric of his tunic and Gaius ran his hand reassuringly over her petite back. His children were the only thing keeping him in reality. Just as his eyes adjusted to the darkness, they reached the end of the tunnel. They found themselves at a dead end. He cursed briefly in his mind as Britannicus tugged at his hand and pointed to an inconspicuous symbol that was beyond his reach. Reluctantly, Gaius let go of his son's hand and placed his trembling fingers on the symbol. He didn't even have to apply much pressure to the stone. Immediately the stones slid apart noiselessly, revealing a room teeming with Praetorians. Although the room was full of people, there was an oppressive silence.
Relief flooded his body when he spotted Julia with the children. When she caught his gaze, she immediately came to him and took the completely distraught Tonilla from her. In her eyes he read the same question he was so desperately trying to banish from his mind: Where was Aurelia?
Ignoring his sister, Gaius looked around the room and spotted Clemens, who was already making his way through the crowd towards him. Wordlessly, Gaius strode to him and instantly the other people backed away from him.
As soon as he reached Clemens, he repeated Aurelia's slogan. Instantly the Praetorian prefect fell silent and for a moment he blinked at him thoughtfully. Then all colour drained from his pale face. Quickly he turned and barked orders. At the edge of his consciousness, Gaius registered Suetonius joining him, while Clemens disappeared with a small number of the men through another secret exit. Completely frozen, Gaius remained in place. His insides screamed and quivered with pain, while his body showed no reaction. His heart raced with fear. For the first time in eight years, he was in danger of losing her.