William gestured to Borek to carry her, while one of the other soldiers carried her sister.
When the Czech lifted her over his shoulder and strode after the Prince’s departing back, Raven couldn’t help but feel punished.
Cara hadn’t uttered a sound since the Prince had silenced her.
The Roman guard led them on a circuitous route through the city. Finally, they arrived at the Forum, stopping under the arch of Septimius Severus.
Gaius addressed the Prince. “We will await word from the lieutenant here. If the lieutenant tarries, there’s a hiding place nearby.”
The Prince stared over the captain’s shoulder at the Palatine Hill. He nodded imperially.
Sunrise was fast approaching, and the landscape was changing. No one would risk being destroyed by the sun’s rays.
Mercifully, the captain’s courier returned quickly.
He whispered a few words in the captain’s ear and stood back.
The captain bowed. “Lieutenant Cato welcomes the Prince of Florence and offers greetings and hospitality. We shall escort you into the palace. But the pets must be blindfolded.”
The captain gestured to the courier, who held out two lengths of red silk.
The Prince nodded at Borek, who retrieved the silk and quickly blindfolded Cara and Raven.
Raven shifted her blindfold discreetly, hoping to catch a glimpse of their destination.
“Careful,” Borek growled in her ear. “You’ll get yourself killed.”
She dropped her hand. Still, if she positioned her head at a particular angle and looked straight down, she could see what lay beneath her.
“Forward, march!” The captain led the party down the Via Sacra and through the Roman Forum.
The vampyres, as always, moved at an inhuman pace, even over uneven ground. The ride on Borek’s shoulder was incredibly bumpy. Raven clutched at his shirt, terrified he would drop her.
Shortly, they halted at the base of the Palatine Hill.
The captain led them into a dark passage that had been carved into the hill itself. The scent of damp earth filled Raven’s nostrils.
A loud scraping noise, like the sound of iron against iron, echoed and reverberated. Raven heard the groan of what sounded like metal hinges and the low whistle of something moving through air.
The detachment moved forward, marching and turning through a labyrinth of passageways only dimly lit with torches.#p#分页标题#e#
Raven held her breath as the palpable feeling of danger pressed in from all sides.
Chapter Twenty
RAVEN HAD FELT FEAR BEFORE. She’d been afraid of her stepfather when she was young, she’d been afraid of the dark when she lived in foster care, and she’d been afraid when she first entered the Prince’s world. She disliked being in the underground of Florence. She disliked being blindfolded.
But in the underworld of Rome, something even more sinister hung in the air. Icy tentacles of fear crept over her skin, despite being suspended on Borek’s shoulder, surrounded by the rest of the detachment.
Music reverberated, as if from a distant dance club, the bass line shaking Raven’s body. She found herself clinging to Borek’s shirt amid the punishing, relentless rhythm.
The music grew fainter as they marched. Screams and harsh laughter exploded from places unknown, along with orgiastic cries. Sobbing and moaning could be heard—now near, now far—throwing Raven’s senses into confusion.
If there were a hell, it would sound like this, she thought.
She pressed an ear against Borek’s body and covered the other with her hand, trying to block out the cacophony.
“Calm yourself,” he hissed. “Everyone can smell your fear.”
“Where’s my sister?” She tried to catch a glimpse of the soldier who held Cara.
Borek’s large hand flexed over the back of her legs, a move calculated to silence her.
“She’s in front of me,” he whispered.
Raven stopped struggling, but her heart beat a furious pace. What if they were separated from the group? What if one of the Romans decided to take Cara?
She couldn’t breathe. Panic ensued as she gasped for air.
Something cool touched her hand.
Raven jerked her hand away, but the coolness followed; a hand gently covered hers. A thumb stroked her palm.
William.
She couldn’t see him, but she could feel him. A measure of calm washed over her. William would stand between her and the darkness. Always.
She moved her hand, questing for his fingers. She wished she could speak to him. She wished she could beg him to get her out of this terrible place. But he was on a mission, and the protection of the Roman must be worth the risk of descending into what seemed like perdition.
William traced a pattern on her palm and withdrew. Raven focused on the memory of his fingers and drew a very deep breath, willing her heartbeat to slow.