After the Fall(66)
“Ah,” he murmured, his face so close she could feel his breath on her cheek, “this is a fine gift, Gigiperrin, and we must thank you for the interesting foreplay. It is what we have dreamt of since last we met, since you kicked our royal person … a chance to put you in your place.” He paused and glanced at Magnus. “And now it is even better than we imagined, for Magnus is here to watch, coherent enough to realize, but too incapacitated to act. We drugged him, you see, with a highly concentrated feverfew potion we’ve been brewing for days in anticipation of your arrival. It will keep his blood from clotting. Do you see how it continues to seep from his veins? Of course, we also gave him just enough belladonna to keep him manageable, and now he shall watch while we f*ck you and f*ck you, and he’ll know, but he won’t be able to do a thing about it.”
Honorius ran his tongue along Gigi’s neck, then looked at her and grinned again. “You taste like you’ve been living rough, Gigiperrin. Mmm, delicious.” He licked her again, this time across her face, and she heaved up, trying to unseat him, but he laughed, and continued, “Magnus’s blood will empty onto the floor eventually, but not so soon that he won’t first see you die some sort of hideous death, perhaps whipped like him, until your flesh hangs in tatters. Or, or, perhaps, after your branding. Ah, we see your fear! We may even do it ourself, just for fun, and then, hmm, should we execute you in the arena, or the parade ground? Indeed, a very public death could be just the thing. But how, how shall we … ?”
Gigi tried again to wrench free of his grasp, but he grit his teeth and seethed, his intense physical arousal clearly driving him mad. He forced her arms over her head, pinning them together with one hand, and pulled at her smock with the other. Gigi screamed, but he was unfazed, his gaze intent as he uncovered her legs, her thighs, her hips, her —
He moved on top, his legs straddling hers. Balanced on his free forearm and knees, he had his chest raised, his hips poised over her, and she was able to look down her length and see him hovering above her, stiff, horrible, ready.
Shaking with revulsion, she tried to squirm away, but he held her fast.
His gaze followed hers and he laughed. “Ready yourself, slave. And when we are done with you,” he looked over at Magnus and grinned, “he’ll be next.”
She spit in his face, but he merely licked his lips and laughed again. Tensing, her whole body trembling, she writhed, trying to find Magnus, but Honorius blocked her view. She couldn’t bear the thought of — oh, God help us! Please, this can’t be happening!
Out of nowhere something black crashed against Honorius’s ear, crossing his eyes and sending him sideways, out cold. Unsteadily, Magnus raised his arms again, ready to crush Honorius’s skull, when Gigi felt something inexplicable, a presence so powerful it caused her to glance around to see if someone were actually watching them.
Suddenly, the instinct for self-preservation enveloped her, willed her to action, and she scrambled up and grasped Magnus’s arm, pulling him away from Honorius.
“No, Magnus, no!” she urgently whispered in his ear. “We don’t have time. We have to get out of here — now!”
She gathered the two weapons she’d thrown, and handed the dagger to Magnus, but just then he reeled and dropped what he had used on Honorius. Gigi put a shoulder under his arm, bracing him, and looked at the bloody object on the floor. It was a … a … Oh, my God!
Sickened, she turned away and helped Magnus to the bed, then held his face up and forced him to look at her. His eyes seemed unfocused, but he asked, “Did I kill him, Gigi? Did he … ?”
“I don’t think he’s dead, not quite,” she said, “but don’t worry about anything else. I’m all right. You stopped him.”
Nodding, Magnus looked like he was about to pass out again, and she wondered how she was going to get him out of the palace. The balcony, of course, but Magnus was so woozy.
An idea struck and Gigi pulled the sheets off the bed. She cut them into wide strips and knotted them together, end to end, then tied the end to her palla and tied the palla around Magnus’s bare chest, securing it under his arms. Then, supporting him, they moved onto the balcony.
He shivered and Gigi stopped. What was she thinking? He needed clothes, something warm — then she saw torchlight in the garden. Soldiers! She pulled Magnus into the shadows, watching until the light faded and they were gone.
She glanced back and then dashed inside for one final item. Stepping over Honorius, who was still out cold, she rummaged through his clothing and grabbed his lavish, purple cloak, then ran back and threw it off the balcony.