Severus waited patiently while Sidia quickly bathed and changed clothes. She didn't have another linen shirt and leggings, so she settled for a casual dress and tied her hair back. Even though she was not trying to look nice, simply clean and serious, Severus showered her with compliments. They didn't seem insincere, but at this point, Sidia wasn't entirely confident that she could determine how genuine Severus could be. At every opportunity she had to find out more about him and figure a way out of this mess, he had managed to distract her, or something else had disrupted her progress. Disgruntled and eager to learn as much as possible, Sidia walked with purpose, striving for her pace to encourage Severus to walk faster. He didn't seem to take the hint, however. He strolled along, chattering away about the previous battles he won on his long conquest through Europe. He had wanted to expand the Roman Empire to all corners of the land, and now that he knew how much the world had grown

Sidia froze where she stood, desperately trying to hide the anguish blossoming in her chest. She didn't want to seem affected by this information. It wouldn't make sense for her to be so upset about this, and she couldn't raise any suspicion. Instead, she decided to redirect the conversation and give them a believable reason for her altered mood."If he did such a thing, then why have you left me alone with him? It was just the two of us earlier for training," Sidia asked, trying to discreetly wipe away the tears brimming in her eyes."Sidia, I'm so sorry." In the blink of an eye, Severus was right in front of her, his arms gently caressing her shoulders. "I would never willingly put you in danger. As I just said, Marcus has learned his lesson, and I have ensured that he will never betray me again.""How do you know that for certain?" Sidia pouted her lips a little as she asked this, hoping that it would make her look innocent. Of course, she saw this as an opportunity to make Sever

Gaius made a huge flourish with his hands, pointing dramatically to the spot on the world map which indicated present day Scotland. "We had just fought our fiercest battle. Most of our men fell to the Britons, and His Grace was suffering a grievous wound. Pompey and I both were at a loss. Our emperor was close to death, our forces had dwindled, and the barbaric clans were pressing around us.""That is when he appeared," Pompey interjected, a certain seriousness deepening his high voice. He took over for Gaius, continuing the story. "I know His Grace has probably not told you much about him yet, the . . . prophet that came to us and healed him, granted him his gift."Sidia hid her dubious expression at the word "prophet." She definitely noticed the pause in Pompey's words as he thought of what to call this seer that had supposedly told Severus about Sidia's family. This was yet again another example of a sloppy cover up. At this point, she no longer believed this prophet character w

"Please, show me everything. Don't stop," Sidia begged in a husky whisper, desire claiming her body.Marcus kissed her once more, their tongues melding together. She felt his hard body against her as he pressed himself into her. She gripped the skin on his back, fingernails digging in as she moved her hips against him, relishing the pure ache of longing radiating through her legs. Her lungs screamed for air, but the thought of ending this perfect embrace terrified her more than suffocating. She panted and moaned as he pulled away, remembering her need for oxygen. Her chest heaved as she gulped the air."Slow down there, my good girl. We can't have you fainting from pleasure . . . yet," Marcus chuckled and buried his face in her neck. He didn't bite, but he kissed and sucked her flesh, the points of his fangs brushing against the hollow of her throat. She moaned at the sensation, desperate for so much more. "Please, Marcus. I can't wait any longer. Please," Sidia could barely speak

What could she do now? She knew the truth. How was she supposed to hide this from Severus? She had to confront him. Now that the bubble had burst, surely he would see the pointlessness is hiding anything. A sinister thought occurred to Sidia as these revelations came to be in her mind. If this was his plan, how long had he been trying to create this child? He had established the pact with her family centuries ago, and so many women had met their fates under this mountain. Severus said that some of her ancestors had chosen not to stay. But . . . what if they had died during his experiments? She began to cry as she understood how much he had taken from her family. All these centuries, and they thought they were just keeping a monster at bay. Meanwhile, that terrible monster had been farming them, tearing through her ancestors to perfect this process. Humans were truly nothing more than cattle to Severus. Despite the appearances, despite all she had seen while with the coven, he only