"My lady doesn't give me enough credit," Corvus drawled with a grim smile as he approached her. "If she wanted a rough ride, she could have just stayed in her chambers."

When Cassia's mind finally unfroze enough to let her think, she briefly considered just barreling over the senator and jumping the fence anyway. No one could stop Colossus, and she'd be too far gone to catch by the time Corvus' men saddled up.

But that dream was dashed when other soldiers marched through the door with Helena between them.

Corvus saw Cassia's glance flick to Helena and he smiled broader. "I know you're far too tender to let anything—unpleasant—happen to your maidservant," he said, reaching up his hand to her.

She took it, despair flooding her heart, and he pulled her off Colossus. He didn't let go of her waist afterwards.

"How did you know?" she questioned.

"A little bird told me," he replied, and a soldier thrust Julian in front of them.

"Julian, how could you?" Cassia asked, words filled with pain.

Julian looked as anguished as Cassia. "I'm sorry, m'lady, but they forced me…"

"We've no time for this nonsense," Corvus cut him off, motioning to one of the soldiers. "Take care of it."

Two soldiers grabbed Julian by the arms, and a third drew his sword and started advancing on the stable boy.

"Corvus, don't!" Cassia pleaded, clutching the senator's shoulder. "It wasn't his fault!"

"He almost let my betrothed escape," Corvus replied. "That's crime enough."

Before Cassia could protest further, the soldier had thrust his sword into Julian's side. Julian gave a horrible, wet gasp as blood spurted from the wound. He fell onto his knees, clutching the red stain on his shirt as his mouth worked but no words came out. Then he fell over dead.

Helena screamed in the background, but Cassia made no sound. Corvus had held her steady through the short but extreme ordeal, so she hadn't been able to look away. But she refused to make a sound.

"Rebellion's always punished," Corvus told her with wicked relish.

He motioned again, and Cassia was filled with horror as two soldiers grabbed Helena by the arms and dragged her into the middle of the stables, only footsteps away from Julian's cooling body.

"No!" Cassia cried. "She had nothing to do with it!"

"You can't think I'm that stupid," Corvus snapped. "Someone had to give you the supplies. I'll take care of this one myself."

Guarded by soldiers on both sides, Cassia watched Corvus advancing on Helena with his sword drawn, and her heart cried for the terrified maidservant who had only ever been her friend. Her need to save Helena overrode all other considerations, even her pride. Without thinking about it, she pushed her way past the guards and grabbed Corvus by the leg.

"Don't, please!" she pleaded, begging on her knees. She didn't care about her pride or her self-respect; she just had to save her only friend. "Please, Corvus, be merciful!"

Corvus froze mid-stride, almost as surprised at her as she was at herself. "The lovely lady Cassia on her knees before me?" he said, words dripping with both mockery and pleasure. "Is this slave worth so much to you?"

"If you spared her, I would be forever grateful," Cassia forced herself to say.

"How would you show me that gratitude?" Corvus asked.

She forced herself to look into his eyes. "I'd do my best to show my husband that gratitude every day and—" her face reddened—"every night."

"My lady certain knows how make a man's blood burn," Corvus said with a terrible smile, reaching down to draw her up beside him. "Show me some now."

Cassia's stomach twisted, but she ignored it, reaching up towards him. She had to stand on tiptoe and hold his shoulders for balance, but she managed to stand tall enough to kiss him on the mouth. She hated herself for doing it, but there was no other choice.

The kiss started hesitantly, but Corvus kissed her back hard, wrapping his arms around her waist and drawing her up closer to him. She didn't know much about kissing, but she had seen her parents kiss, and she wrapped her arms around his neck like she'd seen her mother do to her father. Corvus' hand dropped from the small of her back to grab at her backside, and she instinctively gasped at the crude contact, which gave him a chance to push his tongue into her mouth. She pulled back in shock, breaking the kiss as her face reddened with shame.

Corvus only chuckled. "I see you still have a lot to learn," he said, tracing a thumb across her lips. "I look forward to educating you."

He ordered the soldiers to release Helena, and Cassia tried to go to her, but he caught her by the wrist.

"I think we still have matters to discuss, dear heart," he told her, marching back towards the villa. Cassia had no choice but to follow, twisting around for a last despondent look at Helena. The poor maidservant looked as miserable as her mistress, and Cassia felt her eyes brim with tears at what she'd been through.

Corvus led Cassia back to her chambers, dragging her through the doors and slamming them shut. As soon as they closed, he slammed her into the wall, one hand around her throat. She gasped as he pulled her up so that she could barely reach the floor.

"Just to make sure we don't have a repeat of tonight's excitement," he said, his free hand running up her neck and across her cheekbone, "let's get one thing clear: you have something I want. Therefore, it's mine. So this idea of running away—it's not going to happen."

Cassia tried to pry his fingers off her throat but he didn't move.

"And to ensure it doesn't happen, I'm letting you know that if you try to run away again, I'll execute your little maidservant friend," he continued, fingers winding through her hair. "And if for some reason you actually do manage to escape, I'll kill all the slave children." He leaned against her to whisper in her ear, "Do we understand each other?"

"Yes," Cassia gasped out, desperate to suck air into her burning lungs.

"I'm afraid I didn't quite catch that," Corvus told.

"Yes, I understand!" Cassia repeated.

He smiled maliciously. "Good girl."

He released her and she leaned against her vanity for support as she gasped in air.

He didn't let her rest for long though. "Let's see some more of that gratitude," he said, his voice husky with lust as he held her face with both hands and kissed her, trapping her between the vanity and his body. He leaned into her hard and she had to brace against the vanity to support them. As he kissed her hungrily, his hands slid down her neck and over her shoulders, and his kisses following the trail.

He started pulling at her sleeves, and Cassia felt her dress slip lower, dangerous close to sliding off entirely. She pushed against his shoulders. "No…"

"No?" Corvus repeated, voice dangerously soft.

"No, please," Cassia amended. This time, when the tears came to her eyes, she didn't force them back, but let him see her distress openly. "Please, you've already taken my freedom and my pride. Can't you let me keep my honor? Please?"

Corvus chuckled wryly. "Women are so shy," he said, pulling her sleeves back up. "I suppose I can wait the last few days between our wedding."

"Thank you," Cassia whispered, unable to look at him in her humiliation.

"Sleep well, beloved, and enjoy your honor while you can," Corvus said with a last kiss. "In three days, I'll show you how a real man beds his wife."

He swept out of her bedroom with a terrible laugh. As soon as Cassia was sure he was really gone, she curled up on her bed and sobbed.