The demand hit the stale air of the sickroom with brutal force. Constantius's eyes, fever-bright and desperate, bored into his. Promise me. More than a request, it was a kind of crowning, raw and urgent, made with words instead of sacred oil. A son – the Constantine whose life this was – would have buckled under the weight of such a plea, the grief and duty overwhelming.
Alistair, the mind within, recognized the strategic value: a mandate from the dying Augustus, a powerful tool of legitimacy. "I promise, Father," he said, his voice clear, imbued with a gravity that seemed to surprise even Helena, who watched with tear-filled eyes. He allowed a measure of Constantine's remembered sorrow to color his tone. A purely cold response would be noted, perhaps even by the dying. "I will hold what is ours. I will be strong enough."
A ragged sigh escaped Constantius's lips, a sound of profound, weary relief. The fierce grip on Constantine's arm slackened, though his fingers still clung. "Good… good boy…" His gaze softened, unfocused for a moment, then sharpened one last time. "Beware… the whispers in the dark, Constantine. Trust few… but trust wisely. The eagle… flies alone… but sees all…"
His voice trailed off. The light in his eyes, so recently a burning coal, began to dim, like a lamp running out of oil. His breathing grew shallower, a faint whisper in the oppressive silence of the room. The physician, the nervous Greek, made a move, but Helena's almost imperceptible shake of the head stopped him. This was a moment for family, however that was now defined.
Alistair watched, dispassionate yet utterly focused. He was witnessing the death of a Roman Emperor. Not a passage in a history text, but the visceral, tangible cessation of a life that had shaped the world he now inhabited. He noted the precise moment the last breath stuttered and failed, the subtle relaxation of the features as the spirit – or whatever one termed it – departed.
Helena let out a choked sob, sinking to her knees beside the bed, her hand reaching for Constantius's still one. The physician stepped forward, his movements hesitant, and after a cursory examination, bowed his head. "Dominus… the Augustus… is gone."
Gone. The word resonated with finality. An axis upon which this part of the world had turned had just vanished. Alistair rose slowly to his feet. The echo of Constantine's grief was a dull ache within him, a foreign pressure, but his own mind was already calculating, processing, moving three steps ahead. The Augustus is dead. The primary power in the West is now vacant. Stability is paramount. Control of information is critical.
"Physician," Alistair said, his voice quiet but carrying an unexpected note of command that made the Greek startle. "You will remain here with… with my mother. Say nothing to anyone until I return or send word. Valerius and the household guard will ensure the sanctity of this chamber. Is that understood?"
The physician, wide-eyed at the sudden authority radiating from the youth who had so recently been at death's door himself, stammered, "Yes, Dominus Constantinus. Of course."
Alistair turned to Helena, who was weeping quietly, her face buried in the furs covering her husband's body. He felt a flicker of something – an awkwardness, perhaps, at the rawness of her emotion, so alien to his own temperament. Constantine's memories supplied the expected script: comfort, shared sorrow. Alistair offered what he could.
"Mother," he said, his voice softer. "He is at peace. We must be strong now. For him. For the honor of his name." The words were platitudes, yet they seemed to offer some small solace. She looked up at him, her eyes red-rimmed, searching his young face.
He didn't wait for a reply. He had to move. He strode to the door, pulling it open. Valerius, the scarred veteran, stood ramrod straight outside, his expression unreadable but tense. He had clearly heard Helena's initial cry.
"Valerius," Alistair stated, meeting the older man's gaze directly. "The Augustus, my father, has passed from this world."
The guard's weathered face seemed to crumple for a brief instant, a flicker of genuine loss, before his features hardened back into a mask of duty. "May the gods receive him, Dominus."
"Indeed," Alistair said. "His passing must be managed with solemnity and order. Ensure no one enters or leaves these chambers without my direct permission, save the physician and my mother. Double the guard. I want absolute silence and discretion until the proper announcements can be made." He was speaking as if he already wore the purple, the authority settling onto him like a familiar cloak, guided by Constantine's innate understanding of command and Alistair's own cold grasp of necessity.
Valerius's eyes, shrewd and experienced, assessed the youth before him. He saw the grief of a son, perhaps, but also something else: a new, steely resolve. "It will be done, Dominus."
Alistair nodded once. The first step. Secure the immediate vicinity. Next: the legions. He knew, with the chilling certainty of both historical precedent and Constantine's lived experience, that the hours to come would be critical. The news would spread like wildfire through the camp. The acclamation his father had predicted was not just a possibility; it was an impending political firestorm he had to either control or be consumed by. He could already hear the whispers starting in the corridor.