A roar boomed across the forum. After a moment, Caesar silenced them again with one hand in the air.
“We honor Legatus Drussus for bringing this victory to Rome, for demonstrating themightof the dragon empire. We will also honor the gods for this victory and wait until the festival of Lupercalia to execute this Visigoth king.” He gestured toward the bound man and then raised a fist in the air. “Dracones Imperii Romani!”
The mass of people erupted yet again, chanting, “Dracones Imperii Romani!”
Then the chariot holding the bound king rode away, making another circuit of the square while people threw rotten vegetables at him and chanted about the might of Rome.
“I cannot believe so many humans cheer and applaud the ‘Dragons of the Roman Empire.’ It makes no sense.”
“They will cheer it on because it means they are stronger by its dominance.”
“And these are the people you believe will cheer you on when you kill their emperor?” I didn’t fully believe that Trajan and his liberators would be successful.
“Romans are fickle,” he said. “They will worship a new emperor even more than they do that creature over there.”
“Romans only know one way,” I told him.
“Until you show them another,” he replied, then he took my hand. “Come on.”
He led me back down the stairs, the streets much emptier than before. He guided me down several back alleys, heading toward Capitoline Hill, where the Mamertine Prison was.
This was the infamous prison where they held enemies of the state. Where all prisoners who went through its gates were tortured and executed, their remains tossed into the sewer or the Tiber River. Unless they were executed publicly, of course. Since I’d been in Rome, I’d never heard of a prisoner here making it out alive.
We came out onto a main road. Trajan slowed his pace and wrapped an arm around my waist again, walking casually as if he were simply a patrician escorting his wife through the streets.
“It’s empty here, too,” I whispered.
“As expected, everyone is at the triumph.”
We’d timed it perfectly. As we crossed the plaza, the chariot carrying the prisoner rode past and around the corner of the prison toward the back. There were two guards riding in the front of the chariot.
We quickly passed the front of the prison and kept walking toward the back where the chariot had entered a sloped drive. This must bewhere the prisoners were unloaded, entering the cells through the back of the prison. By the time we hurried down the drive, the chariot was left with only one guard, and we heard voices of men talking and laughing through an arched entryway.
“Pardon me,” said Trajan as we drew closer, the guard scowling as we approached, fisting the reins in one hand and bracing his other on the hilt of his sword.
“What are you doing back here?”
“My wife had wanted to visit her uncle. Can you help us find which cell he’s in?”
The guard looked at us as if we were mad. A few more steps and we’d be within striking distance.
“Caesar doesn’t allow visitors to prisoners in Mamertine. You both need to leave.”
Trajan edged closer and maneuvered to the side of him, gesturing toward me. “But my wife is distraught. Surely, you can grant her a short visit before her uncle is sentenced to death.”
I pretended to cry, covering my face with my palms, while peeking between my fingers.
The guard seemed distressed, frowning but beginning to soften at my tears. “My lady, I can’t—”
Trajan was behind him, his arm around his throat and pinning his body to his own. The guard dropped the reins, grabbing at Trajan’s forearm as he gasped for breath.
“Hurry,” he urged me, glancing at the open archway leading into the prison.
The guard’s eyes widened as I pulled a small dagger from the folds of my cloak. Without wasting a second, I sliced his forearm, wiped the tip of my finger along the flat of the blade, and licked the blood. A reverberation of magic vibrated in the air.
“Calm down,” I told him, my voice echoing like a sweet melody. “Stop fighting.”
The guard went still, transfixed by me, his mouth slack. Trajan loosened his hold.
