“You mean the poisoned blade you cut him with? No. He survived.”
His features tightened. “Too bad.”
“I think you’ll be pleased he survived.”
“Why would I fucking care about a Roman general?”
“Because he wants to kill his uncle. Emperor Igniculus.”
Alaric’s features changed, his eyes widening ever so slightly with surprise.
“And so do I,” I added.
His eyes blazed bright gold, fury hardening his face.
“If you’re trying to hide your dragon, you’re doing a poor job of it,” I told him.
“How do you plan to do this?” he demanded.
“We are still finalizing details, but one thing we need is a larger army.”
We really didn’t have one at all. Our list of liberators were made up mostly of senators. They could fight, but they weren’t warriors. And they weren’t enough.
While I hoped Appius’s son Marcellus was working on gathering more men to our side, it was a tricky situation. The more people we told, the more likely there was a chance we’d be betrayed to the emperor before we could strike. Having an army outside of Rome and away from Roman ears would be most advantageous in helping us win our revolution.
“I see,” he said. “And you want mine.”
“I want you to work with us. To ally with us.”
He scoffed with disgust. “With Romans? You’re all liars and thieves.”
“He isn’t.” Lela’s soft interruption jarred me. “At least, he isn’t lying about this.”
Not much of a defense, but I was grateful for it all the same.
“I don’t need you,” he said to me. “My army will annihilate Rome without you.”
“From this dungeon?” Then I reminded him, “When so many of your men are dead.”
He snarled, bearing his sharpened teeth, his eyes glittering gold. But he didn’t answer me.
Claudius’s book on war flashed to mind, a passage about the art of surprise and fooling an enemy who thinks they have you outnumbered.
Then it hit me what this king was planning to do. It was rather obvious now, and I should’ve recognized it back when Julian and I had encountered his army in Moesia.
“Your strategy to defeat Rome is to keep the emperor’s legionsbelieving you are merely men. And when they least expect it, preparing to battle men on the ground, you’ll unleash your own legion of dragons. Unless General Drussus and Caesar have killed them all.”
He stared, still silent, that savage expression fixed and piercing.
“It is a good strategy, if you have more men, more dragons, hidden away somewhere,” I admitted. “The Roman generals will never suspect it. But your army needs their general. And for you to escape from this prison before you’re executed, you’ll need to transform into your beast form. Then your advantage is lost. Caesar will gather all of his legions at once against yours. I don’t know your exact numbers, but I’m sure they do not equal all of Caesar’s.”
Silence fell between us, a distant drip somewhere in the prison the only sound. Finally, he responded.
“You are correct. They do not.”
“Then you need help escaping this place. And not just this dungeon, but the city as well.”
“And all I have to do is join you in killing the emperor.”
