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Her heart pounded.

She could’ve drawn the privacy curtain, even ordered her handmaids to shield them with fans, but she was too afraid. The thought bubbled up inside her again, bursting suddenly.

Empress of Lesbos.

That skin-crawling shame washed over her again, making her feel naked, exposed. Her father’s dying eyes. Her brother’s bleeding mouth. Their spectres laughing at her, calling her sick…

The two things had become entwined in her mind, and she could not untangle them.

As they journeyed home, the sounds of the city wrapped around them, the clatter of hooves and the squeak of wheels, soldiers shouting orders as builders stacked bricks to form arches.

The graffiti was gone, and Claudia felt better again. The relief was only temporary, however. She was met on the palace steps by Hieronymus and Damocles, accompanied by Cassius and a band of soldiers.

‘You are required urgently, Empress,’ said Damocles.

‘What’s going on?’

They trailed her as she and Gia moved past, parting the small crowd that had formed in the entrance.

‘An entire legion of men has disappeared in Britannia,’ said the most senior of the soldiers, a cold-eyed, well-decorated general with the most elaborate cloak and helmet.

General Aquinas. He was one of the men who’d travelled to Greece to seek out her cousin. Aquinas had supported Marcellus in his campaign to be emperor.

‘Five thousand soldiers are missing,’ he said.

Claudia stopped walking, turning around to face them.

‘Five thousand men have vanished?’ she repeated.

‘Without a trace,’ said Hieronymus, his voice shrill. ‘Their camp has been completely abandoned.’

‘How is this possible?’

‘We don’t know but we’re working to find out, of course,’ said Damocles. ‘They are surrounded by unfavourable terrain. It has been difficult for the army to even reach their location.’

‘It’s just like the Varian Disaster,’ said General Aquinas. ‘The native tribes have formed an alliance to fight against us.’

‘We have sent Marcellus to speak with the Legate to find out more,’ said Damocles.

‘Why in the gods’ names would you do that without consulting me first?’ said Claudia.

‘They are known to each other. We trust that the army will share information with him. We did not think you would object, in the circumstances. A swift response is key in this situation.’

Claudia didn’t comment further. Now wasn’t the time. Roman men were missing and if she didn’t retrieve them, safe and well, she would be blamed for it, especially with so many men already against her.

‘Their base is still there,’ said Aquinas, ‘with all of their belongings in it. Their horses, their swords, their armour, their water skins, even their sandals: all left behind, as if they fled in a hurry.’

Claudia locked eyes with Cassius, recalling what Gia had told her about his service abroad. In his expression, she registered scepticism: he did not agree with the general’s assessment.

‘You don’t think the natives are responsible?’ she asked him.

‘Not a chance,’ said Cassius. ‘I was taken hostage by a tribe in the territory of Mercia when my men abandoned me. They are not savages.’

Aquinas made a scoffing noise.

‘They aren’t capable of disappearing five thousand men without a sign,’ Cassius insisted. ‘Britannia is barren but it is not that barren.’

‘Maybe you haven’t seen what I’ve seen, but believe me, those barbarians are capable of anything. They pray to strange deities and practise dark magic. Anything is possible,’ said Aquinas.