Eva Varelia stood before the altar of Venus, guiding the rituals of the day. Incense drifted through the air, blurring the marble columns, when she noticed a familiar figure descending the temple steps. Evander Victis, her most trusted servant, approached with steady strides and a proud smile that told her he had succeeded in his task.

Reaching her side, he knelt and lifted a wooden box in offering. His eyes gleamed with triumph.

“I have what you requested, Domina,” he said.

Eva dismissed the attendants with a wave, then ran her jewelled fingers across the carved lid before taking it from him. “Well done, Evander. I may call on you later,” she said, already turning toward the archway.

Her dismissal stung. Evander rose sharply and caught her arm, making her bracelets rattle. “The city swarms with the Legatus’s men. They arrest anyone suspected of theft. Do you think this”—he nodded toward the box—“is all the reward I deserve for such risk?”

Eva fixed him with a cold stare. In Greek, she reminded him, “I freed you from bondage and raised you to stand beside me. If that does not satisfy, you may always return to what you were.”

His grip faltered, and his voice softened. “Then at least share your plans with me, Eva.”

She forgave his outburst and lifted the lid. Inside lay a gleaming ring, the seal of one of Aquilonia’s most powerful citizens. “With this, one may stamp decrees, contracts—or forgeries.”

A smile spread across Evander’s face. “Then may the will of the gods be done.”

Outside, Milo the centurion kept watch at the temple steps with two soldiers. Patrols had been doubled by order of the Legatus; too many whispers spoke of theft and unrest. Milo’s eyes swept the streets, then caught movement on a high balcony—just a shadow, gone in an instant.

“Centurion?” a soldier asked, noticing his pause.

Milo’s hand rested on his sword hilt. The shadow had vanished, but his instincts were sharpened. “Nothing,” he said. “We’ll circle the perimeter again.”

Inside the temple, Eva closed the box firmly, the stolen signet safe in her grasp. Evander lingered by her side, his pride unshaken. Neither knew how close the watchful eyes of Rome already were to their secret.