My mistress was deep in conversation—with a man, of course. No handsome aedile or dashing tribune; just a middle-aged man with a bald head and a coarse-grained toga. Business then; not pleasure. I wiped my smile away for later, and bobbed a silent curtsy as I handed over the candied fruits.

My surprise, when the bald man reached up and squeezed my hip, was total.

“This one?” he asked Lepida in a harsh, common-accented voice. “No beauty.”

“Perhaps not, but she’s got a good strong back. Isn’t that more important in your line of work?”

My eyes flew up to Lepida’s. “My lady?”

She picked through the candied fruits, still addressing the bald man. “And she’s literate, you know. In Greek as well as Latin.”

“Don’t expect me to pay extra, Domina. Letters are no good to a whore. How old is she?”

“Fifteen. But experienced, I assure you.”

“No!” Words tumbled frantically out of my mouth. “My lady—I’ve served you well! Whatever I did, I’ll never do it again, I promise. What did I do?”

Lepida’s cool voice overrode me. “When she couldn’t get customers, she serviced the gladiators for free. You see why I have to get rid of her.”

“Maybe.” A shrewd glance. “But you can’t dispose of her, Domina. She’s your father’s to sell, not yours.”

“My father never interferes with my doings. And besides, I’ll give you a very good price for her. Say two thousand sesterces?”

“Done.” He dropped a purse into my mistress’s sugary palm.

I whirled and ran. Right into one of Lepida’s litter-bearers, who wrapped my elbows in heavy hands and wrestled me down to the ground.

“No! No no no—”

“Be careful with her.” Lepida tossed aside the purse that had bought my life. “She’s a sly one. Half a chance and she’ll slip the noose.”

“Oh, I’ve been handling these girls for years.” A flat palm stung my cheek. “Quiet, girl, or I’ll have you whipped. Understand?”

Arius. Arius, where are you?

Just a few tenement blocks away, in his room on Mars Street. Dreaming of our mountain.

“You won’t be selling her here in the city?” Lepida’s voice again, dim through the blood that pounded in my ears. “I’ll not have her embarrassing me here in Rome.”

No. No. He’ll come, Arius will come and he’ll kill them all—he promised me—

“I do my business down south. Ostia, Brundisium, the port cities. Waterfront brothels pay well for Roman whores.”

“Good.” For the first time Lepida turned her gaze on me. “Well, Thea, I told you I wouldn’t put up with it. Sneaking out of the house to carry on with gladiators—”

“You had me followed,” I said hoarsely.

“Hardly. Just peeked out my window at dawn a few nights ago to see if you’d come back from your mysterious all-night errand. And there you appeared! Such a passionate farewell, too . . . I already had my suspicions, of course. Especially after that charming display at the games. When I saw all those magic charms of yours . . . Not very clever, dear.”