Hadrian grinned with all the warmth of a tiger. ‘I believe you do have a gift for diplomacy. And I do not need you to become a dead hero.’

‘What about clubbed to death while a fort burned?’ Ferox was sure Sosius had attacked Piso all those months before and did not doubt that it was on the legate’s orders.

‘I cannot imagine what you mean, centurion, to ask such a tactless question.’ Hadrian glanced down, then flicked his eyes back to fix on Ferox. ‘If you need to disappear, that could already have been arranged. Be assured, I do not want you dead, but I do want you to be useful.’

‘To you, my lord?’

‘To Rome, Ferox, and to our princeps – to whom you have sworn an oath. I am merely a servant of both, doing my best to ensure their success. In order to do that I must use the best tools I can find and ensure that those tools are wielded as well as possible.’

Ferox could imagine Vindex smirking.

Hadrian glanced at the brazier where the tablets were still burning. ‘After you have helped with the Roxolani, who knows?’ he went on. ‘I – and other sensible men – will make use of you for the good of the res publica.’

‘And how will you serve the res publica, my lord?’

‘As best I can. You will soon hear, but there is talk of splitting Pannonia into two provinces, which means that the princeps will soon require a legatus to govern the smaller of the two and command its legion.’

‘Congratulations, my lord, if it is not out of place to say so.’ Ferox could sense Hadrian’s delight, and guessed that it was as much at his own cleverness in winning Trajan’s favour as joy at the promotion itself. ‘You saw what others did not and won your battle.’

‘We were both right,’ Hadrian replied and almost appeared sincere. ‘But save the congratulations until the final decision is made.’

‘From all I hear, my lord, our princeps is shrewd enough to appreciate true talent.’

Hadrian chuckled. ‘Perhaps it runs in the family. Now, I have more work to do and you need to go.’

‘One request, sir. The two Brigantes who came in with me. I’d like to see them before I go.’

‘Ah, that was regrettable. I fear their heads are on spearpoints above the camp’s gateway.’

‘What?’ Ferox shouted, hands gripping the arms of the chair.

Hadrian banged his fist onto the table. ‘Mind your manners, centurion! A reliable source told me that you were duped by those men, for they had been sent by Decebalus to murder the emperor, getting close by posing as deserters returned to the fold. Another group of deserters has been arrested and executed in the last few days, for it seems that the king sent several, anticipating the emperor’s arrival.’

‘They were good men, and I do not believe that they were traitors.’

‘What you believe is neither here nor there, centurion. The evidence was clear, and I for one will never take an unnecessary risk when there is a threat to the emperor’s life.’ Hadrian’s voice was as level as it was unrelenting.