It was a day of spectacle in Rome, the kind meant to remind the city who ruled it. The amphitheater roared beneath the sun, banners snapping, sand already darkened from earlier bouts. Senators filled the lower tiers, the masses above them, all eyes drawn again and again to the imperial box.

She watched the fighters with a steady gaze from her seat beside the emperor. When the clash below reached a brief lull, she leaned slightly toward him, voice low and even.

“The Iberian seems to have an edge over the other. I do not doubt he will win, Augustus.”