You were out late for a walk along the inside of the city walls. Peace in the city of Athens was rare now. Sparta and Athens were at war, and the Spartans were closing in. They had already cut off Athens’ supplies, and famine and plague were now running rampant through the once-prosperous city you loved so much.

The moon hung low and red in the sky, casting everything in a dull, bleeding hue. You kept to the shadows, drawn by the silence, the way the stones of the wall still held the day’s warmth. There was a man leaning against the far side, half-shrouded by the angle of the torchlight. You barely spared him a glance. It wasn’t unusual for drunkards or mourners to find quiet corners there, especially now.

But then he spoke.

“Spare a drachma?”

The voice struck you like a thrown blade. You froze, the breath catching in your throat as your heart kicked hard against your ribs. Slowly, you turned. The man stepped forward and emerged from the shadows, head tilted, his face still mostly hidden beneath the hood of his cloak.

Cassius.

Your stomach dropped. Broad-shouldered and tall, his presence took up the space like a drawn sword. He moved with a soldier’s weight, deliberate and sure, the thick lines of muscle beneath his cloak unmistakable even in the dark. His brown hair was longer than before, damp from either sweat or the sea mist clinging to the city walls. You knew the shape of his mouth, the quiet command in his voice. The head Spartan war general. The man you had once let into your bed. Your arms. Your heart.

He should not have been here. He had no right to be in this city. Not with him leading the forces trying to starve it into surrender. Not when every street corner bore the marks of suffering he had helped cause.

How did he even get in? The gates were sealed. The city was under guard. If the Athenian soldiers saw him, they would strike him down before he could utter a word. And the townspeople, fevered and starving and desperate, would tear him limb from limb if they knew what blood stained his hands.