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into the hospital corridor. Ares was walking toward her and tried to stop her. She brushed him off and headed for the main entrance. The sooner she was back in Chicago the better. There were Praetorians to kill, and maybe, just maybe, she’d get lucky enough to find a way to end her misery. The glass doors of the hospital entrance opened with a quiet swish, and she walked out into the sunshine knowing the life she’d thought she had was over before it had even begun.

Chapter 3

    ROME, SEAT OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE
    310 A .D.

    “I intend to marry him.” Cassiopeia stared across the atrium at the tall Roman general conversing with her father. Beside her, Octavian Julius Valeria frowned darkly.

    “It’s a ridiculous notion, my pet. Maximus has nothing to offer in the way of family or fortune. You should marry me.”

    “I don’t love you, Octavian. But I do love Maximus.”

    Her gaze never left Maximus. She was grateful for the cool night air that streamed in through the opening in the atrium’s roof and the cross currents that pulled a soft breeze into the peristylium. Watching Maximus made it much warmer in the house than it was. The sight of him filled her with an ache that heated her blood with Apollo’s fire until it settled between her legs in a rush of liquid warmth.

    “Romans don’t marry for love. We marry to keep the patrician houses strong.” Octavian’s tone was sharp, telling her he wasn’t happy at all.

    “And Maximus will make the Atellus name stronger when father adopts him. Maximus Caecilius Atellus. Just the sound of it rings with great strength. Our sons will ensure my father’s name continues, and I shall have Maximus. It’s an excellent arrangement.”

    “I’ve known Maximus for a long time. The man has an aversion to marriage.” Octavian snorted with amusement. “What makes you think you can change his mind.”

    “Because I intend to make him fall in love with me.”

    Across the room, Maximus laughed at something her father said, and that familiar tug on her senses increased. His plebeian family hailed from the northern part of the Empire, and the Gaul influence showed in the dark blond hair he wore short. Although she couldn’t see his green eyes from here, she knew how striking and unusual they were. He might not have patrician blood, but he had the air of one. His strong nose and sensual mouth lent itself to the impression that he was a noble. Venus could not have designed a man more delicious if she’d tried. Normally, he wore his military uniform when he visited her father, but tonight he was dressed in the fine robes indicative of the position Emperor Maxentius had given him in the Senate. She preferred his uniform. It showed off his strong, sinewy legs and the strength of his arms. Arms that held the promise of all measure of delights. She wanted to see all of him bared before her.

    “If this is an attempt to have me express my feelings in poetry reminiscent of Ovid, I will

    do that if necessary,” Octavian said quietly. When she didn’t answer, his voice sharpened. “Don’t be a fool. He’s not good enough for you, Cassiopeia.”

    Slowly turning her head, she studied the anger on Octavian’s face. It was unlike him to be so quarrelsome with her. Octavian had been the one to introduce Maximus to her father. Eager to appease her friend, she touched his arm lightly.

    “Octavian, how can you say such a thing? Maximus is your friend.”

    “Friendship is one thing. Marrying into a patrician household is something completely different.”

    She frowned. Was her childhood friend right? As one of the senior statesmen in the Senate, the name of Gaius Quinctilia Atellus was associated with fairness and levelheaded thinking. But would he object to Maximus as a son-in-law? No. He liked her handsome Roman general very much. If anything, her father would welcome Maximus into the family with open arms. The only thing needed of her was to convince Maximus to fall in love