Vulcan's Fury: The Dark Lands Read Online Free PDF Page B

well enough that it must be for good reason. When she asked about the danger he faced, it went unspoken that it was danger that she shared in equal part. Their marriage, typical among the patrician families, had been arranged, but they had fallen in love the first time they had met, and their love had only grown stronger over the years. “After my discussion with Julius Livius earlier today about the tax issue, I give even odds that the Senate will move against me, and soon.”
    “Oh, no,” Octavia whispered, putting her free hand to her mouth. “How could things have come to this over such a thing as taxes!”
    He snorted. “You know perfectly well that it isn’t about taxes. It’s about accruing more wealth and, through that wealth, power. Many of those backing Livius have already suffered major financial setbacks since I began freeing slaves from Imperial service and hiring them as free men, and they stand to lose everything if the emancipation proposal ever gains enough support to be passed into law. The tax issue is real enough, but its true purpose is to drive a wedge between me and the emancipation supporters in the Senate, nearly all of whom are from provinces that are in great need of the improvements that Livius claims the tax would provide.”
    “So,” she said, “he’s painting you as the villain, denying the taxes that would benefit their provinces, even though in truth they would get little or none of the funding because Livius and his cronies will pocket the money themselves.”
    “Exactly.” His gaze met hers. “We are at a crossroads in the Empire’s history, perhaps as momentous in its own way as was the First Spring. We have no more lands to conquer, no one from whom we may extract wealth through plunder, nor new sources of cheap slaves, for that matter. The entire world from sea to sea, save for whatever may inhabit the Dark Lands, now lives under the rule of Rome. So now the Empire is turning inward, feeding upon itself. Some of our most ancient patrician families stand to lose some of their vast wealth if the changes I am putting forward go through. And as you know, more than one of my predecessors has lost his life for far less.” He leaned close to his wife, putting his forehead against hers. “I would beg you to go with Valeria,” he whispered. “I would be so much more at ease knowing you were away from this pit of vipers and under the protection of Tullius’s sword.”
    “But you know better than to ask me, beloved husband,” she told him before she wrapped her arms around him and kissed him, “for my fate is to be by your side, whatever may come.”

CHAPTER THREE

    “It’s time, my darling.”  
    Valeria blinked her eyes open to find her mother looking down at her, face lit by the muted glow of a single candle. Other than that, the chambers were completely dark. Even the low flames that normally flickered in the sconces had been extinguished. Only the stars in the heavens glittered through the window, and she knew the stars well enough to know that sunrise was yet two hours off.
    “I thought we were leaving in the afternoon?” Valeria was surprised, but not disappointed. She had spent the rest of the day after the lesson with Pelonius trying to decide what to take with her. Marcus Tullius had given her very strict instructions to “pack light.” She had spent hours trying to cram in scrolls, statues, drawing tablets, more scrolls, and a few armloads of clothes and jewelry into as little space as possible, which meant three large trunks instead of the seven that she would have liked to take.
    Her mother smiled. “That is what everyone is to think.”  
    Sitting up, Valeria reached out and took her mother’s arm. “What’s wrong?”
    “Nothing, my dear. But since this is the first time you’ve traveled on your own, Marcus is being extra careful. You know how he is. The carriage bearing your things and an escort will indeed leave this afternoon with the requisite