"Every great loss demands its rightful grief; but in the ashes of ruin lies the seed of transformation."

INTRODUCTION

Rome is a city of wolves. Beneath the marble pillars and the laurels of empire, ambition stalks every shadow, and love is just another game to be weaponized. Its foundations—grandeur carved from the blood of slaves—are rotting beneath the weight of its greed, and the gods, if they ever watched, now turn their faces away.

Lucius is a man shaped by the empire's cruelty. Once a noble son, now a gladiator in chains, he is a ghost haunting the Colosseum sands, a shadow that refuses to die. His name is whispered among the masses, not as a hero, but as a man who has learned to endure—to survive the brutality of Rome with his defiance intact. But survival has never been enough for Lucius. Somewhere beneath the rage and the scars, he still dreams of freedom.

Aurelia Caelia is no stranger to the empire's games. Draped in silk and weighed down by the expectations of her bloodline, she has mastered the art of quiet rebellion. As the niece of Senator Claudius—a man who wields power like a blade—Aurelia has spent her life navigating the fine line between obedience and defiance. But when her uncle plots to marry her off to Emperor Geta, the more ruthless of the twin rulers, Aurelia feels the noose tighten. Her gilded cage is about to become a tomb.

And then, she sees him.

It is not love at first sight—Rome has long since killed such naïve notions—but there is something in Lucius that draws her closer. Perhaps it is the fire in his eyes, a rage that mirrors her own, or the way he stands unbroken even in chains. Whatever it is, it terrifies her. It consumes her. And she cannot stay away.

What begins as a curiosity becomes an obsession. In secret corners of the Colosseum, beneath the watchful eyes of an empire that would see them destroyed, their connection deepens. Aurelia finds in Lucius the kind of raw, untamed freedom she has always craved, while Lucius sees in Aurelia the spark of something he thought he had lost—a reason to fight beyond survival.

But Rome is a cruel mistress, and love is a dangerous indulgence. As the foundations of Rome begin to crumble, so too do the walls around Lucius and Aurelia. In a world where power poisons the soul and ambition leaves nothing untouched, Lucius and Aurelia must decide how much they are willing to sacrifice—not just for each other, but for the chance to reclaim their lives.

Because in Rome, the wolves are always watching, and the foundations of decay are built on the ashes of those who dared to dream.