The comparison fit. The bulla’s magic crashed into me in waves, not droplets, always so much more than I could absorb. And I always felt its weight, even when the bulla was cold.

“This used to belong to Caesar,” I said.

“Until he abandoned it, and eventually, Venus withdrew her powers from it as well. But Caesar chose a most interesting place to bury it.”

“In a cave near Lake Nemi,” I said. “In the shadow of Diana’s temple.”

“Where I first met you.” Valerius frowned. “We heard Caesar’s treasure had been discovered and went to search for that bulla. Though once I saw the mark on your back, I suspected the bulla had already been found.”

“Why do you want the bulla, sir? Without magic —”

“Better I have it than the person who wishes to destroy Rome.” Valerius stood and walked closer to me, then sat on the corner of his desk. “Nic, you hold the first of three amulets. Each will make the powers of the Divine Star stronger, and each will give you additional powers. This one, for example, allows you to talk to animals and gives you great strength.”

“Because that’s what Diana could do,” I mumbled. “She powers this amulet now.”

“You may yet discover other powers, though if you lose the bulla, you will lose its powers too.”

I paused while the warning in my gut battled with my desire to know more. Finally, with a question in my tone, I said. “There are two other amulets …”

“The Malice of Mars, which gives its bearer victory in battle. And a third amulet, the Jupiter Stone, which carries rewards so powerful that many men have given their lives hoping to obtain it. So far, none have succeeded. But it all starts with that amulet you wear. The emperor wants it. He’s afraid of you, Nic.”

“He shouldn’t be.”

“He’d be a fool not to fear you. Rome hasn’t seen magic like that in nearly three hundred years.”

I shifted in my seat. “But I’ve made a bargain with the emperor. If I can deliver Radulf to him, stripped of his magic, then he will grant my freedom and I’ll be able to walk away from here forever.”

“Radulf is no easy target.” Valerius began pacing beside me. “When he first came to Rome, Radulf was such a good fighter, Emperor Gallienus thought he would entertain the people well. So they made him a gladiator. It was a fatal mistake. Radulf’s only fear in the arena was the lions, but he defeated them, and won the hearts of the people. Eventually, he gained enough influence to have Gallienus murdered. He was the first of many emperors Radulf has removed from power.”

“Does Emperor Tacitus know that Radulf has magic?”

“He knows, but what can he do about it?” Valerius fingered the purple edging on his toga. “Radulf commands the entire military. He also controls the Praetorian Guard, which protects the emperor’s life. Or takes it.”

“Then it’s just a matter of time,” I said. “If Radulf wants the throne, it’s his.”

“That isn’t what Radulf wants. A war is coming, Nic, and it is for the control of those three amulets. On one side is Radulf, who will use them to destroy the empire, and then build it up again in his own image. With no Senate, and no government other than himself. He wishes to be worshipped, like the gods. Nobody can stop him” — his eyes drifted over to me — “except for someone else with magic.”

Hearing those words sent shivers down my spine. I straightened my back, hoping to hold my courage together. Or at least, I pretended courage worked that way. I said, “And so I am on the other side of this war? No! All I want is to fulfill my bargain with the emperor and walk free!”

“And I will help you do it, but hiding you here is dangerous. So if you want to stay, then it’s only fair that you help me too!”

I looked back at him steadily. “You want me to find the other amulets.”

Valerius folded his arms and stared at me. “I cannot allow Radulf to get them first.”

My hand stroked the bulla’s face. By now, I knew every ridge of its delicate carvings. “Do you know where they are?”

“I do. But the answer isn’t good.” Valerius began pacing again. “The secret for creating a Jupiter Stone is guarded by the Praetors of Rome. They are …”

“Dangerous,” I finished, grateful for what Felix had already told me about them.

He smiled. “They could be, if they decide to follow Radulf. They guard enough secrets to collapse the world beneath the emperor’s feet.”

“Surely the Praetors are already loyal to the empire?”

“Not necessarily. They will obey the presiding magistrate of the Senate.”

“Senator Horatio,” I breathed. His name was sour on my tongue.

“Horatio has no loyalty to the emperor. If he throws his public support behind Radulf, then the Praetors will follow him, and the war — the Praetor War — begins.”

“Senator Horatio has the Malice of Mars?”

Valerius shook his head, and only then could I breathe again. But he said, “Not yet. But because of his position in the Senate, Horatio is the keeper of the key that unlocks the Malice. If Horatio knew where the Malice is, I believe he would have already given the key to Radulf.”

I asked, “So how do I get the key from Horatio?” Because I’d sooner cozy up to a skunk. Which, as I considered it, didn’t seem all too different.

Valerius wasn’t ready to share that yet. He only said, “I can find a way for both of us to succeed. But while I work on that idea, you must work on your magic.”

I grinned with anticipation at that. “It could be dangerous. You saw what happened in the amphitheater.”

“Then I will help you learn. You must do this, Nic. To save the Senate, to save the empire. And to save yourself.”

It was the third bargain I had made today, and all of them had been necessary. By the end of this, Rome would be safe, my magic would be strong, and Livia and I would walk away as free persons. Or I would be dead. None of it would be easy, and maybe it wasn’t even possible. But I was committed now.

Valerius put a hand on my shoulder. Instinctively, I jumped away from it, and he raised both arms to show me he wasn’t posing a threat. “I can see how tired you are, how much the bulla is weighing you down,” he said. “Sleep tonight, and we’ll talk more in the morning.”

I let him lead me from his office, but stopped in the doorway and said, “Does Radulf know Horatio supports him?”

“There are only two kinds of Romans,” Valerius said. “Those who support Radulf, and those he intends to destroy. For that reason, Radulf assumes everyone supports him.” He nodded toward the bulla on my chest. “In you, we finally have an answer to Radulf’s powers. Trust me, Nic, if I could use the magic, I would grant your freedom myself. But that bulla is useless in my hands. At least in yours, the empire has a chance.”

The way he said it, my task seemed so big. No, it was so big. I had proposed a plan to move mountains, when I still lacked the ability to move a fistful of dirt.

“Things will look brighter tomorrow. You need sleep.”

I needed practice. Radulf had told me that magic was a muscle, and it was true that I was feeling it more every day. But learning to control it was an entirely different matter.

“What about Aurelia?” I asked. “The girl who came with me?”

“She’ll have her own room. She will be treated as a lady here. I promise you that.”

After a moment’s hesitation, I followed him to a bedroom directly across from the atrium. Once he’d left, I examined the room more carefully. There was a table in one corner with a bowl of olives that I immediately ate, despite not being particularly hungry. An actual book lay on the table too, though the words were too difficult for me. More important, a real bed stretched along the far wall. Even before the mines, when my mother kept Livia and me in hiding from the slavers, we never had beds. For months, we traveled anywhere that seemed safe, away from Gaul, and certainly away from Rome. We slept in the woods, sheltered by trees, or in the corners of barns. If I’d ever had a real bed, I didn’t remember it. Now I walked closer and stroked the mattress. It was so thick with feathers that I wondered if it might swallow me up once I lay upon it. So I didn’t. I grabbed the light blanket from on top of the mattress, and then lay down on the hard floor, where I felt more comfortable. With my cheek on the cool concrete, I faced out the doorway, staring at the moonlight, which still poured into the atrium through the overhead window.