Former gladiator Saevius is certain Fortuneâs smiling on him when a Pompeiian politician buys him to be his bodyguard. That is until his new master, Laurea Calvus, orders Saevius to discover the gladiator with whom his wife is having a sordid affair. In order to do that, Saevius must return to the arena, training alongside the very men on whom heâs spying. Worse, heâs now under the command of Drusus, a notoriously cruelâand yet strangely intriguingâlanista.
But Saeviusâs ruse is the least of his worries. Thereâs more to the affair than a wife humiliating her prominent husband, and now Saevius is part of a dangerous game between dangerous men. He isnât the only gladiator out to expose the Lady Verinaâs transgressions, and her husband wants more than just the guilty manâs name.
When Saevius learns the truth about the affair, heâs left with no choice but to betray a master: one heâs come to fear, one heâs come to respect, and either of whom could have him killed without repercussion.
For the first time in his life, the most dangerous place for this gladiator isnât the arena.
This 52,500 word novel was previously published under the pseudonym L.A. Witt, and has been lightly revised.