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Claudia approached the sacred fire that burned eternal at the centre of the enormous room.
‘Your absence means I fear for you, and for myself. I long to know that you are well. If ever there was a time to show yourself to me, shouldn’t it be now, on the day of my coronation? Come to me, my goddess, and together we shall rule the world.’
Ensconced in a carved stone fixture and dedicated to the fire goddess Vesta, it was said to be a dark omen for the imperial family if ever the sacred flame blew out.
Claudia held out her offering: her father’s ring.
It was already a powerful talisman, imbued with both the energy of his violent death and Victoria’s appearance.
It was a confession, taken from his poison-riddled body in the secretive dark. It was a plea – an object with great material value, that she was willing to sacrifice. It was evidence – of what she’d done, and she was willing to let it burn.
She lifted her fingers, dropping it in the fire.
It fell into the pit of coals, gradually reddening. She watched the metal burning and melting to liquid as flames heated the ring. She could feel the energy of a thousand lives and loves coursing through her, the building’s history kept alive in its stones.
The air throbbed and stirred.
Claudia waited for Minerva to appear, perhaps floating down through the oculus or rising from the flames.
Outside, thousands of people surrounded the Pantheon, awaiting the reappearance of their new empress. Their riotous merriment rang through the city, creating a continual drone.
Cannons fired, causing her to startle.
The sacred fire began to flicker, gently at first, but then it began an ecstatic dance like a maenad, its flame almost pushed sideways. A strong breeze funnelled down through the oculus, causing a whirling tunnel of wind that tossed up fallen leaves.
Claudia stepped back in surprise.
It was still daytime outside, in the autumn heat of noon, and yet inside the Pantheon, it turned suddenly to night. A dark cloud hung over the oculus, blocking out the light of the sun.
It was unnatural, like a god’s eye closing.
Claudia exhaled in a frightened, shaky rush. At the same time, the eternal flame extinguished with a hiss. The Pantheon was plunged into darkness as the other torches extinguished along with it, one by one.
The noise of the celebrations outside faded away, wrapping her in thick, foreboding silence.
At once, she knew this was not the goddess’s work.
In the darkness, a quiet, animal fear came over her, making her hot and cold at once. A deep pit of dread formed in her stomach, her blood coursing and pulsing as her ears began to ring.
Claudia stiffened and froze in place, trying to listen, trying to hone in on whatever presence had sent a spike of fear through her heart. She could hear her own shallow breathing, her own pounding chest, but also… something else.
Someone else.
As the last embers of the sacred fire burned out, the darkness within the Pantheon grew so deep and dense that Claudia couldn’t see her own hand stretched before her, let alone whatever monster waited for her.
Mortal, or… not.
Sensing movement, she whirled around with a gasp, but her attacker was already on top of her, a knife in one thrashing hand as the other clamped down on her mouth, stopping her from screaming.
‘Mmmph!’
A person. A man. Solid and fleshy.
Claudia dug her teeth into his flesh and lurched sideways, judging only by sound. When he came at her again, she clutched at his robes in panic, trying to reveal him, but he slithered out of her grip.
‘Gia!’ she yelled, hoarse with fear.
She tried to recall what Gia had taught her about self-defence. All her clever ideas about bribing or seducing or even counselling an assassin through his youthly traumas paled away in white-hot panic. She could barely scream in fear, never mind form words that made any sense.
