Page 61
‘How can a noble from another land help?’ said Gia. ‘What power does he have in Rome?’
‘That other land is Persia. Persia is a thorn in the empire’s side. Romans have long feared they might build a superior civilization. If I had a connection to Persia that Marcellus did not, it might prevent him from trying to creep his way onto the throne.’
‘Right,’ Gia said, obviously unhappy.
‘It would merely be a business arrangement. A political alliance. It’s a tale as old as time. It would mean nothing,’ said Claudia.
‘It would mean something to me,’ said Gia.
Claudia gave her a fraught, conflicted look.
‘You knew this,’ she said. ‘We have discussed it before. I told you, back in Pompeii.’
‘You are empress now. And if you are empress, then nothing should prevent us from being together,’ said Gia.
‘Or perhaps it is even more difficult.’
‘Isn’t that the privilege of power? Emperors have done much more unthinkable things to serve their own needs. I’m sure that one of them had a male lover or two, if I remember the rumours right.’
‘It is different for men, and you know it.’
‘No one is expecting you to stand on the balcony and announce that you dine on Lesbos, but…’
‘What?’ Claudia said.
‘I don’t know… How long could we carry on like this? For how many years would we live in secrecy?’
They stared at each other a moment, aware of the strange power imbalance between them.
‘I know we talked about Darius and I accepted it,’ said Gia. ‘It’s just, seeing him now, and hearing you talk about it… it feels very real. Too real. I’m struggling with the idea more than I thought I would. And what of his feelings? He might not see this as simply a betrothal of convenience. He might expect you to provide him with an heir. What then?’
Claudia had already considered the possibility, but she was yet to come to a conclusion on the issue of lineage.
‘You are right,’ she conceded. ‘There is a great deal for him to gain from the situation, and a great deal for us to fear. But he will surely approach this from a practical perspective. He will be more concerned by treaties and borders than romance. I don’t think I need to worry about hurting his feelings. Only yours, and my own.’
‘Someone getting hurt seems pretty inevitable to me,’ said Gia.
‘Not if we’re on the same page. Can you trust that there’s no interest on my side, no matter how it looks?’
‘I suppose I must.’
‘Charming the prince is important, a delicate act of diplomacy, but it isn’t worth losing you for. Nothing is. I swore that nothing would come between us, and I meant it.’
Claudia reached out to touch Gia’s face.
She yearned for her, even though she was standing right in front of her, as if her well of desire would never be fulfilled. She could never get enough. It was insatiable.
She would give up anything to be empress, to serve the goddesses and fulfil destiny, but not Gia.
She would not sacrifice Gia. She would not sacrifice love.
Anything but that.
9. THE PRINCE OF PERSIA
Claudia continued to watch the prince’s advance through the shield, though she couldn’t share what she’d learned with her advisors or risk revealing Minerva’s gift. She waited until Darius sent riders ahead of his party to announce their imminent arrival. Only then could she gather her staff and begin preparations, putting them slightly behind schedule.
The palace burst into a frenzy of diplomatic hospitality, as servants began polishing every stone and stitching every robe, cleaning every amphora, painting every pillar and filling every crack.
