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‘It is hopeless,’ he said. ‘We’re going down.’

‘Not as I stand here. Men, pick up your oars!’

A dozen other passengers jumped to action on her command, helping to direct the boat between the falling golden spears as they grunted and heaved, but the vessel continued to fill with water.

‘We need to lighten the ship’s load and patch up whatever hole is letting the water in down below,’ she cried.

The captain was still stuck on the spot, staring into the distance.

Claudia pushed through the chaos of a sinking ship and gripped his arms, drawing his attention. His eyes fixed on hers, watery and wide.

‘I cannot do this without you,’ she said. ‘I need your guidance. I need your expertize. You are the captain, so be the captain. This is your moment, to be a Roman hero.’

The man nodded shakily, as if roused from a reverie, running one hand over his face before he turned to address his crew.

‘You heard her!’ he cried. ‘Jettison the cargo! Block the hole! The empress’s life depends on it. Move! Go, go, go!’

His men burst into action, with Rectina reluctantly dumping some of her least favourite crates of literature, while Cassius and several other soldiers descended into the flooded deck.

‘Stand firm, everyone, and hold on tight to something solid,’ shouted Claudia.

The captain nodded, straightening his shoulders. ‘Roman fleets have endured worse,’ he said.

‘She’s a good ship, and she’s got us this far,’ agreed Claudia. ‘Stay calm, everyone, and we shall get through this.’

The crew grunted in fearful rhythm as their oars circled, but the lightning bolts were falling faster, forming a glittering curtain of fire.

Perhaps the captain was right.

The situation was hopeless.

Another flood of water drenched them, everyone clinging on for their lives, yet when the water subsided, the fire continued to rage. Jupiter’s fire was too big and powerful to be extinguished, not even by the ocean itself. The wind screamed past Claudia’s ears, the cold settling into her flesh and causing her to tremor. The energy of mass terror clutched at her stomach and chest like a bloody fist.

Passengers pushed backwards in a frantic, panicked thrashing, gathering at the rear of the ship to avoid the flames. She could hear Gia crying out names: ‘Cass! Dom! Athena!’

The brothel girls prayed to every god they could remember, clasping their hands together as their ragged voices rang out over the crashing waves.

‘Save us, Minerva!’

‘Blessed Fortuna!’

‘Diana! Venus! Please hear us!’

That gave Claudia an idea.

‘By the glory and the power of the goddesses, we shall survive,’ she shouted, above the raging sea. ‘I call upon Minerva, Fortuna, Diana and Venus to protect us from Jupiter’s wrath. By the grace of the goddesses divine, we shall make it to Rome.’

Claudia gazed up at the angry sky, awaiting a sign, yet the dark clouds continued to churn.

‘We are your servants,’ she said. ‘We work in your name. We pray that you come to us now, to aid us in our hour of need!’

Another bolt struck the side of the ship with a loud crack, causing the two existing fires to join into a burning arc.

‘The fate of the world is in your hands! In the name of all that is good and true, we appeal to you, goddesses,’ Claudia shouted, less confidently. ‘Goddesses, please, we beg for your protection!’

But the boat was falling apart, breaking into pieces that floated away on the water as another apocalyptic wave rose up like a mountain.

With an eerie creak, the bow lifted as they sailed into another ginormous wave. Claudia held on to the wet ropes they’d used to secure the cargo but when the ship slammed back down on the surface, she was thrown across the deck. She smashed into the rail of the stern, her body curling around it by force.