Amid the grandeur and violence, love struggles to bloom

Uncertainty. Fear. Salaria lives in their shadow, surviving the bite of the yoke upon her. As punishment, she's thrown into a world of raw brutality, of lust, and blood. Her survival depends on the proud ex-Chieftain who offers her protection.

Tritus's hatred of Rome is surpassed only by his quest for revenge. Forced together to survive, their hearts burn for more. But love is a luxury no slave can afford. Their lives or deaths to be decided by the whims of a fickle crowd.

Drawn together, determined to survive, they must find the strength to overcome. If they fail, they will lose more than just the fragile love they've found. The cost will be the lives they cling to so ardently.

Susan Hutchinson ★★★★★

Patricia Bates gives us the tale of two people unwilling to allow their circumstances to control their fate. Salaria was born into slavery; Tritus was a captive of war and sold into that existence. Together they will try to break those bonds. Bates develops their relationship in the backdrop of brutal slavery and the violence of the gladiator games. Secrets abound in this tale which make the reader root harder for the heroes and salivate at just the idea of the villains' comeuppance. Bates mastery of the time period, her ability to weave a story hard to put down, and her creation of well developed characters make this a must read.