“My name is Lucius Aurelius Valens, and I am a soldier in the service of Rome.”A young Roman officer with a strong sense of justice and duty thwarts corrupt officials plundering the province of Syria and is marked for death. To save his life, he is sent to command a cavalry regiment stationed in ever-restless Judea. He expects only the thankless task of maintaining the Roman peace in a land where he and his soldiers are despised and feared... more“My name is Lucius Aurelius Valens, and I am a soldier in the service of Rome.”A young Roman officer with a strong sense of justice and duty thwarts corrupt officials plundering the province of Syria and is marked for death. To save his life, he is sent to command a cavalry regiment stationed in ever-restless Judea. He expects only the thankless task of maintaining the Roman peace in a land where he and his soldiers are despised and feared. But this peace is shattered when he and his men discover the massacre of a detachment of Praetorian Guards and the man they were protecting—a member of the Roman Senate and an ally of the emperor Tiberius himself. Plunged straight into a deadly web of murder and intrigue, Valens soon realizes far more is at stake than just his own life and honor.Valens must find those truly responsible. If he fails, he will be forced to destroy the nearest village in savage reprisal. But time is running out fast and there are many—including some under his own command—who are sure the Roman peace can only be maintained by terror and the use of overwhelming force. To save innocent lives, he must first pierce the veil of secrecy surrounding the senator’s strange journey through one of the empire’s most dreary backwaters. What was Decimus Junius Silanus seeking? And why was he killed?Surrounded by strange prophecies, eerie omens, and hidden agendas, Valens races to uncover the truth, to confront a ruthless, powerful enemy, and to meet a destiny that he could never have imagined. less
