The year is the second century. The place is Alexandria, jewel of the Roman Empire, where Emperor Hadrian prepares to visit. In the Hall of the Muses, painters, sculptors, and architects raise their cups in desperate hope, for the Emperor's eye is said to be as sharp as his ambition. Pontius the architect and Pollux the young sculptor stand among them, their futures balanced on Hadrian's nod of approval. But beyond the festival lights, in the shadowed household of steward Keraunus, resentment festers. The Emperor's visit promises glory for some, ruin for others. Ebers, the Victorian master of historical fiction, weaves a tale where art is both weapon and vulnerability, where a single imperial decision can elevate a sculptor to immortality or shatter an architect's life's work. This is the third volume of a sweeping series that understands what every artist knows: the ruler's favor is a flame that warms and destroys in equal measure. For readers who crave the intoxicating mix of ancient settings and timeless human ambition.
