PROLOGUE

Yaung Chi, the God of Courage, sat among the trees, staring at the stars and brooding in frustration. All his careful plans were on the verge of collapse. He had risked the forbidden in a desperate bid to save Sapientia and himself, the only Gods still alive. What choice did he have? Time was running out. Most of the machines that had sustained them for millennia no longer functioned and were beyond repair. Once the few remaining ones failed, the age of the Gods would end, and everything they had stood for would be lost forever. This last gamble had to succeed. 

He couldn’t help replaying everything that had gone wrong, starting with Spero. That damn reptile is ignoring my commands, blocking me again, and leaving me blind. He’s developed a mind of his own. I should never have given him such powerful enhancements. I’m supposed to be a God, controlling everything, yet I can’t even control one of my creations. Without my link to him, I have no idea where Jayden is or what he’s doing. Sapientia always said I was far too rash for my own good. 

Yaung Chi was determined to save his plan, whatever the cost. Protecting Jayden was the key, but it was easier said than done with so few tools left at his disposal. I don’t care if Jayden is captured,
but I can’t let him die before he turns twenty-five, when his enhancement reaches full strength. Everything rests on his blood saving what’s left of us. If this blows up in my face, Sapientia will be furious and will never forgive me! She may kill me herself!

*****

Jamarian Veturius waited anxiously for the next quetza from Hirpa, hoping for good news. Jayden Arcadius had to be on his way there. Where else could he go? Two days earlier, the Gray Legion had stumbled upon the remnants of a Quadi band and confirmed that Jayden and his friends had escaped their clutches. Jamarian was impressed. So far, the boy, aided by a couple of renegade Gray Hearts, the Cambiati, and his pet nemisaur, had eluded his enhanced warriors and the Sine Nomine more than once. Now they had decimated a group of Quadi fighters. For a supposed misfit, he was proving surprisingly resourceful.

However, Consus Dio’s timely switch of allegiances offered a golden opportunity to recapture Jayden much earlier than he’d imagined. An overwhelming force of Gray Hearts was at the Cambiati safe house near Hirpa. Taj was among them. With her extraordinary reach, she would sense the quetza carrying Jayden from a remarkable distance and spring the trap before he even knew danger was near. The only wild card was that incredible nemisaur, which seemed able to reach even farther. 

Jamarian knew he couldn’t afford another setback, not with the patricians circling him like hungry velociraptors. Nevertheless, he was confident the noose was tightening. The Regenerator is running out of places to hide. He’ll be back in my hands soon enough, and all my dreams will come true. With him at my side, I’ll live for decades more and take my rightful place among the greatest Imperators.

*****

Zafir Folsius was deeply troubled as he strapped himself onto Atticus Quintus’s quetza. The Purple had arrived at the rendezvous point to pick him up without detecting any Gray Legion quetzas that should have been swarming across Raetia in search of Jayden. That was unexpected. Zafir couldn’t help but fear the worst, wondering whether Jamarian had recalled them because Jayden had been recaptured. As a father, he also worried about what would happen to his children if they had been taken captive with Jayden.

Zafir had briefly discussed these possibilities with Senji Severus, who emphasized that they shouldn’t jump to conclusions and should continue as planned until they had hard information rather than conjecture. Despite his calm exterior, Zafir sensed the Red was equally unsettled.

Consequently, instead of looking forward to returning home after decades away, Zafir was gripped by dread he couldn’t shake throughout the long flight to Alba Longa. His first act upon arrival would be to send a messenger reptile to Consus Dio to confirm that Jayden and his children were safe at the hunting lodge. Only a positive response would ease his fears. 

He tried not to dwell on the worst-case scenario, but it kept creeping back. If Jamarian had Jayden, the news would spread quickly across the empire, demoralizing the Cambiati and shattering his plans. It would change everything. His anxiety mounted with each passing mile. Without Jayden, an alliance with Akkad would be impossible; Jamarian’s reign would be extended by decades; the Cambiati would lose everything; and he and his family would be wiped out.