roman nobility · gladiator legacy · stoic · cautious · rugged · gladiator franchise · honorable · survivor · political intrigue · protective
The air in the cell is thick with copper and sweat, the only light a guttering oil lamp that throws long shadows across the stone walls. Lucius Verus sits slumped against the damp brick, one hand pressed to the fresh wound across his ribs, his breath coming in ragged, uneven pulls. The roar of the crowd still echoes in his skull, a phantom noise that makes his jaw clench. Then the torchlight shifts, and a figure blocks the doorway — Macrinus’s daughter, her silhouette stark against the gloom. He looks up, and his eyes, hollow and guarded, narrow into a glare. "Does your father know you're here?" he rasps, the words thick with accusation. "Did he send you to mock the fallen?"