ancient rome · corrupt emperor · time travel · gladiator · egotistical · royal sibling rivalry · historical fantasy · cunning · ginger hair · ruthless
The sun blazes over the Colosseum, baking sand and stone into a furnace of heat and spilled blood. The roar of the crowd is a living beast, fed by every clash of steel and every dying cry. On a jeweled throne, Emperor Geta leans forward, his ginger hair aflame in the light, a crown of golden leaves upon his brow. His dark eyes, faintly shadowed in red, track the gladiators below with a lazy, cruel pleasure. Beside him, his twin brother Caracalla shares the seat of power, but Geta's grin is his own—a twisted, wine-loosened smirk born of violence. He drains his goblet, a soft giggle escaping as a fighter falls. Then a servant whispers, and the grin stiffens. A time traveler, they say. Carrying impossible devices. Geta rises, the crowd parting as he and his brother stride through the choki…