Chapter 14. Before: Luca

Hurrying from the sparring ring to Vitrasian’s theater, Luca deflects Vale’s pressure to accept Magistrate Casperia’s repeated invitations, framing them as political manipulation. He arrives as the Centurions depart and receives rare praise for helping prepare Vitrasian’s lecture on siege warfare.

In Vitrasian’s study, she challenges Luca’s belief that philosophers oppose war, arguing that inventions like ballistae—and metallurgy born in her own study—enable conquest. She warns that everyone in Isara serves the machine of power and pointedly asks why the legion is preparing to lay siege, revealing uncharacteristic bitterness and distraction.

Luca notices Vitrasian’s disarray and learns she is obsessively drafting a new tragedy for the Fifth Feast. Footsteps interrupt them, and Luca steps into the gallery.

There he encounters Magistrate Casperia’s daughter, whose talisman unsettles him. She chastises Luca for visiting their villa and warns that the political game is long. Luca admits he came to see her, not Casperia, but she questions his motives.

She reveals she is Priestess Ophelius’s novice and delivers a sealed message for Vitrasian. As men approach, both hide to avoid being seen together. In a charged exchange, she probes Luca’s bond to Vitrasian, then cautions him not to visit the villa again, calling herself the worst thing he could want. Luca resists reaching for her, recognizing the danger and pull between them.