Cirrus@Austlit

'THERE IS A SHE-WOLF IN THE SHADOWS…

'It is 44BC and the rival clans of Rome are driving the Republic towards a violent, blood-soaked end. The jealous Claudians covet the power of the Julians, who are kings in all but name.

'A tiny infant utters the prophecy of a goddess. If the darkly beautiful thirteen year old Livia Drusilla marries her bastard cousin, eleven year old Tiberius Nero, four great kings of Rome will spring from her womb. Four great Claudian kings…

'Livia and her child groom begin their star-crossed marriage, but scheming Livia has dangerous ideas. She believes herself greater than the gods, and she doubts the interpretation of the prophecy.

'When Julius Caesar is murdered the fortunes of the Claudians take a sudden, deadly turn. The great patricians become paupers, and Livia and her husband must flee Rome or face being killed as criminals.

'But Rome falls under the spell of Caesar's golden-haired nephew, Octavian. The youthful dictator in the making offers Livia and her boy husband forgiveness. Yet Livia sees more than the promise of mere forgiveness in Rome's most desired new man. She sees Octavian as the true sire for her prophesised kings. And she sees her own chance for power…

'So begins a murderous tale of sex, corruption and obsession as Livia pursues her great destiny.

No crime is too shocking. No sin is too low. No evil is beyond her grasp.

'Narrated by the 100 year old slave, Iphicles, and set in a time where no woman could hope to wield power, DEN OF WOLVES brings life to the legendary women behind the legendary men. With ambition, beauty and cunning as their weapons, the women of Rome are history's unsung survivors. Unsung until now… ' (Publication summary)

'Rome is bathed in blood as the Emperor Tiberius is tormented by drug-fuelled terrors of treason. The innocent are butchered while the guilty do evil in darkness. None are guiltier than the Emperor's devoted and deluded 'son', Sejanus.

'In this city of poison three beautiful women are locked in a lethal rivalry…

'Agrippina. Driven mad with grief, her obsession with revenge for her murdered husband imperils the lives of her children.

'Apicata. Robbed of her eyes and embittered in her heart, she schemes in the shadows to empower the husband who despises her.

'Livilla. Sensual and sly, she is gripped by a lust for a lover as deadly as he is desirable.

'Three women. One goal. Who will be Empress of Rome?

'Moving stealthily among them is Iphicles, arch schemer and slave, whose haunted heart is lightened by the eunuch Lygdus, his willing apprentice in murder. With paralysed Livia now a helpless captive to her slave, it is the repellent brat Little Boots' turn to profit from prophecy. But as Iphicles' deadly plan to enthrone Little Boots unfolds, Livia struggles secretly towards recovery with the help of the sorceress Martina. Rome is a nest of vipers, and Livia, the one true Empress of Rome, is hell-bent on wreaking her vengeance…

'Nest of Vipers is the second volume in the gripping Empress of Rome series.' (Publication summary)