Jack and the Witch of Carnuntum

Clara was born to die. As the sacred vessel of her Germanic clan, her path into the bog's cold, black waters was set long ago. But when a murderous band of raiders slaughters her priests, she is dragged off as exotic plunder to the far edge of the Roman Empire. In the roaring amphitheater of Carnuntum, she is condemned to die on the cross.

Marcus Valerius Iaccus — born in the gutter of Rome, risen to become a feared prefect — learned across countless wars to bury his heart behind a wall of cynicism. Hollowed out by a grief he cannot name, he comes to this very arena seeking his own end. He buys the right to face an overwhelming force of barbarian raiders alone in the sand — and pulls the mystic healer back from certain death in a brutal slaughter.

It is the start of a dangerous pact. As Clara's ancient healing magic drags the gravely wounded warrior back from the grave, an untamed passion ignites between them. But the power-hungry editor Frontinus and Carnuntum's hypocritical elite are already plotting revenge — planning the next, fatal spectacle in the sand. They believe they can break the witch and the warrior. What they don't know: the true predators have already taken off their masks.