Four of the emperor’s lictors burst into his room and dragged him from his bed. Rough hands pinned his arms behind him. One of the men threw a traveling cloak at him. “Put it on.” “My—my shoes,” he stammered. He could think of nothing else to say. O...
The morning bell dinned in our ears, and again all Iceland tumbled out of its tent, plunged its face in cold river water, brushed its teeth with a birch twig, and put on its finery—all in a great state of excitement, because today was the day set aside for trials. Before this day was out, there w...
She had lain awake for hours, writing and rewriting the thing in her head. She still didn’t know what she should say, only that she must say something. Taking a lamp, she crept out into the antechamber of their bedroom, sat down at the small table and opened the tabellae that lay on it, the waxed...
While the rest of the fleet stayed safely out in mid-channel, we leapt down warily onto the narrow beach with our swords drawn. As we stood at the foot of the steps uncertain what to do, a raven, roosting on the parapet above, gave out a sudden squawk and flapped away. Where it had strutted a sol...