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Otho’s Regret
Book 3 in the The Four Emperors series.
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Rome, AD 69. Otho has seized the throne through a bloody coup only to learn that the Rhine legions have already proclaimed Aulus Vitellius emperor. The generals Fabius Valens and Aulus Caecina Alienus march enormous armies towards Italy while Otho tries to transform the conspirators, palace officials and guards who raised him up into a functioning government. Early successes encourage resistance, but every delay increases the cost of civil war.
Antonia Caenis returns from Judaea carrying plans connected to Vespasian, whose eastern command may eventually offer an alternative to both rivals. Epaphroditus, Philo and the surviving palace household must decide whether service to an emperor means loyalty to a person or to the state they keep operating. The campaign culminates in Otho’s decision after defeat, presenting his regret not simply as remorse for Galba’s murder but as recognition of the wider destruction unleashed by his pursuit of power.
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