Second instalment in the bold new historical fantasy of a secret order of Roman monster-hunters. “I am shadow, and I am terror. They call me Silent Claw.” Aemilius and his new comrades in the Hidden Legion have a new mission: to infiltrate the villa of a powerful politician and foil a plot against him. Posing as a servant to their host’s “cousin” and her “children”—the Legion’s latest recruits, a pair of adorable orphans trained in murder and espionage—Aemilius must keep his cover, while helping expose a killer who always seems one step ahead of them. As his newfound magical powers slowly unfold, he begins to hear the thoughts of animals and finds unexpected new allies, including a housecat with an inflated sense of its own importance. He’ll need all the help he can get, as the Legion find themselves locked in a desperate fight for survival against a foe with even darker and more terrible powers than those they faced in Alexandria.