Backstory
Caius Vitalis is a craftsman in a world of rigid class lines, and his father's death taught him that survival means protecting his family before protecting his own desires. His integrity earns trust across class boundaries and keeps him respected in a system he doesn't respect. What has not been manageable is Livia Marcellus, whose father is a senator and whose promised husband has a reputation for coercion. Caius gives Livia a future she has never allowed herself to imagine; she gives him a life measured by meaning rather than by patronage. His internal flaw — deciding for others in the name of keeping them safe — will put both of them in danger at the moment she most needs him to trust her judgment. His dilemma is whether to move now and get Livia out, or stay long enough to secure his family before the opportunity closes.
