Fierce Lilia is the rarest of commodities: a female gladiator.

Placed in the arena for entertainment and expected to perish, she has clawed her way to the top and is now the most feared woman in all of Rome. Taught to fight and kill without emotion, the last thing Lilia ever expected to feel was pleasure. Or love. But when Christus, a warrior with his own demons to excise, is sold to the ludus that owns Lilia, she finds herself forced to fight to stay on top—and to stay out of his arms. Yet their blood–thirsty sport unleashes a passion that threatens to consume them both...and unmask them as lovers to the rest of the ludus. When Gaius, the twisted brother of the emperor, reveals his challenge for the gladiators: a battle to the death for the champions of Rome, Christus and Lilia must fight to win their freedom, their lives...and each other.