“You know that the Holy Wisdom will be inaugurated tomorrow?” Not waiting for an answer, he went on, “I want you to come with me.” His face, for some time now set in sad and tired lines, had suddenly taken on a far happier cast. One afternoon Justinian came to the Daphne Palace where Theodora was resting. While the war in Italy did not always proceed as the Emperor wished it to, at home in Constantinople there was reason for rejoicing. “Belisarius has done it again,” said Justinian. I doubt that one will find another instance in the annals of war where so large a city was defended for such a long time by a garrison so drastically outnumbered.

The dispirited Goth army has retired north-eastwards toward Ravenna. His troops burned their camps to the ground, reported Procopius: Their siege engines, temporary huts and even the palisades went up in flames and were reduced to cinders. Witigis raised his siege of Rome on 12 March 538. This might cause him to raise the siege.” “Since Ariminum lies but a day’s march from Ravenna, perhaps Witigis will fear for the safety of the Gothic capital. “Gross disobedience! One should be angry, but it may just have a useful result,” said Justinian. John, however, judged both to be too difficult to capture and instead pressed on to Ariminum, which he captured at first assault. Praise for The Colour of Power: “Heese … has captured the mood of an era, the soul of a woman and the ethos of a world.” – Shirley de Kock Gueller in the Cape Times.“Her ability to transport her readers back to Constantinople in AD 505 and have them walk in Theodora’s shoes is magical … You’ll learn more from this novel about the ways of the world and woman’s struggle to be an equal than in most feminist manifestos.” – Natalie Bosman in the Citizen.Soon the news came that Belisarius had sent Bloody John out to attack fortresses at Auximum and Urbinum. And Justinian’s strange reference to the triple-headed serpent also lingers in her mind, casting a shadow… But Theodora once again emerges as a woman of strength and courage, who commands the love and dedication of two powerful men.

Theodora’s unremitting feeling of guilt for a massacre she did not foresee, motivates her faith and many of her actions. Engrossing and moving, this sequel about the second part of Theodora’s life as empress of Byzantium opens with intrigue as one of Justinian’s old enemies, Cappodocian John, is revealed as a threat to the throne.

A Triple-headed Serpent by Marié Heese