Pontius tells Fallon and her fellow gladiatrices that they have come to put down a rebellion at the ludus and that they are to be rehabilitated. That night the Ludus Achillea is attacked, the stables burned, Fallon's sister Sorcha is missing and presumed dead, and Fallon and her fellow gladiatrices are prisoners of Pontius Aquilla, owner of the Ludus Amazona. Cai and his second Quintus arrive unexpectedly bearing the deed from Caesar, conferring ownership of the Ludus to Fallon's sister as Caesar promised. Life continues on, with Fallon pining for the Roman soldier she has fallen in love with, Decurion Caius Antonius Varro. The gladiatrices of Ludus Amazona meanwhile return to their barracks in the Ludus Achillea compound. The gladiatrices retire to an evening party held on the beach to celebrate their victory. The battle is being staged on Lake Sabatinus for the amusement of Cleopatra, Queen of Aegypt.įallon's ludus captures the flag on the Amazona's ship, ending the battle. Gladiatrices from the two rival warrior schools, the Ludus Achillea and the Ludus Amazona are in a pitched battle with wooden weapons. The novel opens with Fallon and her fellow gladiatrices part of a reenactment of the historic Battle of Mylea. In the process she was reunited with her long lost sister, Sorcha who is now called 'Lady Achillea, a former champion gladiatrix and current Lanista the of the Ludus Achillea' owned by Gaius Julius Caesar, Consul of Rome. Kidnapped from her village of Durovernum near the River Dwr on the Island of the Mighty, Fallon won a battle to become Caesar's Victrix. The Defiant is the second installment in Canadian author, Lesley Livingston's Valiant series which follows the adventures of the Cantii princess-turned-gladiator, Fallon.

The defiant by lesley livingston