Romulus Must Die
They say I murdered my twin brother.To save the empire, I may have to prove them right.
PUBLISHING 15 DECEMBER 2026
The Story
They say I murdered my twin brother. To save the empire, I may have to prove them right.The aether flowers are dying, and the empire’s light is thinning.Romulus and I were raised to compete for the right to rule. Father favoured him, while I had to fight my sickly lungs to earn his approval.Then one night, Romulus vanished.When Father ordered my arrest, I fled, hunted for a murder I did not commit.But Romulus lives.He has joined a cult of burn-scarred fanatics. Black poppies bloom from their victims’ corpses, spreading to destroy the flowers that guard our empire.Beneath the phoenix standards of the legions and beyond a frontier of lethal flowers, I will hunt the cult to find my brother—and uncover why he left me.I seek to bring him home. But he has become key to the cult’s plans.To save my people, I may have to take his life—and become the killer Father believes I am.Hail and farewell, Romulus.
A Roman-inspired Epic Fantasy
Romulus Must Die is the debut novel by Australian fantasy author Julian Anton and the first book in The Elegies of Marcellus Valahar, a Roman-inspired epic fantasy series.Set in a dying empire sustained by magical flowers, the novel follows a man accused of murdering his twin brother as he searches for the truth amid political intrigue, military conflict and betrayal.
For readers of
The Will of the Many (James Islington)
Red Rising (Pierce Brown)
Ironbound (Andrew Givler)
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About the author
Julian Anton writes fantasy, thrillers and historical fiction inspired by history, ancient mythology and timeless human themes. Romulus Must Die is his debut novel.He lives in Sydney, Australia with his wife and daughter.