Page 102 of Cleopatra

I woke with Caesarion in my arms, my nose pressed to his neck. He smelled of Caesar.

“He would not sleep in his rooms; I did not think you would mind.”

I looked into Charmion’s eyes, which reflected the candle-light. “Tell me it was all a nightmare,” I whispered, pulling Caesarion closer.

“It was not,” she said gently. “I am so sorry.”

She came to me and kissed my forehead. But even she could not soothe my grief.

“How long was I asleep?”

“Half a day.”

“Marcus?”

“He paces the hallways beyond. He has more to tell you.”

“Send for him,” I said.

I did not rise from the bed, I did not arrange my hair. I simply lay there, my hair undone, my kohl smudged from the tears. It was not a great distance from the woman he had first met.

“Pharaoh.” He bowed low upon entering. “I am sorry to add further to your burden, but I have seen Caesar’s will.” He hesitated, his gaze going to the sleeping Caesarion.

“Yes?”

“He did not claim your son as his heir. His great-nephew Octavian has been named.”

I have wondered countless times since whether Caesar knew what he had done. Whether poor administration was to blame, or shrewd politics.

Had he known the war that was to come, would he have done the same?

“Impossible,” I said, too loudly. Caesarion stirred. I laid a hand on his heart, like his father had done just that morning, and he settled again.

“It is true,” Antonius said. “The senate is in turmoil and I cannot guarantee your safety. Your son may be seen as a threat to succession, and I know not who to trust.”

“We must leave Rome,” I surmised.

“Immediately.”

I looked to Charmion and nodded once. She hurried from the room to begin the preparations.

“Why did you not save him?” I asked.

Antonius clenched the hilt of his sword, his knuckles going white. “They lured me away from the senate. If I had been there, I would have fought Caesar’s foes with blade and fist.”

“By your reckoning, they were many?”

He grimaced. “More than there should have been.”

I closed my eyes as tears seeped down my face. “How could this have happened?”

Antonius’s reply was full of anguish. “I do not know.”

Caesarion awoke from his nap and upon seeing my tears began to cry too. The sound appeared to torture Antonius.

“Go,” I said to him.

“Pharaoh, please make haste. You have already stayed too long. It would pain me to see you hurt, and I cannot be here to protect you.”