Page 144 of Cleopatra

I smiled, baring imaginary fangs dripping imaginary venom.

“So, war it will be.”

—

Antonius and I raised an army of five hundred warships, one hundred thousand infantry and twelve thousand cavalry. We called on our allies from across the world, gaining the support of nearly a dozen kings and queens. But this war was never about numbers. It was about strategy.

Few men could match my military prowess. Go and look through your books and your poems: my skill is rarely spoken on. For it is difficult for men to imagine me for the general I was; easier to speak on my beauty than on my mind.

“We need to attack, take him unawares in his home waters,” Antonius argued.

I disagreed. “We may have the superior numbers, but if we proceed north, we leave Egypt vulnerable to attack. They may yet call in reserves from their allies and strike while our backs are turned.”

We sat in a stateroom in Patrae in southern Greece, where we had spent a season campaigning for allies. A map was laid out before us, our generals at our backs. The anticipation of the war between Antonius and Octavian had increased over the years, until even I could feel the invisible string that tethered them together waiting to snap.

“His fleet is in port at Tarentum; we should use this opportunity to gain the upper hand.”

“Aggression is not the answer, Marcus; we must be calculating and reserved. We cannot be the ones to strike first, especially if that strike lands us a sword in our backs.”

Antonius scowled, a rare expression on his face. With Octavian’s army waiting on the southern coastline of Italy, every night had become a debate on what we should do. We bickered relentlessly about the best tactics. Both of us had participated in wars, but neither had reckoned with the might of a navy this size.

“Let me take my fleet to Tarentum, then, and you may command yours to Actium,” he said.

I let out a sigh. “Though a noble gesture, that would be suicide. And I do not think that is how you wish to die.”

“I do not wish to die at all, that is why we must strike.” He slammed his fist on the table.

I laid a hand on his shoulder. “We cannot make rash decisions. For it is not just our own fate we look to protect, but the fate of our children, as well as all of Egypt.”

Antonius tipped his head to the side, resting his jaw on my hand. “I know you are right. But I am impatient for the battle to be won. Octavian has been the thorn in my side for too long.”

“Do not rush to remove it, for you may lose too much blood.” I kissed his brow.

“So, to Actium?”

I nodded. “The bay allows us sight of the Greek coastline should Octavian move on to Egypt. We can send our infantry ahead of us across land.”

Actium. It was so nearly my final resting place.

Leaving Patrae meant leaving the children. We had brought them with us on our journey across the sea, and I was pained to leave them.

“Mama, why can’t we go with you? I can fight,” Selene said. At nine years old she was as fierce and as mighty as many of the queens of Egypt’s past. I gathered her into my arms.

“You cannot; this is not a war for children.”

“I am not a child. Let me lead the Egyptian fleet,” Caesarion said sullenly from across the room.

I went to him and gripped his chin between my fingers, his jaw dusted with the first showings of hair. “No, you are not. You are a king, my son. You are Horus. You are a pharaoh. And to be these things you must protect Egypt for me.”

He stood a little straighter. “You will come home victorious, will you not?”

I forced a smile. “Of course! I am Isis-blessed and cannot be killed so easily.”

Helios’s arms circled my waist, followed by those of Ptolemy, who did not want to be left out.

Once I had embraced my children, I turned to Charmion.

“Will you take our children home, my dear friend? The ship awaits you in the harbour,” I said to her quietly. Her image swam through the tears in my eyes.