Page 54 of Cleopatra

She laughed as I tightened my arms, refusing to let her go.

“I cannot breathe,” she choked out.

I reluctantly released her to arm’s length, analysing every bit of her. “Are you well? Did they hurt you?”

“No. Pothinus was angry when he discovered the ruse, but Theos refused to let him slay me.”

“So there is some good left in my brother?”

Charmion met my eyes sadly. “He has changed very much. Arsinoe too.”

My stomach lurched at my sister’s name. “What do you mean?”

Charmion’s mouth opened, then closed.

“Do not temper your words. Tell me plain.” I’d had enough wordplay with Caesar, and my indulgence in the wine was beginning to give me a headache.

“It seems she was aware of the blockade in the harbour and knew of your impending arrest. It was she who first discovered I was not you. Her disappointment matched that of Pothinus.”

A bitterness entered my mouth and I grimaced. “Of course. Qar must have returned with a letter that she did not share with me.” My heart ached.

Charmion cradled my chin in her hand.

“I have lost two siblings this day,” I whispered.

“They have not departed this life. You may yet make peace.”

Her words echoed Caesar’s. But I doubted there was a path forward where I could trust either sibling again.

Charmion’s hand dropped to the collar of my robe. “What are you wearing?”

I smiled and relayed my tale, for which Charmion proved an appreciative audience. It was only when I described Caesar that she stopped me to ask, “Tell me, what is he truly like? The courts speak of his golden tongue.”

I smiled. “It was no more golden than mine.”

“You like him.” She surmised the truth so quickly.

“Insofar as I like the builders who construct my temple. He is a tool, no more and no less.” I cannot recall if I knew then that I lied to myself, or if I was blinded by my feelings until it was too late to retreat from the doomed cliff-edge of our love.

“They say he once shared King Bithynia’s bed,” she said.

I had heard the rumours, but having met him, I did not believe his dalliances to be so frivolous as to only last one night. “He seems the type of man who loves deeply.”

“And is loved in return?” Charmion asked, her expression curiously neutral.

I was saved from answering as there was a knock at the door. Servants entered to retrieve Caesar’s belongings and return mine.

It was nearly dawn by the time my rooms were back in order.

I slipped beneath the cold sheets. They still smelled faintly of Caesar, despite having been freshly laundered. I pushed him from my mind.

“Do you think my brother and sister will have heard the news that I am back in the palace?”

“No, the time is late. I did not hear any chatter among the palace servants on my way here. It was Caesar himself who released the chains that bound my hands, so the news is yet to spread.”

“Good, I want them to be surprised when they see me,” I murmured, my nose pressed into my blanket. “I would like you to braid my hair for the occasion.”

“Of course.” She hid a smile in her voice.