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Queen of Kings

Maria Dahvana Headley
Contents ( 87)
  2. Queen of Kings
  3. Prologue
  4. BOOK OF RITUALS
  5. 1
  6. 2
  7. 3
  8. 4
  9. 5
  10. 6
  11. 7
  12. 8
  13. 9
  14. 10
  15. 11
  16. 12
  17. 13
  18. 14
  19. 15
  20. 16
  21. 17
  22. 18
  23. 19
  24. 20
  25. 21
  26. 22
  27. 23
  28. 24
  29. 25
  30. BOOK OF DIVINATIONS
  31. 1
  32. 2
  33. 3
  34. 4
  35. 5
  36. 6
  37. 7
  38. 8
  39. 9
  40. 10
  41. 11
  42. 12
  43. 13
  44. 14
  45. 15
  46. 16
  47. 17
  48. 18
  49. 19
  50. 20
  51. 21
  52. 22
  53. 23
  54. 24
  55. 25
  56. 26
  57. BOOK OF LIGHTNING
  58. 1
  59. 2
  60. 3
  61. 4
  62. 5
  63. 6
  64. 7
  65. 8
  66. 9
  67. 10
  68. 11
  69. 12
  70. 13
  71. 14
  72. 15
  73. 16
  74. 17
  75. 18
  76. 19
  77. 20
  78. 21
  79. 22
  80. 23
  81. 24
  82. 25
  83. 26
  84. Epilogue
  85. Historical Note
  86. Acknowledgments
  87. Notes

There’s more than one path to immortality…

A thrilling, chilling reimagining of the story of the most famous woman in history.

Once there was a queen of Egypt… a queen who became through magic something else…

The year is 30 BC. Octavian Caesar and his massed legions are poised to enter Alexandria. A messenger informs Egypt’s queen, Cleopatra, that her beloved Mark Antony has died by his own hand. Desperate to save her kingdom, resurrect her husband and protect all she holds dear, Cleopatra turns to the gods for help. Ignoring the warnings of those around her, she summons Sekhmet, goddess of death and destruction, and strikes a mortal bargain. And not even the wisest of Egypt’s scholars could have predicted what would follow…

For, in return for Antony’s soul, Sekhmet demands something in return: Cleopatra herself. And so Egypt’s queen is possessed. She becomes an immortal, shape-shifting, not-quite-human manifestation of a deity who seeks to destroy the world. Fighting to preserve something of her humanity, Cleopatra pursues Octavian back to Rome: she desires revenge, she yearns for her children… and she craves human blood.

It is a journey that will take her from the tombs of the Pharaohs to the great amphitheatres of imperial Rome and on, to Hell itself where, it seems, the fate of the world will finally be decided.

Blending authentic historical fiction and the darkest of fantasy, Queen of Kings is a spectacular and spellbinding feat of the imagination that fans of Neil Gaiman, Diana Gabaldon, George R.R. Martin, Patricia Briggs, Philippa Gregory, and Ridley Scott’s Gladiator won’t want to miss.

Maria Dahvana Headley

Queen of Kings

ePub r1.0

Morwen 13.08.14

Original Title: Queen of Kings

Maria Dahvana Headley, 2011

Cover retouch: Morwen

Digital editor: Morwen

ePub base r1.1

For Robert Schenkkan
Chief Wonder of My World,
On whose behalf I’d gladly negotiate with any Gods,
And battle any monsters.

Prologue

I, Nicolaus the Damascene, once philosopher to a king, once tutor to the children of a queen, once biographer to an emperor, now live in exile. I move toward the tomb, whether to journey into Hades or to wander as a spirit lamenting on the shores of Acheron. I cannot say which gods will claim me, for I left behind Damascus and her gods long ago for those of Egypt and of Rome. My body will end its days here at Avernus, unmourned.

The one thing I know with certainty is that she will come for me.

By virtue of position, I have been witness to more than any other man. I have seen rooms filled with gold, and streets stacked with bones. I have seen lakes turn to blood. I have watched the moon dance on the fingertips of witches, and stars extinguishing their lights at the behest of immortals. I have seen the beasts of the wilderness commanded into war by a woman. I have seen a lioness become a queen, and a queen become a monster.