“It is a formal thing, Roman, to keep the bloodline pure. We were king and queen together, as my father married his own sister. When Ptolemy was of an age, I would have borne his children to rule after us.”

Julius felt lost amidst these revelations. He struggled to find something to break the silence that had sprung up between them.

“You speak my language beautifully,” he ventured.

She laughed again, delighting him. “My father taught it, though I am the first of his line to speak Egyptian. Would you prefer to converse in Greek? It was the language of my childhood.”

“It makes me glad to hear you say it,” he said earnestly. “I have admired Alexander all my life. To be here with the descendant of his general is intoxicating.”

“Egypt claims me now, Caesar; runs like fire in me,” she said.

Her skin was smooth copper-gold, oiled every day of her life. He knew she would be extraordinary to touch.

“But you cannot take your throne, for fear,” he said softly.

Cleopatra snorted. “Not of my people. They are loyal to the goddess in me.”

Julius frowned at the statement from such a youthful girl. “I do not believe such things.”

She looked at him with interest and he felt his pulses throb. “The flesh you see is nothing, Caesar. My Ka is divine within me, held until my death. You could not see it.”

“Your Ka?”

“My . . . spirit. My soul. Like a flame in a shuttered lamp, if you wish.”

Julius shook his head. Her perfume seemed to fill every breath he took, so close was he sitting to her. He had not seen her move, but the distance between them seemed to have shrunk and the room felt hot.

“You have not said why you came to me,” he said.

“Is it not obvious? I have heard of you, Caesar. I have prayed to Isis to be delivered from my exile and you were sent to me. You have an army to tip the balance in the very heart of Alexandria.” Her eyes pleaded.

“What of your own soldiers?” he asked.

“They are too few and spies crawl like flies around their camp. I risked death to reach you, Caesar, and I am only one.” She reached out to him and touched his face with a cool hand. “I need a man of honor, Caesar. I need him desperately. You may claim not to believe, but the gods led you here for this.”

Julius shook his head. “I followed Gnaeus Pompey, murdered on your own docks.”

She did not look away. “And what made him come to Alexander’s city? There are many ports. If you cannot believe, then give me my revenge as you take yours! The order for Pompey’s death bore the name of my family, in dishonor. Panek uses the royal seal as if it were his own. Will you help me, Roman?”