“You are a good man, Octavian. If there are no sons to follow me, I would be proud to see you in my place.” He chuckled. “Where else would you find an education like this one! I can teach you more politics here than you would find in a decade of Senate meetings. Think of the future, Octavian. Think of what you will accomplish when I am gone. This is Alexander’s city and it could be a prize for Rome. Who better than we to take his mantle?”

Octavian nodded slowly, and Julius clapped him on the arm.

“How many are we facing, exactly?” Domitius said, interrupting. Both men seemed to break free of some private communication.

“Too many for the Tenth alone,” Julius said. “We must wait for the Fourth to arrive. Even then, we might need Cleopatra’s army before we are done. Though they are so ringed about with informers that the courtiers will know if they begin to move. We need to wrench an advantage from the first moment, while they still think we are going to leave in peace. We have surprise. With the Fourth here in strength, we’ll strike where they don’t expect it.”

He grinned and Octavian responded, feeling the excitement despite his misgivings.

“What do you have in mind?” Octavian asked.

“It is like a game of latrunculi,” Julius said. “We must capture the king.”

Chapter 25

CHAPTER 25

In gloom, the legions waited, crammed into every corner of the Roman quarters. Julius himself had gone down to the docks to greet the soldiers of the Fourth as they sailed in. They had come expecting to pursue Pompey across a new continent, but instead found themselves part of a plot to kidnap a boy king. It may have been the return of warm nights, or simply the fact that Pompey was dead and they were free at last, but a rare mood of juvenile excitement had stolen amongst them. They nudged each other and smiled in the darkness. Caesar had triumphed over his enemies, and they had been there to see it happen.

Julius waited by the heavy doors, peering out at the moon. He heard a snort from a Roman mount and glanced at the source, watching shadows move. The horses had been well fed on grain, better than they had seen in weeks. The palace too was filled with stores, the first choice of cargoes from Cyprus, Greece, even Sicily. Roman gold had weight on the docks of Alexandria.

Despite the tension, Julius could not hide the fact that he was enjoying himself. Ciro, Brutus, and Regulus had come across to Egypt. He had his generals around him once more and he felt gloriously alive.