He blinked at her bluntness. Here was a woman used to every question being answered, every whim met. She seemed unaware of the pain she was causing him. “He could not find a better general. I am a perfect scourge in the field, though not as you see me now.”

He spoke with sardonic amusement, but when she did not respond, he could not hold the expression. His features slowly drooped into blankness. “We were young together,” he said. “I made a mistake and he forgave me.” He was surprised at his own honesty. It was less painful to spin a tale.

“I would have killed you,” she muttered, biting her lower lip.

Brutus could only look at her, sensing she spoke the truth. He reminded himself that the queen had known absolute power from her youngest years. She was every bit as deadly as the black snakes of the Nile.

“I could never forgive a betrayal, General. Your Caesar is either a great man or a fool. Which do you think it is?”

“I think you and he have much in common. I do not answer to you, however, nor will I explain myself to you any longer.”

“He has gone tonight to kidnap my husband, my brother, and my king. He has seen only the edges of the army Egypt can field. Caesar may die in the striving, or my brother fall and be pierced with arrows. This is the great game, General. These are the stakes involved. Listen to the words when I say this to you. He let you live because he is blind to you. He does not know what goes on in your heart.”

She touched his neck with the palm of her hand, pressing. He thought she must bathe in lotus oil to have such an effect. He felt a tiny scratch, as if from a thorn. He might have jerked away, but his senses pressed in on him and he longed for a breath of cold air. He heard her speak through layers and layers of winding cloth, muffled.

“I know you, General. I know every small sin, and every great one. I know your heart as Caesar never can. I know hatred. I know jealousy. I know you.”

Her hand dropped away and he staggered, still able to feel where her nails had pressed.

“Be loyal now, General, or measure your life in beats. His fate is tied up in Egypt, in me. And my arm is long. I will not suffer another betrayal, nor even the shadow of one.”

He gaped at her intensity, stunned and bewildered. “Egyptian bitch, what have you done to me?” he said, groggily.

“I have saved your life, Roman,” she said.

Her lips formed a smile then, but the eyes were cold and watchful. Without another word, she left him alone in the entrance hall, slumped against a pillar and shaking his head like a wounded animal.