Julius smiled at him, still flushed with the victory. “I will tell you about it when I’ve seen her. Find a secure place for our new guest and set guards.” He paused to take a deep breath, steadying himself. “It was easy, Brutus.”

“They will strike back,” Brutus said, wanting to puncture the pride he saw. “She said we have seen only the edges of their army.”

His head ached terribly as if he were recovering from drunkenness. He remembered the queen speaking to him, though the details were dim and wavering in his mind. Julius didn’t see his distress.

“How will they attack us while their king is in my hands?” Julius replied. “I will humble the men who controlled him, Brutus, when they come.” He laughed at the thought and walked away to see Cleopatra, leaving Brutus behind.

The suite of rooms Cleopatra had taken had not been touched by the soldiers. All the others Julius passed were stripped bare of anything that could be used in the barricades, but her chambers were warm and comfortable with rugs and hangings. Flames crackled in tall braziers at either end, though Julius hardly saw them. His eyes were drawn to the slender figure of the queen as her shadow moved behind gauze hangings on a bed to match Ptolemy’s own. He could make out the outline that had aroused him on their first meeting and wondered why she did not speak.

His heart beating strongly, Julius closed the doors behind him and crossed the room, his footsteps loud in the silence. He could smell her scent in the air as well as wisps of steam and warm dampness that came from another room off the main one. She had been bathing, he realized, finding the thought fascinating. Without her slaves to heat and carry water, he did not doubt that his own men had been willing.

He reached the bed and still she did not speak as he ran his calloused palms down the gauze, the noise like a whisper.

“We have him, Cleopatra,” he said softly, feeling her stir at his voice. As he spoke his hands moved the gauze aside.

She lay on her back, naked, as he had somehow known she would be, with only shadows to cover her. Her skin shone gold as she looked up at him, and her eyes were dark. “He is not hurt?” she said.

Julius shook his head, unable to reply. His gaze traveled down the length of her body and he found it difficult to take a breath.