“He’ll have to be if he stays that ugly,” Julius said, laughing as Cleopatra swatted at him with a free hand.

“He is beautiful,” she said, “and he is ours. He will be a great king, Sosigenes has sworn it. Greater than you or I, Julius.”

He kissed her gently and she sagged back into the pillows, her eyes closing. Julius felt a presence at his shoulder and turned to look into the stern gaze of one of the royal midwives.

“Yes?” he said.

Cleopatra sighed without opening her eyes. “She does not speak Latin, Julius.”

The woman gestured to Julius and the door, muttering under her breath.

“I understand,” he said. “I will return when you have had a chance to rest.”

He took her hand and squeezed it, before standing. He looked down on his family and thanked his gods for having lived long enough to see it.

Chapter 32

CHAPTER 32

The city of Rome was awake. Galloping messengers had brought the news that Caesar had landed at the coast and he was coming home. Mark Antony had not been idle in the weeks of waiting and the preparations were all in place. Almost a million citizens had lit lamps on the great walls, prepared banquets, cleaned and scrubbed the streets until Rome seemed almost new. Corn, bread, and meat had been given to every citizen and a public holiday announced. The city gleamed and temple chests were filled with coins offered in thanks for Caesar’s safety. Many were tired from their labors, but they sat up with their children and listened for the horns that would announce his arrival.

Brutus rode slowly at Julius’s side, looking at the city in the distance. The sheer size of it made Alexandria seem a provincial town. The citizens had made it glow under the heavens for Caesar. Would they have done more to welcome a king? Brutus found he could hardly bear the look of awe on Octavian’s face at the jewel of Rome on the horizon. It was an expression all those in the column seemed to share, from the soldiers of the Tenth to Julius himself. They came as victors and walked with pride they had earned. Brutus could not feel a part of their hope and their glory.

What joy could he find within those walls? He would be the man Julius forgave for a betrayal, whispered about and pointed at as he strode through his city. He would see his mother again, he thought. Perhaps when she saw Cleopatra she would understand what had driven him away from Julius. His eyes prickled and he took a deep breath, ashamed of himself. He had entered many cities. What was Rome but one more, to him? He would survive it. He would endure.