Chapter 397: Cleopatra's burden

Chapter 397: Cleopatra’s burden

“I cannot believe I allowed myself to be so submissive!”

Cleopatra’s voice cut through the thick silence of her quarters, sharp as a whip. Her clenched fists trembled slightly, betraying the storm of fury boiling just beneath her regal composure.

The chamber, adorned with silken drapes and gilded columns, suddenly felt suffocating as the Queen of the Amun Ra paced back and forth like a lioness trapped in a gilded cage. Despite the grandeur of her surroundings—ornate furniture, golden incense burners wafting scents of myrrh and frankincense—there was no disguising her turmoil. Her usual poise, always so practiced and powerful, had crumbled beneath the weight of a single, excruciating decision.

A decision she hated herself for.

She had just returned from her meeting with Caesar—one that had left her no room to maneuver, no clever escape route, no alternative but to offer her sister as a token, a sacrifice to Roman arrogance. The price of diplomacy. Her silence had sealed Arsinoë’s fate.

I leaned silently against the polished marble wall, arms folded, watching her unravel. This was not the Cleopatra the world knew. The world saw a Queen, untouchable and proud, bathed in glory and perfume. But here stood a woman—flawed, furious, and heartbreakingly human.

“Did you really have another choice?” I asked softly, trying to ground her.

Her head turned toward me with a defiant snap. “Maybe I did,” she said, her eyes fierce and unwavering. “Maybe I could have done something—anything.”

I nodded slowly, not dismissing her pain but probing further. “Anything that wouldn’t incur Caesar’s wrath?”

The silence that followed was telling. Cleopatra’s lips pressed into a thin line, her eyes shifting toward the flickering oil lamp casting trembling shadows on the stone walls. She didn’t answer. She couldn’t.

“I found her, remember?” I said, my voice quiet but firm. “She was nearly violated by Marcus Antonius. If I hadn’t arrived in time, the consequences would’ve been far worse. Whatever comes next, she still has a chance.”

“A chance?” Cleopatra scoffed, her voice trembling with barely suppressed rage. “She’s going to be paraded like some exotic beast captured from the wilds of Egypt, shackled in chains and dragged through the streets of Rome for their amusement. A foreign curiosity—an animal.” She spat the last word like poison.

I had no retort. Because I knew she was right. That was precisely how Caesar would use Arsinoë. A symbol of his triumph, a spectacle for the people.

Still, I persisted.

“You’re underestimating your sister,” I told her. “Arsinoë has always been strong in ways you overlook. She survived Apollodorus’s captivity. She endured horrors. And yet she never bowed, never surrendered her pride.”

Cleopatra stopped pacing. She turned to face me, her expression unreadable. “And would she have kept resisting,” she said slowly, “if you hadn’t interfered and helped her escape?”

I allowed myself a slight smile, shrugging with deliberate nonchalance. “Perhaps not. But tell me, Cleopatra—did you really want a sister who obeyed without question? That’s not in her nature. She carries your blood. Obedience was never an option.”

Cleopatra’s gaze softened, the fire in her eyes dimming just slightly. She exhaled and let herself sink onto a cushioned bench, her hands clasped together, trembling ever so faintly.

“She is reckless,” Cleopatra murmured, almost to herself. “Stupid, impulsive, and endlessly frustrating… but she is the only one who has ever dared to defy me. The only one who’s looked me in the eye and asked me why.”

There was an ache in her voice now—quiet and poignant.

“She could have stood by my side,” she whispered. “With her honesty, her boldness… she could have helped me build a stronger Empire. A new empire born from truth and steel. Instead…”

Instead, she had delivered her own sister to the hands of a conqueror.

“What do you think will happen to her?” I asked quietly, my voice low, but the question struck through the silence like a dagger.

Cleopatra didn’t answer right away. She sat still, her back straight yet her fingers slowly curling into fists on her lap, knuckles turning white with restrained emotion.

“She will likely be forced to wed,” she said at last, her voice edged with bitterness. “A Roman politician, most likely. Someone of influence—someone who can tether Amun-Ra to Rome’s leash through her bloodline.” She looked away, her eyes dim with a quiet despair. “That would be the better case…”

The unspoken alternative lingered between us like a shadow.

Yes, at first, Rome would punish Arsinoë—parade her like a trophy, an exotic spoil of war. She would pay in chains for Ptolemy’s treachery, a message carved not in stone, but in flesh. Yet Rome, ever pragmatic, would not let a royal prize go to waste. They would break her spirit slowly, then wield her like a blade to cut deeper into Egypt’s independence.

I was silent for a time, absorbing the weight of what lay ahead. Then I spoke.

“I will be in Rome,” I said. “I’ll have plenty of opportunities to check on her.”

Cleopatra didn’t respond. Her gaze remained distant, lost in the cruel inevitabilities of empire.

“And,” I added, voice hardening, “plenty of opportunities to get her out of that cage.”

She turned to me sharply, her expression stunned, pupils dilating ever so slightly. There was no mistaking the weight of my words. I wasn’t bluffing. I meant every syllable.

“You can’t,” she breathed, shaking her head, disbelief etched across her face.

“I decide what I can or cannot do,” I said coldly. “Not you. Not Caesar. I have my own intentions in Rome, and they are far from shallow. I’m not some mutt sent to wag its tail at Caesar’s command.”

As I spoke, I allowed the illusion to fade. My form shimmered for a breathless moment as the disguise unraveled—first the eyes, glowing with an ancient and terrifying light, a radiant demonic gold that seemed to pierce through time itself. Then my skin paled, taking on a flawless, porcelain-white sheen, eerily reminiscent of Khione’s snow-pale complexion.

The transformation was not violent, but it was stark. The air itself seemed to shift, growing colder, heavier.

Cleopatra rose to her feet. She was visibly shocked, but to her credit, she masked it with admirable grace. Only the tightening of her jaw, the flicker in her eyes, betrayed her inner storm.

After a tense moment, she spoke, slowly and with the gravity of one making sense of an omen.

“Isis…” she whispered. “She told me I should trust you regarding Rome. I never understood what she meant.”

So Isis had spoken of me. Just like I communicated with Khione, Isis—guardian goddess and patron of queens—had reached out to Cleopatra.

Still, I hadn’t expected her to mention me.

Cleopatra stepped forward, the regal mask slipping ever so slightly from her face. She studied me carefully, searching for meaning behind the transformation. “Who are you exactly, Septimius?” she asked.

I held her gaze. “Nathan,” I replied simply.

She tilted her head, confusion evident in the curve of her brow.

“It’s my true name,” I said, voice steady, unwavering. “Septimius was merely a name suited here. But what I seek is no longer just survival or influence.” I took a breath, letting the weight of my next words settle. “I desire an alliance, Cleopatra. Between you—and the Amun-Ra Empire—and the Kingdom of Tenebria.”

“Tenebria…” she echoed, her lips barely moving as the name passed them. There was a spark of recognition in her eyes, a glimmer of ancient knowledge.

She understood now. She knew I was not Roman. Not entirely human. Perhaps not even of this age.

“Is that why you came here?” she asked, her voice quiet. “Was it all for this? For my alliance?”

“Yes,” I answered without hesitation. “That was always part of the plan.”

There was no reason to lie. I wanted her debt, her trust, her influence. I needed her help to tear down the corrupt, radiant monstrosity that was the Empire of Light.

But that wasn’t the whole truth.

I stepped closer to her, closing the distance between us. My hand rose, slow and deliberate, and I brushed my fingers against her cheek. Her skin was warm beneath my touch—smooth, yet tinged with the tension of a woman who carried her kingdom on her shoulders.

“But not only for that,” I said.

Cleopatra’s molten amber eyes met mine—intensely, unflinchingly. There was something in that gaze that held me still, something ancient and divine. Fire and honey swirled in her eyes, not just the color of her irises but the depth of her passion, of her fury, of her soul.

Then, without a word, I leaned in—drawn not by desire alone, but by something more inevitable, magnetic, woven into fate itself.

Our lips met.

It was not gentle.

Cleopatra responded the moment my mouth brushed against hers. Her fingers slid upward to my chest, splaying wide as if to anchor herself to the moment. Her lips parted and pressed to mine, demanding, hungry. This wasn’t the kiss of a queen seeking comfort—this was the kiss of a woman asserting her will, reclaiming power through fire and breath.

A low hum escaped her throat, husky and sweet like forbidden wine.

“Mmm~”

The sound vibrated against my lips, sending heat crawling down my spine.

Her plump lips moved with fervor, molding against mine with an urgency that bordered on desperation—but it was not weakness. It was intensity. Fire meeting fire. Her hands explored my chest now, palms flat against the firm line of muscle as if trying to memorize the shape of me, to imprint me upon her skin.

I cupped her cheek, the soft curve of her jaw warm beneath my palm, and deepened the kiss. Her scent enveloped me—jasmine, incense, sun-warmed linen and the faintest trace of myrrh. It was intoxicating. Divine.