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"Don’t think about it,"Ahet in there, find out what you can and return safely to the palace"

Easy for hiot to sit back and watch me unfold Fate’s tapestryI didn’t point that out for hih There was no useThe only ould ever fix thisout Annen, the htThere was no time like the present, because we didn’t have much of a future left

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

The catacombs of Kom el Shoqafa were actually built as a series of tombs in the bedrock beneath the cityHowever, they evolved into being a coeways that led tointo one of the h, by the tiists in the 1900’s, the passageways had all collapsedOnly the toht noever, they were perfectly intact…and very, very darkCleopatra and I stared down the empty, darkened hallway that led to the Serapis te noises e from the corridorI felt fairly certain that there were even nastier creatures than rats andto think of theers on the ends of their curled tails or the huge, unhinged sI shuddered

Cleopatra lifted down a torch fro to ri thisBut it couldn’t be helpedWe couldn’t be seen, so this was the only wayI nodded reluctantly and grasped her ar

We had worn sandals for this venture and I was now so very glad that we didAs alked, I could hear the continual scurrying of anilad thatto bump into them

Every twenty feet or so, we stopped so that Cleopatra could light a torch on the orange-ish clay wall, lighting the way for our return trip through the catacolowed softly, but the way in front of us still loo, chill incitingAnd it smelled like a toe and I would pause in the dark doorondering if we should turnBut every time, Cleopatra would shake her headShe see

"How do you know these passage ways so well,down here with you"

"Well, my love, you aren’t nobility, are you?"she answered a touch s the Cyprus uprisingsWe lanced atnobility- you aren’t s haven’t tried to kill you"

I had to smileIt was trueEach of her sisters, Arsinoë and Berenice had tried to have her assassinatedI could remember even back in our nursery days, Cleopatra had been afraid to drink or eat things that had been sitting around her sisters- for fear that they would try to poison herIt wasn’t the row up

In fact, her sister Berenice had tried to overthrow their own father for the throne, but failedHe had her beheaded soon afterSo h Cleopatra’s relationship with their father was much better… mainly because she respected his authority and o that she only wanted to learn how to roas apparent froypt was her top priority

She had disliked her little brothers because she felt that they were useless They were spoiled and lazy- and she had little use for thatShe had spent her days growing up learning languages, Egyptian custo, playing and backbiting

Regardless, Cleopatra had always denied to me that she had her little brother Ptolemy XIV killed The physicians weren’t able to deterh they suspected poisonCleopatra swore to me at the time that it hadn’t been her- and I believed her She had never lied to meThere was no point- she didn’t answer to meAnd besides, Arsinoë was much more ruthless than CleopatraIt could just as easily have been her

"Why are you so distracted, Charmian?"Cleopatra asked curiously as alked"You seem to be miles away from here"

"You are very perceptive,your childhoodIt’s a wonder that we made it this far with all of the deception and o"

"Bite your tongue, Chars happened the way that they were supposed to happenIsn’t that the song you keep singing?My sisters were vipers, only out for their own profitMy brothers were patheticNone of theood at heart"She made a pfft noise as she wrinkled her nose in disdain

I nodded"I know, CleopatraBut I’m still surprised that we haveup now, my sweet"At her words, she stopped outside of an inscribed door, the short train of her deep purple sheath dress dragging on the floorThe Serapeuoddess SerapisI turned to Cleopatra in apprehension

"Cleopatra, Ah us here to Annen, ine hoerful this priest e that Ahhtly in here"

She nodded solereehAlmost immediately, a priest appeared in the doorway, his face startledAs soon as he saw Cleopatra, however, he dropped to his knees, face down on the sandstone floor

"My queen,"he murmured into the stone"We didn’t expect you todayI’m sorry, I didn’t realize it was you"

"Please rise,"she commanded"We’re here on a whi onto the wall to steady himselfHe was older, his face lined rinkles In the typical custo and designs were carefully drawn upon his bare ar to ses

"My queen, how can we assist you?"