Cleopatra Confesses by Carolyn Meyer

Author:Carolyn Meyer
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman Books
Published: 2011-01-28T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 28

BERENIKE

In spite of Berenike’s edict, rumors of the fate of Tryphaena and Titus grow even more gruesome. Announcements from the palace are now dated YEAR 2 IN THE REIGN OF QUEEN CLEOPATRA BERENIKE. Tryphaena’s name is not mentioned.

It is summer again, the season of Inundation, the annual flooding of the Nile. We pretend that everything is normal, though it is not. My nerves are on edge. I have always known that Berenike might choose at any time to eliminate me as well. I sleep little—will one of the queen’s guards force his way into my palace at night and stab me in my bed? Fearing poison, I refuse to eat or drink anything unless Monifa prepares it with her own hands.

Then, as expected, I receive a summons from Berenike. I hurry to obey, though I dread it. She no longer lives in the pretty little palace that has been hers since childhood but has taken over the king’s palace. The throne room where Father once received important visitors from many countries looks much different now. The walls have been repainted with bright scenes, many showing Queen Berenike making offerings to the gods.

Glittering with jewels, the queen reclines on her new ebony throne. Inlaid with ivory and decorated with gold, the throne is raised on a dais at the end of the great hall, and on either side of it stands a guard dressed in silk, each guard holding a spotted leopard on a leash. The leopards gaze at me coolly with their glowing amber eyes. One of the creatures stretches lazily, the dark spots rippling over his sleek body, and yawns, showing white fangs.

Berenike’s lips and nails are tinted with henna, her eyes outlined with kohl. On her forehead is the uraeus, the golden cobra, erect and ready to strike. I glance around cautiously to see who else is present, but except for her two guards with the leopards, we are alone. I bow low and wait silently, my head pounding.

Queen Berenike smiles without warmth. “Welcome, Cleopatra,” she says. The flinty edge to her voice makes me increasingly uneasy. She gestures grandly around the vast hall. “How do you like my new throne room? Elegant, is it not?”

I cannot say what I am thinking: It is not yours. It is Father’s. I force a smile. “It suits you perfectly, my queen.” But then I cannot seem to stop myself from asking, “Does Queen Tryphaena have one like it?” I immediately regret my question. Berenike will know it is not innocent, that I have deliberately ignored the edict not to speak Tryphaena’s name. But now it is too late to take it back.

Berenike purses her lips. “Interesting that you should ask about her, Cleopatra! In fact, I have not seen our sister for some time. I have been busy overseeing the redecoration of the king’s palace, and there is no end to the matters of state that keep me occupied from dawn until dusk, and beyond. One of the reasons I summoned you is to ask if you might have seen our sister and her good friend Titus.

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