Daughters of the Nile by Stephanie Dray

Author:Stephanie Dray
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Group, USA
Published: 2013-12-02T16:00:00+00:00

Twenty-five

FROM her seat in the gallery, Livia’s tiny twitch of a smile tells me I was a fool to ever think that Herod was Agrippa’s creature. Now I realize that he must have belonged to Livia all along. She has rid herself of Julia’s husband as an obstacle. Now she must be rid of Julia and her boys. Livia may not be able to poison them, but she can poison the emperor’s heart against his own daughter.

It is, I admit, the best play, because in her widowed and pregnant beauty, Julia is loved in a way that Livia has never been loved nor ever will be. And if the emperor makes common cause with his daughter—if he takes Julia as his political helpmate, a role that she has always longed to fill—the Claudians will remain powerless. The only way that Livia’s family can rise to power is by cutting Julia down and getting her out of the way.

Livia must see just such an opportunity in Julia’s refusal to remarry, which infuriated Augustus.

The quarrel must be fresh on the emperor’s mind because Herod’s comments about disobedient children make Augustus lower his head, rubbing his temples as if to quiet a roaring pain. If anyone provokes him now, an execution will follow. One snap of his fingers and someone will die. So I am breathless with fear when my husband, seated at the emperor’s side, leans over and whispers to him.

A moment later, Augustus calls a break in the proceedings. Then the emperor retires with my husband and the small retinue of men who now make up his shrinking inner circle. At my side, Julia smiles as if untroubled, but whispers, “If Agrippa were still alive, he would tear King Herod’s head from his neck . . .” Then she rises from her seat, giving an affectionate wave to the crowd. “I’m going to rest.”

I go with her, escorting her down the shadowed corridor of the basilica, where we are set upon by Princess Glaphyra, whose beautiful face is swollen with tears. “Lady Julia,” Glaphyra whispers by way of greeting, a sob in her throat. “Your Majesty.”

Julia knows that nothing good can come of meeting with the wife of the accused prince, so she abandons me. “I would invite you to dine, Princess Glaphyra, but I’m afraid I don’t feel well. Selene, stay and be reunited with your friend.”

When Julia goes, Glaphyra grasps my hands beseechingly. “I beg your help. King Juba is a great favorite of Caesar, as are you. Can you persuade your husband to speak on our behalf?”

“I’m quite certain that my husband is doing so even now.”

“Tell him King Herod has vowed to kill us, whether Augustus grants him permission or no.”

I find this hard to believe. “Not even Herod would defy the emperor . . . but in case I am wrong, you should flee Judea at the soonest opportunity and return to your father’s kingdom.”

The unhappy princess grips my hands harder in desperation. “Herod has the power to call back any person who flees from him from anywhere in the empire.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.