Wiping the blood from his mouth with the back of his arm, he spit onto the ground, stringy rust colored mucus hanging from his lips.
“Hmm. Maybe you’re not so foolish, servant girl,”he taunted, limping closer.“But you still aren’t as smart as you think.There’s no way out for you. You’re going to have to get past me- and trust me, that’s not going to happen.”
I knew that he was right and I frantically looked around me, trying to remember from my childhood days if there was another exit.I quickly recalled that there was not.I was trapped with this overstuffed whale.
And then, as if from a dream, Hasani’s clear voice came from the darkness.
“I don’t know who you are or what game you are playing, but if you lay another hand on my future wife, I will cut your throat.”
He stepped into the light from the torch, his beautiful face as menacing as I’d ever seen it. His bronzed skin glistened in the light as he stepped even closer.I could see the disbelief flicker across his face as he registered that he was standing with a dead man, before he quickly masked his surprise.He was a warrior through and through, a fact that I sometimes forgot since he was so gentle when he was with me.
He held his sword in both hands, circling around Pothinus as though he was a hunter and Pothinus was his next meal.A movement behind him caught my attention and I glanced up to find Cleopatra’s pale face in the shadows.
“My queen,”I frowned.“You weren’t supposed to come in.It’s too dangerous for you.”
She sniffed disdainfully.“The only danger here is asphyxiation from this animal’s foul smell.”
I grinned in agreement.She couldn’t be more right.
Gazing at Hasani’s face which was still set in a deadly expression, I asked, “How did you find me, Hasani?How did you know that I needed you?”
He glanced at me briefly before returning his watchful gaze to the eunuch.“Olympus wanted me to locate Cleopatra.Iras’ fever has broken.She is going to be alright.He thoughther majesty would want to know immediately.”
Relief flooded through me so quickly that my knees went weak.“Thank God,”I whispered.Cleopatra’s face mirrored the relief found on my own.
“I searched everywhere for you and couldn’t find you.As a last ditch effort, I decided to try the beach, even though I specifically told you not to come out on the beach now,”he glanced at me reprovingly.“The guards told me that they saw you both sneaking out in dark cloaks.Obviously, by that point, I knew something was wrong.”
I looked sheepishly at my feet.
“You said not to come out alone,”I clarified.“I wasn’t.Alone.”
The glare he shot me was sharp and I averted my gaze.
“I’m sorry, Hasani,”I mumbled in a rush.“I wish I could explain, but it is so complicated.And …”
“And it is best that you not know,”Cleopatra interrupted smoothly.“I’m sorry, Hasani.At my orders, Charmian has concealed dangerous secrets from you.It was for your own good- the more people that knew, the riskier the whole thing would become.For Charmian and for me.”
I shot her a grateful look.
Hasani knew that he could not argue with the queen.But from the harsh set to his jaw, I knew that I hadn’t heard the last of this.He glared at me over the silver metal of his sword.
“Don’t you realize that you could’ve been killed?If I lost you, I don’t know what I would…”his voice trailed off and I remembered.
Warriors never, ever cried.He had told me that once with a confident smile.But as I gazed at him now, I saw wetness glistening in the corner of his eye.Pain stabbed my heart like a knife.The last thing I wanted to do was hurt him.
“I’m sorry, Hasani,”I whispered softly, as I dabbed at it with my bare fingers.He nodded wordlessly, but his expression had softened.
And just as quickly hardened into a lethal mask as he lunged in front of me, shoving me to the ground behind him.I stared up at him in bewilderment and then in realization as Pothinus stepped away from him, a triumphant grin on his putrid face. He held a dagger in his hand, dripping with blood.Hasani’s blood.
I gasped.
Hasani lifted his hands fromthe wound in his side and blood streamed in rivulets. There was so much blood.Too much. He crumpled to the ground and I dropped to my knees at his side.
“Hold your hands tight right here,”I commanded him, yanking off my cloak to staunch the blood. His eyes sought mine, and I noticed that the shine in his had dimmed.A lump formed in my throat.
“I’m sorry, Charmian.I was distracted and I didn’t see him…”
“Shh, save your strength.”I brushed my lips across his brow.“I distracted you. I’m the one who should be apologizing.You saved my life, Hasani.”
From my periphery, I saw Pothinus take a step toward me and I grabbed Hasani’s sword, jumping up to brandish it at him.
“Take one more step and I swear to every god you hold holy that I will slice your head off.My sword is longer than your dagger and I’m very, very tired of you.”
My threat was sincere.I had never in my life hurt another living being, but I would kill this man without so much as a blink.I tightened my grip on the handle.
“But if you kill me, Charmian, Hasani will bleed to death right here at your feet. He will die in your place. Do you want that?”
Pothinus’ voice was matter-of-fact.To my left, I felt Cleopatra attend to Hasani.She murmured comforting words to him and I felt an overwhelming sense of panic.
He would bleed to death.The eunuch was right. Hasani would die because he saved my life. My mouth went dry as I frantically tried to decide what to do. I couldn’t let him die.I couldn’t.
“Give me back the bloodstone, Charmian.I’ll show you how to heal him.You know he wasn’t meant to die by my hand.”