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13.

-HER-

My head and face were covered with a black cloth as I was being dragged to the court. I felt humiliated and if my hands weren’t shackled, I would have taken the men down, no matter how big they were or what weapon they had.

My heart was drumming in my chest. I did not know where they were taking me and what they were going to do to me. It was a big mistake to trust Cleopatra. I had done it before but I would not do it again. The blood that related us was just a mere reminder for me that I was a mistake and mistakes are rectified, not trusted or made part of the family.

The sound of the guard’s angry footsteps and my occasional struggle was soon drowned by murmurs. I instantly knew that I was being taken to Cleopatra’s court. I could feel them walking me to the front of Cleopatra’s throne before I was being forced to my knees. I felt a huge and rough hand grab the back of my neck before almost slamming my head at the ground. I hissed as a wave of pain washed over my skull. I was grounding my teeth to keep myself from screaming.

The sound of horns drowned the crowd’s murmur before the room was painted with silence. I was bent forward, my forehead firmly pressed against the floor while my hands were at my back, shackled. The black cover on my head restricted my eyes to see anything around me but my other senses were doing their best to paint the picture of the surrounding in my head.

“Today, I have something precious for the people of Alexandria…” Cleopatra’s voice is heard clearly in the silent room. The smoothness of her voice is soft yet commanding. She easily dominates the people by her voice and rhetoric.

“Yesterday, I was visited by a certain someone who is not supposed to step on the land of Alexandria for the eternity…” As she trailed off, the black cloth from my head was being tugged away instantly, revealing my flaming red hair. Several gasps were heard in the room before the crowd started shouting. The court attendant had some trouble calming the crowd before Cleopatra continued, “She is here for forgiveness,”

Everyone laughed at this. I could feel their judging eyes on me as their mocking laughs made my blood boil. The pressure with which my head was pressed against the floor was being increased by the guard. I wanted to be free. I lowly cursed at the guard who was holding me down. I was instantly greeted by a kick straight to my stomach. I groaned in pain before the guard decided to let go of me.

I raised my head to look at the Pharaoh. She had a smug look on her face while her eyes stared me down as if I was the dirt beneath her feet. She was lazily leaning back on her golden throne. There was a regal vibe to her presence that she always carried with her everywhere. Beside her sat Osaze, her seemingly new husband. His crippled hand was covered by the linen cloth draped over his body.

I was able to see the scar on his face from up this close. I had drawn it on his face the day I overthrew the throne, even though I did not last many days on power, thanks to Cleopatra. Osaze had a nasty look on his face as he stared me down. He was still mad at me. It made me happy. I found myself smiling at him but a hard hit across my face from the guard instantly knocked it away. I wanted to kill the guard instantly but my hands were shackled.

“Now… what shall I do with her?” Cleopatra purred as she leaned at one side of her throne lazily. Her eyes never left me. She had a sly look on her face that I was finding hard to look over. She may do anything to me and I would not have anyone to defend me.

“Kill her!” Osaze sneered beside her but Cleopatra shook her head lightly as she chuckled, “That would be too easy, Osaze,” she purred as she looked at her new husband with a mixture of lust and inferiority before directing her gaze at me. “Besides, she is my dear sister. My own blood. Why would I stain my hands with my own blood?”

I took a sharp breath at her words. It reminded me how much nasty she could be. She was ready to cross all the limits to secure her throne and eliminate me.

“Of course, you would not,” I commented, looking her straight into the eyes. I instantly saw her clutching the armrest of her throne as her eyes narrowed on me. I was being hit across the face once again. Hot blood trickled down my nose instantly. I shot a glare at the guard before focusing on Cleopatra again.

“You speak too much,” She muttered, “You should be grateful for not having your tongue ripped off… now,” She sifted on her throne before standing up. Her warm brown eyes blazed over me as she climbed down from her throne and stood in front of me.

“She said she wanted to do something for Alexandria,” The pharaoh spoke as she addressed the assembly, “but what more than evil is the devil capable of?” My breaths were labored as she stared me down. One of her feet rested on my thigh as a way of domination.

“Try me, sister,” I commented, never breaking the eye contact. She inserted more pressure over my thigh as she internally grounded her teeth. She stared at me for some moments with one of her eyebrows cocked. I could see the wheels spinning in her head. She was thinking and I had the feeling that it was something bad.

The tips of her lips curled up slightly before she turned around and went back to her throne. After taking her seat on her throne, she announced, “The wolves have been our tough opposition for quite some time. They have interfered with every godly matter of our court, whether it’s our dynamics with the moon or Isis,” Cleopatra’s nostrils flared at the latter bit. The whole court was silent, holding their breaths as their pharaoh spoke. The rage in Cleopatra’s eyes seemed to be greater than the sun of the desert.

Meanwhile, I was processing her words in my head and trying to think where she was taking this. She was clever and I would hate myself if I failed to see through the web of trouble that she was weaving for me to get trapped into.

My heart was beating in my chest and the top of my dress was drenched with sweat, water, and blood. To me, it did not feel less than the judgment day. Cleopatra was surely sending me to hell.

“The wolves, they take pride in two things… their land and their mates,” Uneasiness slowly rose inside me as Cleopatra spoke about the wolves. Even though she didn’t mention their name, I knew who she meant.

Arles.

Zaeris.

These two names were enough to send a shiver down anyone’s spine. Arles was the ruthless king of wolves who ruled Zaeris along with his mate, Nefret. They were both very powerful. One would never dare to step foot on their land and do anything against them.

“It’s said that they are nothing without their mates,” Cleopatra continued. I gulped silently when I realized where she was taking this. Cold sweat trickled down my forehead while I struggled to breathe. “Their mates are very important to them, especially for their King.” She purred. A sly smile slowly climbed on her face. “A King is nothing without his Queen. Arles his nothing without Nefret… and YOU!” She pointed her finger at me, “You will bring me Nefret’s head!”

Throwing my head back and breaking the grim silence in the courtroom with my laugh was not the reaction that the people in the courtroom and I had anticipated from myself. I felt Cleopatra’s burning eyes on me while I laughed. I was more surprised when the guard did not hit me again.

“What’s so funny, Arsinoe?” Cleopatra asked as she abandoned her throne and steered closer to me. I stopped laughing and looked her in the eyes before answering, “You are forgetting, my dear sister that Nefret is immortal. She doesn’t need to pretend to be a goddess to convince her subjects of her power and superiority. She is the true queen of wolves. She is mated to a god. She cannot be killed,” For this, she gave me a pointed look. I knew that my words had an effect on her but she was not showing it on the surface in front of the court.

“You are Psaltisi’s blood. If you don’t have her powers then of what use you are for Alexandria?” She spoke grimly as she placed her hand on my head. She took a strand of my hair and curled it around her finger, “bring me the head of Nefret and I will give you a place at the court,” She leaned down and whispered. My head snapped to look her in the eyes. Was she serious? I cannot believe she had said that.

“She is immortal…” I tried to reason again.

“So what? There is always a dark portal to push people into,” She winked at me before going back to her throne. I was frozen in my place. The dark portal. Anything that went into it never came out. It was in the underworld and very hard to access. Even if I somehow managed to take Nefret’s soul and put it in the portal, there was no way I’d return alive after that. I would be sucked into the void the moment I step in front of it. But this was not my biggest concern at the moment. I was more concerned about breaking into Zaeris and getting Nefret’s soul. It was the hardest part.

“If I do this successfully, you’ll give me half the kingdom,” I demanded. The room roared with laughter while I stayed silent. Cleopatra chuckled too. At this point, I was ready to do anything to get back what I deserved. I had just one life and I was ready to put it on the line to get everything that I was always denied.

“Beggars cannot be choosers. Though you seem very confident about this so we may look into the matter. Fortunately, the odds seem to be in your favor this time as the wolves will soon celebrate Calanthe for their mates. Such an auspicious occasion for you!” She commented with a mocking smile. I smiled back at her, reading everything between her words. I knew well enough that even if I somehow managed to do this, she will not grant me half the kingdom. She was never good at sharing, especially her kingdom.

For now, she had had the upper hand but she was not aware that the hell she was sending me to was the very place I had once crawled out of.

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