Horns blew across Alexandria as the royal barge was sighted in the last days of summer. Brutus sent a dozen trim Roman galleys to meet them, and food enough for banquets was given out from the dock stores. The purple sail could be seen from a great distance and hundreds of boats joined the exodus through the mouth of the port, gathering around the queen's ship like a flight of brightly colored birds.

Though the shorter days were on them, the air was still heavy with heat. Cleopatra's slaves fanned her as she stood on deck and watched the fleet come out. Her advancing pregnancy had brought an end to the peaceful days on the Nile, and she could no longer find comfort in any position for long. Julius had learned to tread carefully as her temper frayed, and at the sight of Roman galleys her eyes narrowed in a flash of anger.

"You have brought your army here?" she said, looking at him.

"A tiny part of it," he replied. "You would not have me leave Alexandria undefended when you come to Rome."

"My warriors have seen to our defense over the years," she replied indignantly.

Julius chose his words with care. "I would not take even a small risk with Egypt," he murmured. "The galleys protect our son's inheritance. Trust me in this. I have given you my oath."

She felt the child move within her and she shuddered as she listened. Had she lost her throne to the Roman? Egypt had grown tired over five thousand years and she knew her enemies watched for weakness. The young strength of Rome would keep the wolves away from her lands, like a flaming torch thrust into their faces. Julius could fire her blood when he talked of twin capitals, but the sight of his legionaries swarming on her docks made her fear. He could be kind as a man, as a lover, but as a general he was a destroying storm and her city had come to his notice.

Julius saw her shiver and took a shawl from one of her slave girls. He placed it about Cleopatra's shoulders and his tenderness brought tears to her eyes.

"You must believe me," he said softly. "This is a beginning."

Legion centuries stood in perfect order on the docks as the queen's crew moored the barge. As Julius and Cleopatra stepped down, the Romans cheered the return of the consul and victor of Rome. A litter was brought for Cleopatra, removing her from the vulgar gaze behind a canopy raised on the shoulders of slaves. Julius stood on her right side, taking in the changes that had occurred in his absence.

The busy port had a sense of order that had been missing before. In the distance, he could see legionaries on patrol. New customhouses had been built or commandeered to control the wealth of trade that came through Alexandria. Brutus had clearly been busy.

As the procession made its way through the city toward the royal palace, the presence of legions became even more obvious. Soldiers stood to attention on every corner, saluting as Julius came into sight. The citizens of Alexandria who might have clustered around their queen were held back by solid barriers at every street mouth, leaving the main path clear.

Julius winced to himself at how the casual efficiency must look to Cleopatra. He had sent his orders to Greece before leaving, but the reality of seeing twenty thousand more of his countrymen descend on the city was strangely disturbing. Alexandria had been an alien place when he arrived. His men were busy turning it into an outpost of Rome.

At the palace, Cleopatra's slaves gathered around her in a flurry of excitement. Her feet hurt and she was weary, but as she stood again on the steps, she turned to Julius before entering the cooler rooms within.

"How can I trust you?" she said.

"You carry my son, Cleopatra. Even if you did not, you are more valuable to me than anything else. Let me protect you."

She opened her mouth to speak, then thought better of it, compressing her lips into a thin line of disapproval.

Julius sighed. Thousands of his soldiers were in view. "Very well, my queen. Let me show my men, at least."

Without another word, he knelt on the steps before her.

The tension slid away from Cleopatra as she looked down on his flushed face. A smile tugged at the corners of her lips. "I have never known a man to kneel with such pride," she murmured into his ear, making him laugh.

Julius summoned his Gaul generals to him after he had eaten and bathed. The new officers from Greece would have to wait a little longer for an audience. He chose the room Brutus had been using in the scribes' quarter and looked around him in interest at the changes as he waited for them to arrive.

Brutus and Domitius entered first, saluting and taking the chairs he offered. Regulus came behind them, his usual grim manner made lighter by Julius's return. Octavian and Ciro took their seats as Domitius poured wine for the rest.

Julius watched them all as they accepted the goblets and raised them in his direction before drinking. They looked fit and dark from the sun, Ciro in particular. He might have passed for one of the native Egyptians. Octavian had a new scar on his cheek that stood out against his skin. Of all of them, his manner was the most reserved and Julius missed the relaxed camaraderie of their years together. He had been away for almost six months and felt uncomfortable at the distance that had grown between them.

"Should I ask for a formal report, gentlemen?" he said. "Or shall we drink and talk until the sun goes down?"

Regulus smiled, but the others were oddly wary. It was Octavian who broke the silence.

"I'm glad to see you back, sir," he said.

Brutus was staring at the younger man in what could have been polite interest, and Julius wondered what had gone on between them. He did not want to hear of squabbling and bad feeling. His time on the Nile made such things seem trivial.

"The city is quiet, Julius," Brutus said, "as you might expect with the best part of thirty thousand soldiers here. We've had a few incidents of looting and some of the men are in desert barracks on punishment drills. Nothing that couldn't be handled. We've given them a decent sewage system and brought a little order to the docks. Apart from that, it's been a pleasant rest for some of us. How is the queen?"

Julius nodded to Brutus, pleased at the lack of fuss. "The birth is due in a few weeks, or even less," he said, his eyes softening at the thought.

"A son and heir," Brutus said. Julius did not see him glance at Octavian. "You'll have to make peace with Calpurnia when you return."

Julius nodded, sipping at his wine. The thought of his latest wife weeping on his shoulder was not a pleasant one. "I could not have known this would happen when I married her," he said, musing. "So much has changed since I set out for Greece."

"Are we going home then, when the child is born?" Octavian said suddenly.

Julius looked at him, seeing a tension he did not understand. "We are. I will leave two legions here to keep the peace. I'll write to Mark Antony and have him set up the galley routes for pay and orders. By the gods, it will be good to see him again. I've missed the old place. Just to speak about it here makes me long to see Rome."

He seemed to collect himself as he looked around at their earnest faces.

"We will take Pompey's remains back to be buried in the city, and I'll raise a statue to him, perhaps in his own theater. Even now the manner of his death sits poorly with me. I have written to my daughter to tell her, and I will honor him in death, for her sake at least."

He paused, staring off into space. It had been more than a year since Pharsalus, and the memory of crossing the Rubicon seemed impossibly distant. The hiatus in his life that had come on the slow Nile had changed him, he realized. The other men in the room still had the look of lean wolves, hardened by years of conflict. He did not feel quite in step with them.