Cleopatra: Queen of the Nile / Season 1, Episode 11
Shadows of Betrayal
Episode 11: Shadows of Betrayal The air in Cleopatra’s chamber was thick with the scent of damp stone and burning oil, the flickering lamplight casting jagged shadows across the walls. Apollodorus stood in the doorway, his broad shoulders hunched as if the weight of his news pressed down on him harder than the mud-streaked cloak clinging to his frame. His breath came in harsh, uneven gasps, and the cut above his left eye oozed a sluggish trickle of blood, staining the weathered lines of his face. Cleopatra’s fingers tightened around the edge of the wooden table beside her, the rough grain biting into her skin as she steadied herself against the storm she knew was coming. “Speak,” she commanded, her voice low but sharp, cutting through the heavy silence. “What’s happened at the docks?” Apollodorus stepped inside, kicking the door shut behind him with a thud that echoed in the small room. His dark eyes met hers, and in them, she saw something she rarely did in the grizzled mercenary—fear. Not for himself, but for her. For Egypt. He wiped a hand across his jaw, smearing the grime there, and took a deep breath. “Roman ships, princess. Three of ‘em, anchored just beyond the harbor, out of sight of the main watchtowers. They ain’t flying Caesar’s banners, not yet, but...