The Princess of Egypt Must Die Read Free Page B

harem. Would that please your father?"
    "Let the
old
women do the weaving," Bunny says, removing her sandals so she can join the dancing girls. "You're young, like we are. You should have fun."
    As we watch his sister spin away, Prince Agathocles agrees. "You need not worry about pleasing my father
too
much. His last woman was a Persian witch. Most of his concubines are leftovers from the harem in Susa. You won't have many rivals here."
    I glance over to where the king's women gather. I wonder if one of these women is Cassander's mother, but I'm afraid to ask and give insult. Most of the harem women are as old as my mother—some of them much older. They don't stare at me with resentment, but my mother would tell me to view them as deadly enemies. For once, I'm glad she isn't here.
    I don't
want
to see enemies behind every pillar.
    "And what about you?" I ask Prince Agathocles. "Do you have rivals?"
    "None," he boasts then leans in close. "And no wife, either."
    Why does he mention this to me? Does he want me to speak to his father on his behalf?
    Then he stuns me by saying, "Perhaps when my father passes into the underworld,
you
can be my wife, Arsinoë."
    My mouth falls open and I fight the urge to whip ‘round and see who is listening. Surely this is a jest. A cruel trick meant to humiliate me. The kind of trick Lysandra used to play on me in Egypt. I choose my words carefully. I have my duty to my father to think of. To my family. To Egypt. "I'm quite happy to be your father's wife."
    It is a bald-faced lie. I think Prince Agathocles knows it because he smirks. "Then my father chose the most virtuous bride in the world. You see, other girls might resent being forced to touch wrinkled old flesh. They would prefer young arms, like these." He holds up his arms so that I can look at them. "Other girls would cringe to kiss a mouth filled with yellowed teeth—"
    "You've had too much to drink," I break in, the heat of offense burning from my toes to the tips of my ears. "In the morning, you'll wish you didn't say these things. As a kindness, I'll pretend you didn't."
    He reels back as if I slapped him. He's a handsome prince; perhaps no girl has ever turned away his flirtations. I worry that
I
wouldn't have turned him away if he weren't so reckless...or if my heart didn't already belong to someone else.
     
    "My queen," Cassander says with a flourishing bow, as if we stood in the marbled palace instead of the straw-laden stables. A smile tugs at the corners of my mouth as I stroke Styx. It's the first moment since I arrived in Thrace that I have been able to visit my horse...or Cassander. And now I feel shy.
    "I haven't seen you since the wedding, Your Majesty," Cassander says courteously.
    I gasp. "I didn't think you were there!"
    "Of course I was."
    "But I didn't see you..."
    Holding a piece of fruit for Styx to munch on, Cassander looks absurdly pleased. "So you were looking for me? My place was in the shadows; my father likes for me to make myself scarce with the other servants at court."
    "But you aren't a servant," I say, as it seems to be an injustice. Certainly the children of my father's concubines never made themselves scarce. "You're the king's son."
    "But not a royal one," Cassander says with a rueful smile. "That is my brother."
    "I've met him."
    "Did you like him?" he asks.
    No. I did not like Prince Agathocles. But I'm afraid to say so.
    At my silence, Cassander tilts his head. "Did he mistreat you?"
    "Why would he?"
    "Because you can destroy all his dreams. If you bear my father a son, Prince Agathocles will no longer be the uncontested heir to the throne."
    I stare so long that Cassander raises a brow. "Don't tell me you haven't dreamed of bearing sons for my father."
    "I've never dreamed of such a thing," I say. Those were my mother's hopes, not mine. I've always pushed away such thoughts because I fear ambition goes hand in hand with cruelty.
    "No?" Cassander asks. "What else does a queen dream