Arde Alexandria

Synopsis

Arde Alexandria The third novel from the Queen of Egypt Cleopatra has returned to the Royal Palace of Alexandria but to come back doesn't mean to reign. The court remains divided between Caesar and Tolemy XIII and the men who rule in the shade. Pothinus conspires, Teodoto sharpenes words, Achillas moves troops and the young king remains a crown manipulated by his hands. In the midst of that palace filled with closed doors, Cleopatra should turn his presence into power before his enemies re-expel her, or decide to kill her. Julio César, trapped in a town that doesn't fully control, tries to impose Roman order on an Egyptian court of intrigue, pride and poison. But Cleopatra doesn't agree to be treated as a protected or as a useful piece on his board. The ritual intimacy of his baths challenges him without giving up a gesture of authority: half naked, surrounded by steam, oils and servants, forces his conqueror of Rome to negotiate with his master. Seduction exists but not as surrender. It's politics, challenges and strategies. The tension's up at the port. The troops of Caesar and the forces of Tolomeus clumps between docks, ships, warehouses and narrow streets. To prevent the enemy fleet from closing the port, the Romans resort to fire. But Alexandria's made up of wood, flax, oil, bale and papyrus. The flames extend, reach the deposits linked to the library and devour thousands of rolls. Cleopatra arrives in time to see how a part of the memory of the world burns. Before the fire, the covenant between Caesar and Cleopatra crumbles. She challenges him not only a material loss but a wound to human thought. Between smoke and ashes and chartered papyrus, Caesar understands that Egypt isn't only a kingdom that can manage, use or submit: it's a civilization capable of accusing him from his ruins. While the town still smells of burned papyrus, Pothinus's conspiracy remains exposed. The eunuch, who for years has ruled after Tolohis, tries to justify his actions by invoking his loyalty to Egypt. But Caesar's no longer ready to tolerate betrayals inside his palace. In the throne room, under immense and frightful holy columns, Pothinus kneels on marble and receives a sentence as short as relentless. Arde Alejaria is the novel of fire, intrigue and first great political blood. Cleopatra claims as queen within the palace, Caesar finds that Egypt cannot be reduced to another conquest, the Library burns as a symbol of an irreparable loss and Pothinus dies without the war ending. Because his execution does not bring peace: it opens up a blood space from which Cleopatra finally begins to govern.