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.I gasped as she put it in her mouth, chewing calmly as she contemplated me.“You are one of the best we have, Charmian.Yet you’ve lost your bloodstone.”My heart dropped into my toes.I couldn’t deny it.“Yes,” I admitted in a whisper, my head bowed.“Get it back,” she hissed, her face clouding over and for a split second, one brief moment, I saw a glimpse of the ancient hag that she was.I sucked my breath in, waiting for a storm.She calmed herself, resuming her tranquil tone, her face regaining its youth and beauty.“Our bloodstones are powerful, as you know.They are the keys to everything.That sniveling eunuch will not be able to use it- because it was made for you.But the bloodstones were made from one stone.One.When one is lost, we all suffer.”I stared at her intrigued, as she pulled her own bloodstone out of her robes.Hers was larger than mine and set in an intricate setting surrounded by rubies, but it had clearly been cut from the same mother stone… glistening blood-red, with black veins.“Our power as a whole should not be diminished because of the carelessness of one, should it?” she purred, sliding her hands smoothly over my shoulders and stopping with her fingers wrapped lightly around my neck.I gulped, then shook my head quickly.“Then, fix it,” she instructed pleasantly, removing her hands.“No matter what you need to do to repair your error, you have my support.Do you understand?”Did I? Was she saying that retrieving my bloodstone using any means necessary was more important than restoring history?Before I could speak, she nodded.“I see that we’ve come to an understanding.You’re such a bright girl.Confusion flooded through me as I watched her adjust her clothing.How could this be happening? My entire being was dedicated to enforcing the plan of the Fates.Never had we deviated before, under the threat that chaos would ensue.How could we deviate now? Unless the threat was just that… an idle threat.I had forgotten that my thoughts were not safe around her, until she snapped me from my reverie with a growl.“Do not question us again, Charmian! There are times when the Plan is not as important as protecting the Order.It is as simple as that.And I will not explain myself to you!”But she just had.The Order had a weakness.The Bloodstones.And nothing on earth was as important as keeping them.I quickly blanked my thoughts so that she couldn’t read them again and nodded.“Yes, Lachesis.I’m sorry.Rest assured, I will fix this…” My voice trailed off hesitantly.“But?” she prompted.“But can I just ask one thing? Can I just know one thing… because I know I will not remember it in my next life anyway.”She studied me quietly, reading my thoughts and hearing my unspoken question.Her face an unreadable, lovely mask.“In each life your memories from your previous lives are wiped clean for your own benefit,” she finally explained.“It benefits you in many ways.If you were able to remember the sadness from your previous lives, it would drive you to insanity.You would lose your effectiveness as a Keeper.”I nodded.Ahmose had been right.“And you forget the gifts you are capable of through your bloodstone as a safeguard,” she added.“The power that we are able to harness is exquisite and enormous.Too much burden for any one person to be aware of, life after life.”“But you…”“My sisters and I have each other to keep us in check.You have no one.But your Aegis.”Realization settled upon me like a cloud.So, Ahmose wasn’t just there to assist me… he was there to keep me firmly in place.“So, now you know.” She stared at me.“For now.You’ll forget it again soon enough.”That thought was not comforting.“Charmian?”I looked up at her.“Yes?”“Be good.”And she was gone.I took a shaking breath and sank into my bed, allowing the softness to comfort me momentarily.I wasn’t sure what to think.She had just confirmed that at least some of the things that Annen had told me were true… but since she openly admitted them, didn’t that mean that the Order had nothing to hide? I was at a loss.My hand brushed against a rolled up papyrus on my bed.Staring at it suspiciously, I picked it up.How had she left it? I hadn’t seen her with it at all.As I unrolled it, the yellow butterfly that I had just seen Lachesis eat flew from the confines of the paper and out my window.I watched it fly away in shock, alive and well, before I turned my attention to the paper in my hands.Delicate, feminine writing flowed across the page in English.There are things you were never meant to understand.You will have to trust me.Before I even had a chance to ponder its meaning, the cryptic message burst into flame and I dropped it to the stone floor, watching it burn on the stone.Within a minute, it had disappeared completely… as though it had never existed.I exhaled shakily, suddenly realizing that I had been holding my breath.Forcing myself to calm, I reminded myself of my reality.I was a Keeper and my job right now was to get my bloodstone back so that I could return home to Pasadena where I belonged.And I would do it while disturbing my ancient life as Charmian as little as possible.I took a last glance into the mirror before I slipped into the hall, intent on waking Cleopatra up and forming a plan of action for the day.But my plan was waylaid when a house servant rushed to my side, her face drawn and pinched with worry underneath her tied scarf.“My lady, I am so thankful you are up,” she uttered quickly.“Please, can you come with me? It is Iras.She needs you.”Iras?! What on earth could possibly be wrong now? I quickly sailed through the empty corridors of the palace to Iras’ bedchamber, the servant trailing behind me.Pushing her door open, I scanned the room.Iras was thrashing in her bed, her forehead glistening with sweat.I turned in alarm to the servant girl.“How long has she been like this?”I crossed the room quickly to Iras, putting the back of my hand against her cheek, but withdrawing it just as quickly.She was burning up, her eyes glazed as she moaned.In her delirium, she didn’t even recognize that I was there.The servant girl shook her head quickly.“I know not, my lady,” she admitted reluctantly.“I found her this way this morning.” She hesitated and then continued.“I do know that the priest Annen was going to be bring her an herb… to help her get over her sickness.As you know, she has been ill for the past week or two.I came this morning to tell her that Annen has died.And she was like this.”My gaze returned to Iras as my stomach dropped like a lead weight.This couldn’t be happening.Apparently, Annen had been meant to heal her.But he couldn’t… because he was dead himself.If Iras didn’t get better, she would not be in Cleopatra’s tomb to die with us the way she was meant.I sighed heavily.I did not want to be the one to tell Cleopatra.But unfortunately, breaking bad news to her often fell within my job description.I turned back to the servant girl.“Please go directly to Cleopatra’s personal physician.Tell them that I need him here immediately.”She nodded quickly, her face alarmed.She knew that I would not call for Cleopatra’s personal physician, Olympus, unless the situation was dire.Olympus was every bit as daunting a person as Ahmose.She backed quickly out the door.I suspected that she was running at this very moment.I sat on the edge of the bed, stroking Iras’ burning back and pushing her damp hair out of her face.Her bedclothes were soaked with perspiration.There was hardly a dry place left for me to perch.My thoughts whirled, trying to recall from history books the types of illnesses that ancient Egyptians suffered from… and the cures
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