“The Chrysopoeia of Cleopatra,” he exclaimed.
“Shh,” I hissed. “Don’t wake up my sister.”
Whit rolled his eyes. “I couldn’t care less about your sister.”
Frustration licked at my edges. He and I were going to have words about his opinion of Isadora. His lack of trust and courtesy was beginning to grate on me. Whit was the one whobetrayedme, the one who had lied to me. I almost got to my feet, but the memory had stayed with me, and I knew it was important, that it somehow connected to my mother.
“Will you please listen?”
He opened his mouth to speak, but I held up my hand. “At some point during the memory, I caught the scent of something burning. Right before she disappeared, I looked outward, and I saw a view of the sea, parts of the city.” I inhaled, the memory sharp and tasting bitter on my tongue. “It was under siege.”
Whit sat up and swung his legs around, planting his feet firmly next to me. His knee brushed against my shoulder. “Can I speak now?” There was the faintest note of sarcasm edging his voice.
“You may,” I said.
“The city you saw must be Alexandria,” he said. “Cleopatra had a palace close to the water, and if she had inherited the alchemical sheet and was working from it, it follows that she’d keep it close.” He thought for a moment. “I could see why she’d be desperate to produce the philosopher’s stone. Nothing bleeds money quite like war.”
“What war was this?” I asked. “She looked too young for it to be the Battle of Actium.”
“That took place off the coast of Greece,” Whit said.
He was right. I remembered that particular battle, the warships carved onto the walls of her tomb. It was the beginning of the end, that eventwas a catalyst for the loss of everything she held dear: her kingdom, her children, and eventually her great love, Marcus Antonius. Chills swept up and down my arms.
“It might have been a fight against her brother, who arrived in Alexandria with his army, bent on seizing the throne from Cleopatra,” Whit continued.
“So if she had the alchemical sheet, she might have wished to hide it somewhere. If I were her, I wouldn’t want it in my brother’s hands.”
“Right,” he said. “There are about a million places she could have hidden something so precious.”
“But at least we have the name of the city,” I said. “Cleopatra’s Chrysopoeia must be in Alexandria.”
“Like I said, a million places to hide,” Whit muttered.
“We can eliminate one place for sure,” I said. “The royal palace. The memory I stumbled into made me think she was leaving it in a rush to get out.”
“Agreed.” He paused. “And thank Christ, because the palace is underwater.”
“What happened in the end with Cleopatra’s brother? Did she defeat him?”
Whit nodded. “Thanks to Julius Caesar.”
And thus, her love affair began. I found her story fascinating, but I couldn’t help thinking of Mamá and how she could be on the same track, following the same clues. “Perhaps that’s why my mother is in Alexandria,” I said suddenly, remembering our earlier conversation. “Maybe it isn’t to start a rival black market after all.”
“Or it could be both. Your mother is an enterprising sort of person.” Whit smiled ruefully.
I returned it without thinking. We locked eyes for a beat, and then another. The lighting in the room had brightened considerably since I’d walked over to him, and I could see every line and curve of his face. He regarded me fondly, his shoulders relaxed, his elbows resting on his knees. We had slipped into the natural camaraderie and sleuthing that existed between us from the beginning. It had been so easy to fall in love with him.
And so easy to forget what he had done.
I stood, bristling and annoyed with myself. He would be Mr. Hayes to me and nothing else. I turned to go back to bed, to get what little sleep remained for me, but he caught my hand.
“Wait,” he said. “Wait.”
His fingers were warm against my palm. I hated the way my body sang in response. “What?”
He released me abruptly, jaw clenching. My tone had been curt and iced over.
“I don’t mean to be rude,” came an annoyed voice from within the confines of the gauzy cocoon in the center of the room, “but would you two please bloodybe quiet?”
