Chapter 29 Sweet King
Sweet King
“Rhodopis,” Katerina whispered, her voice warm and bright like sunshine.
The sounds of the Sea filled Zahra’s ears, and she smiled as the memory continued to play around her.
Katerina’s fingers forked through Zahra’s curls, her voice soft as she hummed. “It is morning, poulaki mou.” She leaned forward, kissing Zahra’s head. “He needs you now. Go to him.”
Zahra’s eyes fluttered open, the warm sunlight of her memory making way for the darkness of the room. “Mamá?”
An eagle sat beside her on the bed, gnawing her hair with its beak. It dropped the strands once it saw her open eyes, and it chirped.
Zahra’s hand went to her mother’s necklace. She sat up as the eagle flew over to the open window. She winced as she stood, holding her head as she stumbled. The eagle was not frightened by her presence, even as she caught her weak body against the wall.
Zahra groaned, sinking to the floor. The eagle chirped from above her, opening its wings in the moonlight. The moonlight from the window settled some inches from Zahra’s feet. Her eyebrows knitted together, and she leaned forward.
The light danced on her fingers, making her skin sparkle. She closed her eyes, breathing in the cool air. A feeling of something missing sat at the edge of her mind, and she had the strongest desire to engulf herself in the moonlight.
Zahra lifted her arms up onto the windowsill, pulling herself to a standing position.
Inebu-hedj glittered below her, a beautiful city with more people celebrating their netjer than she could count.
She looked up at the moon. It was dimmer than it had been the night before, but still its light came upon her.
The moonlight penetrated her mind, and Zahra gasped as the Thoth’s spell was lifted from her eyes once more. Memories came flooding back to her, and she nearly fell over from the rush.
Zahra gasped. She looked over at her Mamá, who seemed to smile. “Where… Where is he?”
Zahra sank to the ground, resting her head against the wall and rubbing her eyes.
Katerina landed at her feet, and Zahra sucked in a deep breath.
Whatever Zosar had done had weakened her.
The vision at the old pr-aa had made it clear that she was still under the Thoth’s spell, even if she could fight its effects with Selene’s help.
Zahra tried to remember what had happened after Zosar had grabbed her curse, but it was all a blur. She pushed herself to her feet, stumbling forward.
Ramses looked up in surprise when Zahra appeared in the doorway. He opened his mouth as if to speak, but Zahra’s signing stopped him. “Where is Namir?”
Relief flooded his face, and he motioned for her to follow. The hallway was dark, lit only by a single lamp, as he led her to a room adjacent to hers. He lingered in the hallway, encouraging her forward with a nod.
Namir was sitting by a window, bent over, his elbows resting on his knees and his face buried in his hands. His ear turned toward her as the floor creaked, but he did not look up. His voice came quiet and irritated. “I wish to be alone, Nubia.”
“Namir?”
He dropped his hands, glancing back at her. The shadow of his hair hid his eyes, and his voice shook as he spoke. “Zahra?”
“What’s wrong?” She stepped forward. “Why do you sound upset?”
Namir watched her for a moment. Then he turned away. “Go to sleep. Re knows that neither of us has gotten any real sleep for some time.”
“I am not leaving.”
He turned his face further from her, looking down as she approached. Her hand hesitated over his curls. He was trembling.
“Namir…”
“Please.”
Zahra was alarmed by the strain in his voice. Gently, she brushed the curls from his face. His eyes were downcast, wet with tears that crept silently down his cheeks.
“Namir.” She cupped his face as she fell to her knees and wiped away his tears. “O méli, what is wrong?”
“Nothing.” He sounded quiet, defeated. He tugged weakly against her grasp. “Please, rest.”
“I am here for you.” She fought to hold his gaze, but he wouldn’t yield. “Please, speak to me.”
His lip trembled, wet and swollen from crying. He wrung his fingers, pulling on each one as he lost control of his breathing. “I have doomed us all.”
Zahra’s heart ached. “Namir, that isn’t true.”
“It is,” he claimed. “I trapped us in this day. My medjay are killed every night defending my life, Ramses has died at least a dozen times, and you are burdened with a curse that will always claim your life. And it is all my fault.”
“You are taking ownership of so many things that are out of your control.” She rubbed her thumb against his cheek, even as he tried to turn away from her. “Please, Namir. This is not your fault.”
“Re has seen fit to punish me,” he insisted. “I ignored him for too long, and now I have doomed us all.”
Zahra’s brow furrowed. “What do you mean?”
Namir sniffled. “My cousin died saving my life, and I blamed Re for it.”
Zahra moved her hand to his shoulder, rubbing it as Namir spoke.
“I was foolish. I had spent years confined in these walls, never certain I would live to manhood. Namir promised to take me to a far-off place once I was thirteen. When the battle at Henen-nesut was announced, I wanted to join him in the fight and prove my worth. He said I wasn’t ready, but I didn’t care. My foolishness cost him his life.”
Namir shook his head. “I blamed Re for years, refusing to listen to Zosar’s sermons or Nubia’s stories of miracles.
When I was handed the power of the Thoth, I asked for his aid in choosing a queen, but he saw fit to punish me instead.
All of this has happened because I couldn’t take responsibility for my cousin’s death. ”
“I don’t think Re is punishing you,” Zahra said, “nor do I think Namir’s death was your fault. You were just a boy.”
“I was the prince of Aur.” He shook his head. “I should have known better. He was my best friend, my brother, and I lost him because of my own foolishness.”
“His death was not your fault,” Zahra repeated.
“I killed him.” Namir’s fingers knotted, and his lip trembled as more tears fell. “It’s an act for which my uncle has never forgiven me, and one my father too easily ignored when he declared I should be king. Nubia was the most logical choice, but he chose me instead.”
“You couldn’t have known what was going to happen.” She wiped at his tears. “You were a child. Don’t blame yourself for a death caused by greedy men.”
“The blade struck him instead of me.” His pain-filled eyes finally met hers. “Even now, I cower behind others. I am too weak to be King, to be Pharaoh.”
Zahra moved her other hand to his other shoulder. “Listen to me.”
Namir shook his head, moving to stand.
Zahra placed her hands on his arm and face.
“Listen to me!” She pushed him down into the chair, her amber eyes capturing his.
“My mother died protecting me. My village was on fire, and I had run off.” She knelt beside him once more, holding up her necklace.
“She died at a Parsan soldier’s blade, one that was meant to hit me.
She handed this to me, telling me to keep it with me always.
Even though my father blamed me for her death, I remembered her words, and eventually, he found forgiveness in his heart.
” She smiled sadly, letting her necklace fall and holding his face once more.
“My mother did not blame me for her death, nor would Namir have blamed you. He saved you because he saw your potential as a man and as a King. He saved you because he loved you. Do you think he would want you to blame yourself for his choice?”
His black eyes relented. “No.”
“A cruel man would not honor the name of another by giving up his own, and a bad King would not acknowledge his mistakes, especially in the face of adversity.”
Namir choked back a cry, closing his eyes and turning his face from her.
“O méli.” She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him toward her. He clung to her, burying his face in her curls as soft sobs escaped his throat.
She dug her fingers into his hair, kissing his head.
“My sweet, sweet King.” She hugged him tight, speaking softly into his ear.
“You are the bravest man I know. Bravery does not exist without fear, and you have stood fast in the face of fear since your youth. Life has been so cruel to you, much too cruel, but you have grown so much despite it.” She rubbed his back.
“It will be okay, Namir. You are a good man, a great King, and you are not alone in this.”
Namir’s sobs moved her heart, and she held him tighter, letting her hair soak up his tears. It was several minutes before he allowed her to guide him to the bed, where he rested his head on her lap. “Don’t leave.”
Zahra pushed his curls from his closed eyes. “I won’t.” Within minutes, he was asleep.
Zahra looked out the window. It was late. The moon was red, and the obelisk would soon chime six times. She had not died yet, but only because they were sitting in the dim moonlight. The keres could still reach her if another yielded to anger.
Movement from the doorway caught her eye. Waaiz was standing there. His eyes narrowed, a glint of red in them. He lifted his sword, beckoning her out with his hand.
Zahra swallowed. What would he do to Namir if she did not obey?
Zahra kissed Namir’s temple. “I am sorry.” She slid his head off her lap. He stirred but did not wake.
Waaiz grabbed her arm as soon as she was within reach. Ramses was down the hall, his hands bound with rope and his mouth gagged. Zahra met his gaze with sorry eyes as Waaiz pulled her to a set of stairs.
“I have done nothing wrong,” she said as he led her into a different part of the pr-aa.
His eyes glowed red as he glared at her. “We shall see about that.”