Chapter 35 The Last Day #2
The others left as Heba gave Zahra one last look over. She smiled and nodded proudly. “You are ready. I will tell Ahmose.”
“Thank you, Heba.” Zahra looked down at her dress, taking a deep breath.
Tonight would change everything. In many ways, Zahra had already changed, but tomorrow brought a new dawn.
She was scared and nervous to think of what awaited her, but she was also excited.
She couldn’t wait to see Namir at the pr-aa.
The obelisk chimed two times in the distance, and Heba whistled from outside. “We are ready for you, o chara.”
Zahra smiled at Ahmose as she approached the cart. “I thought you would return to work.”
Ahmose grinned. “And miss seeing you off? Come on, adelphe. I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”
Zahra grinned. Heba helped Zahra into the cart, and everyone waved as they set off down the road.
Katerina flew overhead, and Zahra smiled up at her mother.
The roads were filled with chariots coming from the river to the pr-aa.
Each maiden she saw looked at the pr-aa in wonder and anticipation.
Finally, Ahmose’s cart pulled up to the front.
A medjay decorated in medals and wearing a helmet came up to her, offering his hand. Zahra recognized Ramses beneath the helmet and smiled. She took his hand, signing once her feet were on the ground. “Did he send you to fetch me?”
“He said to look for the one from Ionia in a dress like the Sea,” Ramses signed with a smile. “It is good to meet you, Zahra.”
Zahra grinned. “Today will be the last time we meet.”
Ramses nodded to her, and Zahra turned to Ahmose. He took her hand, pride in his eyes. “If the King breaks your heart while you are in there, I will be nearby.”
Zahra smiled at him. “Thank you, Ahmose, but I wish for you to go home. Celebrate with the others. I will be safe here tonight.”
His eyes narrowed. “Are you certain?”
The medjay hollered for him to move, and Zahra let go of his hand. “I am certain.”
She bid Ahmose goodbye and followed Ramses toward the pr-aa. The obelisk chimed three times. As they approached the event area, Zahra heard the other maidens speaking about her.
“What is a sobki doing here?”
“The King will not choose her.”
“Ew, did you see her shoes?”
And yet, even with those that mocked or shunned her behind her back, she heard just as many offering words of kindness.
“Look at how beautiful her dress is.”
“I wish my Ionian friend had come. She would have loved to see this.”
Ramses offered his hand to Zahra as they approached the more crowded area. She shook her head. “I wish to walk to him myself.”
Ramses fell behind as she pushed through the crowd. There were many who stared, but Zahra took their stares in stride. Though the day was not new for her, it was a new day for her people—one that would be remembered for generations.
Zahra paused at the edge of the room, holding her eagle necklace tight and looking up.
Katerina watched from atop one of the nearby sculptures.
With a bob of her head, Katerina took off into the sky, and Zahra turned back to the crowd, keeping her head high as she walked.
She found a pair of black eyes in the crowd and smiled.
The maidens spoke excitedly to each other. “The King is coming this way!”
Zahra stayed still, letting him come to her. The maidens went silent, watching Namir as he passed. Those in front of him, upon seeing his true target, stepped to the side and made a path for him.
Namir looked like a King. It had been so long since she had seen him like this, bearing his golden usekh collar and golden bracelets. His curls fell out from beneath his golden crown. He extended his hand to her, grinning. “Daughter of Nebthet, would you dance with me?”
Zahra placed her hand in his. “I would be honored, my King.”
Namir pulled Zahra into the center of the room. The maidens made space for them, pushing each other back to the edges to watch. Others took off in a fury or went to the food table with defeated-looking faces.
Namir raised his eyebrows at her. “You are late.”
Zahra shrugged. “I couldn’t come to the Pa-sekhemty Feast in servant’s clothes.”
“You are right.” He let go of her waist, spinning her. The crowd gasped as she returned to him. “This suits you. You look not at all like an Auran but—”
“Like an Ionian?” She grinned at his teasing smile. “I wanted to bring my home with me. This was Heba’s daughter’s dress. The people in Heba’s settlement gifted me some jewelry and perfume as well.”
Namir breathed in the smell. “Amazing gifts, indeed.” He pulled her closer. “Are you ready to end this spell?”
Zahra grinned. “We do have a captive audience.”
“Don’t mind them.” He held her hand tight, resting his forehead against hers. “Focus on me.”
Zahra looked into his eyes. Namir smiled and spoke words in Badari.
The spot where his mark hid under his collar glowed, and she could feel the warmth of a glow on her own chest. The area itched, and she sensed the Thoth’s powers retract back into it.
The pressure on her mind from holding back Zosar’s spell disappeared.
She let out a breath. Her eyes slipped closed as she recalled that first night, meeting Namir under the stars, dancing with him in front of a thousand others, and being struck by Pesha’s arrow.
The pressure faded in an instant. All seemed silent around them. Namir rubbed her back, whispering to her, “It is done.”
Zahra looked around as her senses returned to her.
Most of the maidens were no longer paying attention to them, instead picking at the food, dancing on their own, or leaving altogether.
Those that watched had confused and curious stares, as if they had seen the glow that Namir and Zahra had briefly shared but were not sure what to think of it.
Zahra let out a breath of relief. “It feels like a dream.”
Namir placed his fingers under her chin, turning her head to him. “I promise you, it’s not.”
Zahra grinned. She moved closer to kiss him, but she stopped, remembering the many pairs of eyes still watching them. “Maybe we should go somewhere else.”
“We can head inside early,” he said, “and rest for tomorrow.”
She laughed. “This is a celebration, o méli. I want to enjoy my time here for once.” As long as they went inside before too late, the moonlight would keep her safe.
He smiled and spun her. “Of course, my Queen.”
Namir and Zahra walked outside, their hands intertwined.
“Tonight, I shall tell the Pharaoh Queen of my intent,” Namir said. “Tomorrow, we shall be wed.”
Zahra thought of Namir’s family. “Will your mother and uncle ever accept me?”
“They will have to,” he said. “Give them time. I know you have only seen the worst sides of them, but they are not as awful as they seem.”
Zahra knew that much was true. She had seen the way the Pharaoh Queen and Waaiz cared for Namir. Some day, she hoped, they would find it in their hearts to care for her, too.
They found a stone bench in the garden that overlooked the city and beyond. Zahra sat down, leaning her head on Namir’s shoulder and letting out a heavy sigh.
Namir squeezed her hand, looking down at her. “What is it?”
“I don’t know.” She took a deep breath. “I think, in some way, I am still scared to see the new dawn.”
“Nothing bad will happen,” Namir assured her, “but I understand your fear.”
“I know. But think of it, Namir—a thousand days we have been in this spell. So much has changed in the years we have been trapped here.”
“But we are free.” He kissed her hair. “There is much to change, but with you by my side, I know we can do it.”
Zahra took a deep breath, raising her head to better see the rest of the kingdom. He was right. There was much to change. Much needed to be done to achieve the united Aur that she had seen in her vision.
“My ancestors died protecting a future where our people could be one. Tomorrow will mark a new day for all of us. Our people have feared one another for too long. It is time to bring our two worlds together. We may have different names for things, but our netjeru are the same at heart. We will be one people, just as my ancestors foretold.”
Namir smiled proudly at her. “One people—I like that.”
Zahra’s cheeks flushed, and she kissed his lips. “Tell me about tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow will be my happiest day.” Namir grinned. “But I look forward most to the days that come after.”
They spoke softly to each other as the moon rose higher in the sky. Their conversation took them to the future, where they discussed the plans for ideas they had thought of long ago.
The obelisk chimed five times, and Namir leaned back with a yawn. “That’s our sign to head inside for the night.”
Zahra covered her mouth as she yawned. “This will be a long night.”
Namir shook his head as he stood, offering his hand to Zahra. “I have placed a mattress in the armory so you may rest while I keep watch by the door.”
Zahra’s eyes softened, and she took his hand. “You did not have to do that.”
Namir guided her back toward the pr-aa. “I wanted to ensure you would be comfortable.”
Zahra smiled, hooking her arm in his. “Thank you, my King.”
Namir nodded. “I had some clothes for you prepared in my room, and then we can head to the armory.”
Zahra glanced at the dimming moon before Namir took her inside the pr-aa. Medjay were stationed by entrances and in the halls, casually conversing with each other, and pausing to bow as Namir and Zahra passed.
Zahra held tight to Namir’s arm, watching the eyes of the medjay.
Though Namir was careful to keep Zahra in the moonlight filtering down from the windows, many of the medjay were in the shadow or areas lit by lamps.
In their eyes was the red glow of the keres, but the medjay did nothing more than bow and return to their conversations.
Zahra’s forehead creased as Namir took her up the stairs to his room.
There were less medjay stationed on this floor, likely due to Namir’s request. Their khopeshes were absent from their sides.
Again, their eyes glowed red as Zahra and Namir passed, but they made no move to attack, despite the dimming moonlight.
Namir let go of her arm once they were inside his room. “We should be quick.”
Zahra drifted to the window on the other side of the room, her eyes trained on the sky outside.
Namir closed the door, retrieving a pile of fabric from his bed. “Here is the clothing for you. I will leave the room so you can—” He paused as Zahra stood by the window. “Zahra?”
Zahra’s hand lingered on her eagle necklace.
A force toiled within her, pressing in on her chest and making it difficult to breathe.
She was pulled back to that first night, lying on the bed in this very room, and the words that Zosar spoke as he placed the curse of the keres on her.
Even now, she could feel the pierce of the snake’s teeth in her heart.
In a moment, the snake’s teeth were gone, ripped from her chest.
Zahra crumpled against the window, crying out. Namir was by her side in seconds, catching her as she slid to the floor. Zahra grabbed at her chest, gasping as sweat coiled on her brow.
“What is wrong?” Namir asked, examining her. “I don’t understand. What—”
“It’s gone,” Zahra rasped. “My curse—it’s gone.”
She could feel its absence on her psyche, but if the keres were no longer after her, then where had they gone?
Namir’s hands tightened on her as shouts came from the hallway. Zahra got to her feet, despite Namir’s protests, pushing past him toward the door. The medjay were gathering near a window, shouting to each other.
“Protect the King,” one shouted, running toward them.
Namir grabbed Zahra and put her behind him, but the medjay only stopped and bowed in front of him. “My King, we must take up our weapons. It’s the prison.”
Zahra stepped out from Namir. “Show us.”
Namir reached for Zahra’s hand as she followed the medjay toward the window. “Zahra!”
The medjay parted for Zahra and Namir, and Zahra’s heart dropped. The building where the assassins and Zosar were being held was in flames.
Harsh whispers penetrated Zahra’s mind. She grunted, falling to her knees and holding her head.
“Zahra!” Namir grabbed her arms, squatting beside her. “Can you hear me?”
The voices of the sibyls before her repeated the prophecy in her mind.
“Beware the day of a thousand nights. The sibyl of the blood moon will suffer chaos’s blade.
A child of Re will open Tartarus’s gate, and chaos’s price will be paid.
The timeless king will bear the Pharaohs’ plight, and the children of the eclipse will decide Aur’s fate. ”
“I don’t understand,” Zahra cried, clutching her head as pressure built in her skull. “We stopped the prophecy from happening. The blood moon—”
Zahra and Namir looked up at the sky. The moon was red.
A hand rested on Namir’s shoulder, and Namir moved in front of Zahra.
Ramses stood above them, a grave look on his face. “Zosar has escaped.”