Chapter 32
Charlotte
When I wake, I am back in my grand library sitting in front of the warm fireplace. The smell of parchment and cedar fills my lungs as I get my bearings. The space is the same, but it seems more muted and dreamlike than the last time I was here.
Across from me in a matching wingback chair sits a familiar face looking at me with a soft smile.
“Hello, Charlotte,” says Anubis in a soothing voice. “How are you feeling?”
My hand goes up to my chest. There is a slight aching feeling there, but when I look down everything looks normal. I can’t recall why, but I feel like I shouldn’t be fine.
Anubis looks at me expectantly and I realize I never answered his question but I decide to ask one of my own instead. “Where is this place?”
He looks around at the stacks of books on their shelves and gives a small smile. “We are in your dreamscape. It is a place where you feel at peace.”
That makes sense. I’ve always felt most at home in a library or at home curled up by the fire with a good book. His answer is still a bit cryptic. I’m afraid of the answer that he will give me, but I have to ask. “Am I alive?”
“You are in between. Your body has died, yes, but your ka and ba live on. You have a unique choice being given to you. Would you mind if I explain?”
“Yes, please. What do I do?” I say shaken.
He takes my hand and gives it a gentle squeeze. “Do not fear death, Charlotte. It is only the beginning, but you are being given a choice to come back.”
“How is that even possible?”
“Thoth is working on a spell now to allow your ka, or life force, to be connected with Horus’s. You would be forever bonded. Your ba, or personality, would return to your own body. You would be the same as you were but with an immortal lifespan and potentially some other god-like qualities. This has never been done. So, we cannot know for certain the final outcome.”
I smile because that sounds like a dream come true. I could live out my days at Horus’s side, but slowly memories start to sneak in. “But he’s betrothed! I can’t be bonded to him while he marries someone else!”
“Do not fret, Charlotte. Horus had a feeling you would bring that up. Osirus and Isis betrothed them when he was an infant. He had no say in the matter and had no intention of following through with the betrothal. He wanted me to tell you that he loves you and only you. He would be honored to spend eternity with you.”
My mind is spinning and my heart feels like it could flutter out of my chest. He loves me and is choosing me!
“So, you have a choice,” Anubis continues. “I can send you on to the afterlife to a life of peace, or you can go back and join Horus in a life of love as his consort.”
It is not a choice at all. I could be at peace, but what is peace without love? “Send me back, please. I love him too, Anubis.”
He gives me a warm smile. “I was hoping you would say that.”