AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The belt that held two daggers. Thekhopeshhe carried cross-wise on his back. The metal guards that covered most of his forearms.
And when the sounds turned to softer rasps of his tunic being removed, followed by his sandals, until he was down to his loincloth…Heba’s breathing became heavier, more erratic.
It was full dark in her chamber. Even if she lifted her head and stared wide-eyed directly at her ever-present Shadow, she would barely be able to make out a silhouette.
But, oh, she could certainly use her imagination.
A vivid imagination fueled by memories that were burned forever into her mind. Into her skin. Not only vivid but visceral.
She could stillfeelhis face and body under her hands, against her skin. She could still taste him on her tongue. Her nose and lungs were still permeated with his masculine scent.
The flavor and aroma ofShai.
She turned on her bed and curled in on herself, hugging an oblong pillow close, the way she wanted to hold the man. The way she’d been wanting, dreaming, wishing for over a thousand days and nights.
After.
To Heba, her life was divided into Before and After.
Before, she’d been a well-taught, tradition-abiding, precocious, headstrong girl who was cunning in the ways of royal, domestic and foreign politics, but naïve in the dynamics of a more personal nature. She played her role well and did the best she could with what she had—
A beloved father and king gone too soon. A distant mother who never cared. Brothers and other relatives who vied for power. A swarm of duplicitous snakes Thutmose I shielded her from. And following his death, a worthless, weak, cowardly husband who threw her to the wolves. Undermining her at every turn.
Only Shai stood between her and the terrifying, dangerous world.
She learned what she had to, adapted and fought back. Saved herself and her father’s legacy the only way she knew how. With the only person she trusted.
Before, she only knew what she was taught. Accepted as right the way she was raised. How society was structured, and her role within it.
She gave no thought to the pyramid of Egyptian society, built on the broken backs of countless slaves. Supported by the hands of thousands of servants and peasants. Led and organized by the educated nobles and powerful priests. Ruled over all of it by the god-like Pharoah and his mighty armies.
It was simply the Egyptian way of life.
After, she could no longer look at anyone the same way, as if a fundamental shift had catalyzed within her, remaking her.
The armies did not simply obey the Pharoah. They were powerful in their own right, and the generals could easily start a coup if they chose to, if they believed that the Pharoah wasn’t strong enough to lead them.
The priests had their own agenda. This, Heba always knew, for her father had warned her in his own way. But she never knew how delicate the balance of power was between the Pharaoh and his priests until she became Regent herself.
They were snakes and scorpions, jackals and crocodiles. They were vicious and conniving, some quick to sting, others rattling their tails in wait. They, too, could easily overthrow a king who was too weak to control them.
The nobles were greedy. Their loyalty could be bought. Could shift from one day to another. A Pharoah needed powerful nobles to carry out his edicts. But at the same time, he had to keep them in line. Make sure they never became too powerful, too wealthy.
The servants were tools. They were spies for anyone who threatened or bribed them. They heard and saw too many secrets, and secrets were a currency heftier than gold.
The peasants toiled in their simple lives. Like ants, they were industrious and self-contained, but en masse, they could bring down the entire pyramid and topple even the king.
At last, there were the slaves.
And one slave in particular changed her entire world view of them.
It seemed that when one was stripped of all embellishments, when one often didn’t even have a simple covering to shield them against the elements, what remained was simplyhumanin its rawest form.
Most were too tired and beaten down, all hope of any future dimmed in their eyes. The slaves that worked the many construction sites of noblemen and royals exemplified this group. They simply put one foot in front of the other in back-breaking labor and worked until they could no longer rise.
Then, there were those who could never be truly enslaved, no matter the shackles they wore. Their spirit was too bold; their will, too strong. These slaves plotted rebellion or escape in their hearts and never gave up. Or, they forged new paths to find their freedom.
Shai made her see themaninstead of his position in the societal pyramid.
