KIYA: Rise of a New Dynasty (Kiya Trilogy Book 3) Page 2

  He glanced at the table, then his gaze turned up to Malachi. He grinned. “Hello, Papa. It’s been a long time.”

  Malachi’s expression relaxed as he smiled back. “It has indeed, my boy.”

  Tut wrapped his arms around his shoulders and the two embraced. When he stepped back, he ran his hand over Malachi’s beard. “What is this? Do I see some gray?”

  Malachi grabbed his wrist and glared at him. “I’ve heard you have been calling me old, so don’t push your luck.”

  Tut laughed merrily, turning back to me and wrapping his arm around my shoulders. “Mama, this food smells incredible. Shall we eat?”

  “Of course.” I glanced around while the children all rushed to the table. “Where are Hepsati and Joshua?”

  Tut laughed. “I know! Give me one moment.” He rushed outside. A moment later, Hepsati came in with a scowl on her face, holding Joshua’s arm tightly as she led him to the table.

  “What’s wrong?” I whispered to her as she passed.

  “You’ll see,” she muttered.

  Then, Tut came back in leading a veiled woman. He waited for us all to be paying attention to him before he said, “Mama, I brought a surprise for you.”

  He removed the veil to reveal Ankhesenamun.

  I gasped. “Tut! You can’t bring her here!”

  “Who is it, Mama?” Zakkai asked.

  Tut rushed to me. “Mama, it’s fine. She has never spoken a word about you being alive to anyone. You can trust her, I trust her. Come, she is carrying my child.”

  He pulled at my arm to coax me toward her.

  I reached back and grabbed Malachi’s robe. I didn’t want to go near her. “Tut, you should take her back. What if someone notices?”

  “Queen Kiya,” Ankhe said with a quick bow. “Do not concern yourself. We were sure to leave without anyone noticing.”

  “Please don’t call me that,” I said in a hushed voice.

  “Call her Naomi,” Tut responded. “Or Mama, if you want. Hepsati does, and she’s like you. We all share the same father.”

  Hepsati gasped. “Tut, don’t―”

  “I know who you are, daughter of Mordad.” Ankhe bowed.

  An awkward silence fell. Malachi rested his hand on my shoulder and stepped forward. “Well, Ankhe, would you like to join us?”

  She smiled pleasantly up at him. “Thank you. I could smell the food since we pulled up and it has made me feel ravenous.”

  Malachi gestured toward the table and plucked Saul from a chair so she could sit. The family gathered around, feeling wary of the newcomer. Malachi blessed the food, before the children grabbed for their favorites.

  Tut grasped my elbow and pulled me closer to him. “Mama, please be nice to her. I know in the past things, have been unpleasant between you two, and also with her mother and sister…”

  An image of Mayati’s shocked face as Horemheb stabbed her filled my mind.

  “But she’s different. She has been a good wife to me.”

  Malachi leaned closer and kissed my head. “Naomi, she’s here, isn’t she? Give her a chance.”

  I sighed, feeling pressured from all angles. “All right, Tut. For you.”

  He grabbed my face and kissed my cheek over and over. “Thank you, Mama!”

  I pushed him off, laughing. “Thank your Papa.”

  He took Malachi by the forearm and shook it. “Thank you, Papa, for being the only one who can make her do anything.”

  I slapped him as Malachi laughed.

  While we ate as a family, it surprised me to find Ankhe charming and lighthearted. She was a far cry from the girl I had once known, so I couldn’t help feeling suspicious. I watched her as she spoke to each of my children, then Hepsati’s children, and let them touch her pregnant belly.

  When I went to bring out the dates and figs for a treat, Malachi followed me and stopped me in the storage shed. “Naomi, you’re not giving her a chance.”

  “A chance? Malachi, she is the daughter of Nefertiti, the woman who tried to kill me!” I hissed.

  “But she is not Nefertiti. She has been married to Tut for seven years now and has been nothing but loyal to him.”

  I scowled and folded my arms.

  “Naomi.” He stepped toward me and clasped my face. “I believe she may love him. She looks at him as if she does, and she is trying so hard to impress you because she knows you are the person he loves more than anyone else. She wants you to approve of her because once you do, he will, too.”

  I scoffed. “Then I never will.”

  He sighed. “Really? You would deny your son his chance to be happy?”

  I looked up into his eyes, suddenly feeling guilty for being so harsh. I allowed my old ways and feelings get the better of me and cloud my judgment of the present. I grasped at his robe, pulling him closer to me. “Malachi, you know how to get to me.”

  He smiled and bent down to kiss me. “Yes, it’s only taken me seven children and seventeen years…”

  “Stop.” I laughed and kissed him.

  We returned with the figs and dates and set them down on the table as the conversation escalated. Tut told stories of the palace and had the whole family rolling with laughter. I felt Ankhe watching me, and as I passed her, she grasped my wrist, tugging it gently.

  I bent down and she whispered, “Let’s step outside and talk.”

  I nodded. She glanced at Tut, who paid no attention to us whatsoever, and slowly stood. As we slipped out the door, I looked back at Malachi. He was the only one who noticed us leave.

  We walked in silence to the edge of the river where we stood looking out under the stars. She sighed and stroked her belly, then she dropped her hand and gently touched my fingers. “Kiya…”

  “Naomi,” I corrected her, pulling away.

  “Naomi.” She turned to face me. “I know we have had our differences…”

  I raised an eyebrow at her, which made her turn back to facing the river.

  “But Tut, he is the best thing that has ever happened to me. I thought I could never love someone like I did my father, but now…” she paused and looked down at her belly. “Naomi, you raised an amazing young man. Tut is wonderful. He is gentle and caring; he is the best of our father and you. I didn’t mean to, but I fell in love with him. I know he is still a boy in so many ways, but to me, he is perfect. My only problem is that he loves someone more than he does me, and so he won’t give me his heart until he knows she will allow it.”

  She turned back to me and held my hand in hers. “Naomi, you are she. He loves and admires you so much. All he ever talks about is how strong you are, or how he needs to talk to you to find out what you would do. It’s never me he turns to first. He is forever writing notes to you or sending for the Commander to ask him what he thinks you would do.

  “I’m not jealous by any means; he is your son and it is wonderful that he holds you so close to his heart. I just want him to love me like I do him, but he won’t unless he knows you approve. Please, Naomi, I’m not trying to deceive you. I truly do love him, and I beseech you; see that I have good intentions and tell him it is all right to love me.”

  She gazed up at me pleadingly. She was so tiny, but so beautiful. I reached over and slipped off her wig, to see the real Ankhe. She looked remarkably like her mother, except she had her father’s long neck and dark eyes. I looked down at her hand and saw she had also inherited his long, slender fingers, but on her, they looked elegant.

  “Ankhe,” I said softly. “You have been a good wife these past six and a half years.” I stroked her hand. “I have been afraid of you being like your mother and hurting my son, but you have proved to be more like your father. Even now, as I look into your eyes, I see him, and I feel like I can safely entrust my son to you.”

  Her face lit up as a wide smile swept across her face. She threw herself at me and held me tightly. “This means so much to me!”

  I touched her short hair before replacing her wig. “Tut deserves to be happy, so you
better make him happy.”

  She looked up at me, beaming. “I will! I promise you I will do everything I can to make and keep him happy.”

  I gently pushed her away from me and took her hand, leading her back into the house. Again, only Malachi noticed us as we re-entered. Ankhe returned to her chair as I slipped over and leaned against his shoulder.

  “I hope this is the right thing to do.”

  He wrapped his arm around me. “Was I right? Does she love him?”

  “She claims to.”

  He looked at me. “You have never been very trusting of anyone in that family, but I think she might be different.”

  I stared at the back of her head, hoping she was different. I wanted her to be, for Tut’s sake. Looking at Tut, who had finally stopped talking to allow Hepsati to speak, I found him staring at me. I smiled at him and he returned it. He stood, then rushed to my side. He leaned against me and crushed me between him and Malachi. Malachi pushed him back and he laughed.

  “Come with me, Mama,” he whispered tugging at my wrist.

  I sighed, feeling resigned to not being able to spend a moment with the whole family. I followed him outside where he climbed onto his chariot and offered me his hand. “Come, ride with me.”

  “You know I don’t like that thing,” I muttered, resting my hands on my hips.

  “Don’t be boring, Mama.” He grinned, reaching further forward for me.

  “All right, but don’t go too fast.” I took his hand and he pulled me up beside him.

  We rode through the quiet streets as he talked endlessly to me. He wanted advice about everything from the Nubians who were threatening war, to his wives and all their dramas. Finally, we pulled up at the edge of the fields where the sheep grazed in the distance. He fell silent, probably remembering his childhood there, and wrapped his arm around my shoulders. “Mama, this is the best moment ever.”

  I wrapped my arm around his waist. “When did you grow up, Tut? I still see you as the little boy who bit me when I tried to force you onto a camel while we crossed the desert.”

  He laughed and squeezed me. “I’ve always been something else, haven’t I?”

  “Apparently that’s my fault,” I teased. “Sorry.”

  He kissed my head and helped me down from the chariot. We walked out onto the field and he said, “I like Nathaniel. He’s easy to boss around, just like Joshua.”

  I slapped his chest, and he laughed again. “Maybe I’ve just been spoiled to have Malachi and Horemheb as father figures. They are both so strong, I feel like I have a high standard to live up to.”

  “That’s a good thing,” I told him. “A king needs to be strong, and you have that potential. You’ve been so blessed to have great men guiding you to be the best you can be.”

  “And, of course, a wise and feared mother.” He grinned. “Did you know even now, twelve years after your supposed death, many of my men still fear you and the women still admire you? Ay himself trembles when he hears your name, and Horemheb, oh don’t get me started on how he reacts.”

  “I won’t,” I said shortly.

  He glanced down at me. “Mama, I know you love Malachi, but I have often wondered; if you hadn’t been driven out of Amarna, would you have married Horemheb instead?”

  “Maybe.” I sighed. “Or maybe I would have married Malachi either way. I have always loved him, but with Horemheb it was always so…” I paused trying to think of the right word. “So impassioned. It was like a wild fire, it would rush up and ignite me, then suddenly it would be gone as he turned back to his normal, composed self. Malachi was always so reliable and stable. I’ve always known where I stand with him. It’s reassuring.”

  He took my hand and stopped walking. “Mama, don’t take this the wrong way, but if anything were to happen to Malachi, I would want you taken care of, and I believe Horemheb would do that.”

  “Tut, I―”

  “Mama, please, I have heard murmurings in my court against the Hebrews. I’m afraid I may be forced to send men to war again, and it may not be such a small age bracket a second time. You should press Samuel to move more people northward. There’s plenty of farmland in Amarna, and most Egyptians don’t want to be associated with that place anymore.”

  “It’s easier said than done,” I told him. “People have lived here for several generations now. They are settled, with lands and families spread out all over. It was hard enough to get the families that did move to agree. We are not the nomads our forefathers once were.”

  He sighed. “I know, but I fear for you and the family. Ay wants me to make you all slaves, literally. He says you are the slave race and so need to be subjected to us.”

  “You know I have never liked Ay,” I muttered.

  “I do, but he’s a wise man and knows a great deal about the administration of a kingdom. I need his knowledge and he has proven himself a faithful subject on many counts.”

  I bit my tongue, holding back my feelings about Ay. Gerlind was still his wife, and when she visited with me, she would tell me how he hated the Hebrews, and all he wanted to do to us, but Tut prevented it. She sensed that he did not like Tut at all, but was still afraid of Horemheb so didn’t strike against him. Instead, he feigned loyalty and affection. Whenever I told Tut these things, he would brush it aside and say, “I know, Mama.”

  “Tut,” I said as we began to walk again. “Ankhe spoke with me tonight.”

  He smiled hopefully. “She did?”

  “Yes. She is quite taken by you.”

  He stood taller and stuck out his chest. “Well, I am quite handsome.”

  “And proud.” I slapped his stomach.

  He laughed and caught my hand. “What did she say?”

  “She told me she loves you.”

  He smiled proudly. “And what did you say?”

  I wrapped my arm around his. “I said if she makes you happy, then she has my blessing.”

  He squeezed me and lifted me off my feet. “She does make me happy! She is ever so pretty and has always been there for me. I’ve been waiting for this day to come, for you to see she is not like Queen Nefertiti, so won’t harm me.”

  I touched his cheek. “Do you love her?”

  He glanced away. “I don’t know, Mama. I see how Joshua is with Hepsati, and Papa with you, and even how Horemheb looks at you, and I don’t think I feel that yet. I want to, I really do, but…” He sighed. “I feel like I am still a boy most of the time and I love you more than I can ever her. You are the person I look up to, Mama.”

  I smiled up at him, touched by his words. “Dear Tut, let her love you, and it will come.”

  “You never loved my real father,” he whispered. “What if I never love her?”

  I rested my hands on my hips as I thought about the best way to answer. “I cared about your father. I respected him and admired who he was as a father and husband, so I was happy as his wife. You can be happy with Ankhe if you learn to admire who she is and the way she loves you.”

  “Mama,” he whispered. “I have a confession.”

  “What is it?”

  He leaned closer and gazed intensely into my eyes. “I think I love my wife Delila more.”

  “Gerlind’s daughter?” I gasped.

  He nodded. “She is the most beautiful woman I have ever seen, and she is gentle and sweet-natured. When she was brought to me to be a wife, I couldn’t stop thinking about her for days.”

  I smiled. “Tut.”

  He took my hands in his. “I think she will be like you were to my father, my Greatly Beloved.”

  I felt excited for him. Gerlind’s daughter as his love seemed too wonderful, too perfect…except I thought of Ankhe and her confession of love she had given to me less than an hour earlier. I looked up into Tut’s eyes and whispered, “Don’t make it public knowledge, like your father did. Jealousy can be a powerful thing, and I’d hate Ankhe to grow jealous of Delila and drive her out, like I was. Let Ankhe think she’s your favorite, but in secret confe
ss your love to Delila. Let her know how you feel.”

  He stared at me for a few moments, taking in my advice before he nodded. “That sounds wise. I’d hate for Delila to be hurt.”

  I linked my arm with his and turned us back toward the chariot. “How old is Delila? She wouldn’t be as old as Itani.”

  “No, she is thirteen.”

  I thought back to when Gerlind told me she was pregnant after I had given birth to Itani. “That sounds about right.”

  We fell silent until we had returned to the chariot and began riding back to the house. “Maybe I could bring her sometime?”

  “No. I will talk to Gerlind. She comes to me in secret. She can bring her then.”

  He nodded and suddenly changed directions. “Let’s surprise my cousins, shall we?”

  searched the bazaars for supplies for Horemheb’s house. I had Ezra strapped to my chest and Rachel, Aaron, and Saul trailing behind me. A sudden loud crash echoed around us and the sound of chariots headed our way. I picked up a pomegranate. “Rachel, move the boys back.”

  She took Aaron and Saul’s hands, then pulled them back against the stall a few moments before the racing chariots burst onto the street. I leaned over and picked up another pomegranate, when I suddenly had it plucked out of my hand as the chariots flew by.

  “That boy!” I growled to myself and paid the storekeeper for the stolen fruit.

  I finished placing my orders and arranged for their delivery, then headed back to the estate. Once inside the gates, I let my children loose and they hurried to hide from one another. I returned to the kitchen and began unstrapping Ezra. I looked up and saw Horemheb watching me by the window. I jumped.

  “Horemheb! Don’t do that!”

  “I’ve been here all along. You need to pay more attention.” He walked over and handed me a pomegranate. “I believe this is yours.”

  “I used your money to pay for it, so it’s yours, actually.”

  He looked at it before breaking it open. I smiled and placed Ezra down on the floor to let him walk around.

  “I’m surprised you haven’t started brewing another one up yet,” Horemheb muttered, nodding at Ezra. “You don’t usually last this long.”