I placed my hand on the back of his head. “I accept your pledge to me,” I said.
“Traitor!” Keket’s voice ripped through the air. Chike stood and laughed.
“You were never meant to be a queen, Keket,” Chike said, then he spat on the ground in a curse to her name.
“Come,” I said to him, motioning toward my own army. “Join us. Tell your men to set up camp. We have much to discuss.”
“Your brother is completely devoted to Keket,” Chike said later that evening as we shared a bottle of wine in my tent, with Zakai and Oringo at my side.
“How is that possible?” I asked.
“He is a boy,” Chike said. “And Keket is a beautiful young woman. She is promising him everything a young man wants—sex and power.”
I cringed a little at that, remembering the last time Ramses and I were alone together and I pushed him away when he tried to kiss me. Chike eyed Oringo and Zakai.
“Personally, I think you made the right choice,” he said with a wry smile.
I scoffed. “After so much death?” I asked. “How can you say that? Should I not have just submitted to Ramses if this could have been avoided?”
Chike took another drink from his cup and shook his head. “Ramses has very little to do with this. Keket only used him to try and legitimize her rule. If Ramses had defied her, she would have just killed him or locked him in the dungeon.”
I shuddered at that, remembering the vision I’d had with Tabia and the shaman. In it, I had seen Ramses in a cage. I had also seen the three lion kings’ heads on pikes behind Keket’s throne. Apparently, putting Ramses in a cage had not come to pass, so maybe the lion kings would not be killed either. It was a glimpse at what might happen if Keket was in power, but not what had actually been coming to pass. I felt a little twinge of hope at this knowledge.
“So, Ramses is an enemy,” Zakai said. “He is not under a spell. He is with Keket of his own choice.”
“I…do not think it is that simple,” Chike said. “How much has Sanura told you about her brother?”
“Enough,” Oringo said, his fingers tented in front of him as he digested everything the more seasoned general had told us. Oringo was arrogant, yes, but he also knew a chance to increase his own knowledge when he saw it. Simply observing Chike was a valuable opportunity for Oringo to improve his own skills as a military man.
“Even when he was very young,” Chike said, “Ramses was slow, of body and mind. He is not stupid, and he is a good person. In another family, he could have still had a wife and children of his own, tended fields or flocks and been happy enough. But he cannot be pharaoh. Not without a queen to rule by his side, at least. He is like a willow, flowing with the breeze. If Keket is taken down, Ramses should be allowed to live in Sanura’s care. He will love Sanura again in time.”
“So, we spare the boy if possible,” Zakai said.
“What do you mean ‘if possible?’” I asked, indignant that he would think it was ever acceptable to kill my brother.
“He could still be a threat,” Zakai said. “A cobra can strike unexpectantly, and with deadly force.”
I grimaced but had to agree. As much as I wanted to protect my brother, I knew that he could be dangerous as long as he was in love with Keket.
“My official orders are that Ramses is to be taken alive,” I said. “Anyone who does him harm will answer to me personally. Understood?”
“Yes, Your Majesty,” all the men said, followed by a sip of wine. Despite their words, I knew that they all viewed Ramses as expendable. If we ended up fighting with him nearby, it would fall on me to keep him safe.
A silence fell over us as we drank our wine. I didn’t know what the others were thinking about, but there were so many things I could pick from I wasn’t sure where to start. I didn’t really want to think about anything, though. I was exhausted. I was so grateful to have Chike back by my side, I felt secure enough to rest before picking up my sword again tomorrow for the first time in weeks. I knew that Oringo wanted to take advantage of the fact that Saleem was not here, but I was ready for a night alone. I emptied my cup and placed it on a nearby table.
“I think that is all for tonight,” I said, standing. “We should all rest before tomorrow. Who knows how Keket will react to the loss of her general.”
The men all stood and bowed.
“Actually, could I have a moment of your time?” Zakai asked me, and my heart thumped hard in my chest.
“Of course,” I said, and I nodded to Chike and Oringo to dismiss them. Oringo looked slightly annoyed, but he knew that I was anxious to hear anything Zakai had to say, so he wished me a good night and left.
“That was quite a surprise, for Chike to join us so suddenly,” Zakai said.
“A very welcome one,” I said. “His aid will be invaluable.”
“You are certain we can trust him?” Zakai asked, and I knew he was justified in his doubts. Chike had spent months in Keket’s service. It was possible that I was being a fool to trust him so easily.
“I know what you are thinking,” I said. “But it would be a betrayal to myself if I did not give him the benefit of the doubt. I would stake my life on his loyalty.”
“That is good,” Zakai said. “Because that is what you are doing. He is a shrewd tactician. If he decides to betray you, you will die.”
“I know,” I said. “I am prepared for that. Whatever happens, my soul is ready. I can only ask that you do your best to bury me with Egyptian rites. I do not want my soul lost forever in Duet.”
“I promise,” he said.
Thinking that the conversation was over, I turned to pick up the empty wine goblets so they could be washed and put away, but then I felt Zakai’s hands on my shoulders. My heart thumped hard and I instantly felt a surge of desire between my legs. But I didn’t move for fear of startling him.
“Sanura,” he said softly, his voice reverberating through my entire body.
“Yes, Zakai?” I whispered back, and I heard him sigh. He rubbed my arms and placed his head against mine.
“Today, when you rode off to face Chike and the Egyptian army, I felt so much fear. I thought you were going to die,” he said. “But I also felt something else—pride.”
“Pride?” I asked, turning to face him.
“Yes,” he said, looking down into my eyes. “You are an incredible leader. That you would risk your own life to save your people…” He sighed and shook his head. “I don’t know why it surprised me. You have put your own life on the line every day since you were banished. You have fought countless times. You have trusted in the gods. You have made alliances others thought impossible. What you have done is nothing short of amazing.”
I smiled and felt my face blush. His words of praise meant so much to me I wasn’t sure what to say in return.
“There is no other woman on this earth I respect more than you,” Zakai said. Then he ran his fingers across my chest and over one of my shoulders. “I could never love another woman more than I love you right now.”
My skin tingled at his touch and I closed my eyes in ecstasy. He was saying the words I had so longed to hear. But was I interpreting them correctly? I was afraid to ask, worried that he would take them back or replace them with words less endearing. But there could be no ambiguity. I could not live without any of my men. Zakai would have to acknowledge that loving me meant accepting my love for Oringo and Saleem as well.
“And I love you,” I said, running my hands over his arms and chest. “So very much. I have missed you every day since we first parted.”
He nodded and placed his lips on mine. His kiss was filled with longing, but also regret. It was as though he was offering me a million apologies through his kisses, but I didn’t need apologies. He was right to be unsure about our feelings for each other when I told him I was in love with Oringo and Saleem. He needed to accept our unconventional arrangement on his own terms and in his own time. Otherwise, how could we ever know that our love wa
s pure?
“Forgive me,” he said.
I shook my head. “There is nothing to forgive. I told you I would wait for you as long as you needed. That’s all I did.”
“I will never doubt your love for me again,” he said, and with that, we fell to the floor, tangled in each other’s arms. I nearly wanted to cry, I was so ready to feel Zakai’s body against mine again. But more than that, he loved me. He truly loved me. Nothing would ever separate us again. I was certain that even in death, we would find one another. The final piece of the puzzle of my heart was falling into place.
Zakai, Oringo, Saleem. My three lion kings. My three lovers. Four parts of a heart made whole at last.
Zakai pulled up my skirt, ready to take me. In a moment, I felt his manhood prodding at my opening, and I was so wet, I knew he could simply side inside. But I stopped him. I didn’t want it to happen too fast, be over in an instant. We had been away from each other for so long, I needed to feel all of him against me.
“Wait,” I said, pushing him back. I undid the clasp of his robe at his neck and lifted his garment over his head. I ran my fingers over the gleaming skin of his chest. I then untied the loincloth around his hips, releasing his manhood, which was hard and throbbing, his essence dripping at the tip in anticipation.
I then lifted my own gown over my head and unbound my breasts, which I had secured tightly in preparation for battle. I nearly moaned in pleasure as they came free and I flung the bindings as far away as possible. Before each other, completely naked, we drank each other in. I crept forward, straddling his lap. We remained upright, our naked bodies completely pressed together. I wrapped my arms around his neck, both to steady myself and to hold him against me as tightly as possible. He ran his fingers down my back and around my bottom, sending electricity surging through me.
His manhood was solidly erect, and I lowered myself onto it gently, moaning as it barely touched my opening. I lifted back up, relishing the sensation of his whole body rubbing down mine. I then lowered again, allowing him to enter me, but so slowly. I groaned as I took him in, the pleasure building inside of me. He nestled his head between my breasts, sighing his own pleasure. Slowly, I raised and lowered myself, over and over again, feeling my climax build. I knew that men enjoyed a faster pace, and I would let him ravage me later, but for now, I needed the slow build. He took one of my breasts in his mouth and sucked, teasing my nipple with his tongue and teeth. I looked down at him and began to move a little quicker. He gripped my bottom in his hands, urging me to move faster and deeper, but I did not. I moved at my own pace and watched as he writhed below me.
I placed my hands on his shoulders and used them as leverage to move at a steady pace, still not too fast, but just enough to encourage my climax to come. I panted and my heart raced in my chest. Every time I lowered myself onto his manhood, I groaned deeper and louder at the delicious pleasure. As my climax came, I grunted in disappointment, slowing my pace and squeezing my hips tightly to prolong the feeling. I nearly screamed as I finished, and when I was done, I could not move for fear the memories of the delightful feeling would be lost.
But I knew that Zakai had not achieved his climax. I kissed his face and then laid back, opening myself up to him.
“Do what you will,” I said, and he grinned like a cat over a bowl of cream. He lunged at me and did not take his time or concern himself with my pleasure, which was fine with me as the throws from my climax would be enough to satisfy me for days.
He slid into me and thrust hard and fast. As I was not concerned with myself, I was able to take in his face as he rode me, and I saw such joy there, I knew that I would never need to worry about his happiness.
I clasped my legs around his back and hooked my ankles together to make my entrance tighter for him and he began to groan in pleasure. Suddenly, I felt my own pleasure building again. I moaned and arched my back, grabbing his buttocks and urging him as deeply into me as possible. By the time he yelled his climax, I was joining him at the peak of pleasure. We collapsed together to the floor and held each other.
“Sanura,” he said after some minutes. “I love you. All of you. Nothing will ever make me doubt you or come between us again.”
I sat up on one arm and looked down at him. “I love you too,” I said. “I never stopped. I will never stop.”
“I understand that now,” he said. “And if you love Oringo and Saleem with even a fraction of the love you have for me, I know it is too strong for you to deny.”
I nodded. “Thank you. I never imagined I would fall in love with one man, let alone three. I have never known such happiness. I was incomplete without you. For the first time, I feel whole.”
Zakai then pulled me back into his arms and held me throughout the night. There was nothing left to say. Zakai loved me. Oringo loved me. Saleem loved me.
And I loved them.
13
“Attention!” Chike yelled to his soldiers, and they all stood straight and tall before us in the center of our force. They were flanked on either side by Oringo’s army, with Oringo commanding the right side and Zakai commanding the left. My heart nearly swelled to bursting as I looked at the massive army before me, my dear friend at my side, and my two lovers taking command. I sent up a prayer to Sekhmet to protect Saleem and bless whatever he was doing. I hoped that he was successful in his schemes and would return to me soon. I did not think we would succeed against Keket without all three of my lion kings, but we could not delay in fighting. We were here at the city gates, and there was a rumbling in the ground and a tension in the air that said something was coming.
We turned our horses to the city and marched to the gate, the stomping of thousands of feet following closely behind us. The men along the city wall who were watching us looked nervous. I could see the sheen of their sweat and the shuffling of their feet from even this distance.
“What can we expect?” I asked Chike. Since he had served Keket for so long, he had the best understanding of the strategy she might use.
“Her human army is lost to her,” he said. “Not everyone followed me out to join you, but those left behind were little more than a personal guard.”
“So, if she has no army,” Oringo said, “shouldn’t we just storm the city? We can use a ramrod to bust open the gate and then march right to the palace.”
“I do not think that would be a good idea just yet,” Chike said. “She still has many other tools at her disposal.”
“You mean natural elements,” I said. “And mummies.”
“And beasts,” Chike confirmed. “And powers I could not begin to describe.”
I shuddered at the thought of being banished across the desert again. “But is it wise to let her come to us? Does that not give her an advantage?”
Chike looked over his shoulder at our massive army and smirked. “Let us just wait and see what happens.”
I smiled back and then settled into my saddle, watching the gate intently, waiting for something to happen. I wanted—needed—to face Keket directly. I was tired of her games, her plotting, her hiding behind her magic or my brother. But that was not how she fought. The girl had probably never picked up a sword in her life.
The gate opened a crack and Keket herself walked out—alone. I nearly jumped from my saddle to run to her, but Chike grabbed my arm to steady me, which was good because I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do. Talk to her? Run her through? Come to a truce? Even after everything, if Keket wanted to come to a peace accord, would I agree? Yes. I knew I would. In spite of what she had done to me, to my father and brother, to Habibah, when I thought of her, I always saw that scared girl being beaten in the marketplace. The one who needed my help. The one who—rightfully—chided me for not asking her name or taking her feelings into account when I took her from her master. As much as I hated to admit it, Keket had taught me a great deal about myself over the last few months. While I had been a born leader, a queen by birth, the Lioness of Egypt, I was not perfect. My blindness to the suf
fering of the most vulnerable of people had been laid bare. My heart had been opened to the wonders of love. I was now stronger of body, mind, and spirit for what I had endured. She had caused me great pain as well, and had damaged my family beyond repair. I could never bring my father back. But I could still save my brother. I could still continue the dynasty he had been so proud of. This was not the end for me, only a very small part of what I hoped would be a long life.
“This is your last chance,” Keket finally said, the wind gently swirling around her and carrying her voice, fluttering her hair and her robe in the breeze. “If you and your people leave now, you will live another day. Stay, and you will all die.”
“She is frightened of you,” Chike said in a low voice. “That is why she keeps giving you opportunities to leave this fight.”
I thought back to when Keket had made her presence known to me in the forest near Dakari village. She told me that if I gave up my quest to stop her, she would let me live in peace. Why had she done that? At the time, she said that she was simply tired of me. But now, this had to be the third or fourth time she was giving me a chance to leave. If she really thought she was stronger than me, why did she keep giving me opportunities to get away? Was she not as eager to kill me as I was to kill her? After all, it was her hatred of me that led to my banishment in the first place. Perhaps she did want to kill me but knew her own strengths. Or her own weaknesses. She wanted me to walk away because she knew that, eventually, I would defeat her. I couldn’t suppress a smile from spreading across my lips.
“I’ve come too far to stop now, Keket,” I said. “I am ready for this fight, whether you are or not.”
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