Malachi saw me coming and frowned, gesturing at the children. “Take them away.”
I grabbed Rachel’s hand but she pulled herself free. “No! He’ll kill them if he puts them out!”
“Rachel, they can’t stay in there,” Malachi said as he opened the door. “She’s growling at me. How can we get food out if she is poised to attack?”
Itani, who was living with us while Nathaniel was gone, came up beside me.
“What is all this noise about?” She yawned. “You know I haven’t been sleeping well. Could you at least try to be quiet?”
“Papa is going to kill the pups!” Rachel screeched.
I slapped her behind. “Don’t screech like that.”
She pulled away from me and screamed as loud as she could, in the highest pitch she could manage. I cringed and grabbed her mouth, slapping her behind harder, which made her cry instead.
Itani walked over and opened the door again to look down at the dog. “She’s not growling at me, Papa.”
“That’s because she knows Papa will put her out!” Zakkai exclaimed.
“She can’t stay in there.” Malachi scowled, growing frustrated with his children.
“Why don’t we have the children bring the food inside?” I said to him gently. “Then when she’s ready, she will leave.”
So the children carried what they could into the house.
Zakkai was out giving the pups to his uncles. He had begun training them, and when their mother left a week earlier, Malachi told him the time had come for them to go. But Zakkai remained determined to keep them close by and keep his favorite pup for himself. So he came up with his scheme and convinced Samuel, Tobiah, Hepsati, Itani, and Bilhan to keep one each, on the condition he trained them as sheep and guard dogs.
He had just dropped the last one with Tobiah and we were walking back to the farm when we heard a crowd gathering. Zakkai took Aaron and Saul’s hands, while I held Rachel’s and carried Ezra as we followed the crowd. We soon found ourselves by the wharves, where we saw warships approaching. My heart skipped a beat and I took Saul from Zakkai. “Go fetch Itani.”
He turned and sprinted away, while I stood with my children around me watching the ships dock. While we waited, Adina rested her hand on my shoulder. I turned to her and saw her look of concern.
“I hope my son is with them.”
I let go of Rachel as she played with her cousins, and took Adina’s hand. “I hope they all are.”
The first person we saw was Malachi’s brother Jared among the royal guard on the first ship. He began unloading with several other men, and soon, I saw Horemheb step out. A noticeable shift occurred in the crowd when he appeared, as they all pressed back nervously. Then a young man stepped up and stood beside Horemheb to talk to him.
From behind us, we heard chariots heading our direction. The guards parted the crowd to make way, and once the road was clear, Ay appeared in a chariot, leading a small collection of the royal family, including Ankhe. She scanned the crowd, and when she saw me, our gaze met briefly before she returned her focus to the ships. I knew she felt nervous about telling Tut of their stillborn, and I hoped he would be considerate enough to be compassionate to her.
Itani appeared beside me with Zakkai. She lifted Saul onto her hip. “Have you seen Nathaniel?”
“Not yet,” I answered.
“We’ve only seen your uncle Jared so far,” Adina added.
We continued to watch as Ay met the young man with Horemheb and embraced him. I knew that meant he was Ay’s son. Horemheb walked down the gangplank and met Ankhe with a kiss on the hand. I watched them talk quietly before he looked momentarily alarmed. He grabbed her shoulder and leaned closer to whisper in her ear.
Then Tut finally appeared. I’d never seen him look nobler. He wore his official Pharaoh crown, jewels, and skirt, and held his crook and staff. The Egyptians bowed first, followed by the rest of the crowd, as he stepped up onto the gangplank to walk down to the wharf. He remained completely focused on Ankhe as he headed straight for her. He touched her shoulder and had her stand before him. He was significantly taller―she only reached his shoulder―and with his tall crown, their height difference seemed even more pronounced. I watched as she gazed up into his eyes and explained what happened. His face fell. He turned away from her and rushed to his chariot with his jaw clenched.
“Oh, Tut,” I breathed, disappointed by his reaction.
“Did Tut just…?” Itani began, then I saw her fists clench. “He can’t be angry at her for that! It’s not her fault.”
Ankhe desperately glanced our direction. I tried to show her that I was apologetic, before Ay wrapped his arm around her shoulders and guided her away.
“There’s my boy!” Adina gasped and pointed to the third ship. We turned our attention back to the ships and saw Adina’s oldest son climbing down with a bandage over his head. Adina gasped at the sight of him. She handed me her youngest and told the other children to stay with us. She then pushed through the crowd to him.
“What do you think happened to him?” Itani asked.
“I don’t know,” I muttered, then saw Nathaniel alight from the first ship. I pointed to him. “Itani, he’s safe.”
Her head turned and her face lit up. He looked worn, but he was alive and in one piece. She didn’t even bother to put Saul down as she pushed through the crowd to meet him. I watched as he saw her while he worked at unloading the ship, and listened to her as she called to him through the guards keeping the crowd back. I knew when she told him she was with child, because he turned to her and she pulled her robe tighter against her so he could see her belly. He laughed and went to rush to her, but was scolded and forced to return to his duties by his Egyptian superior.
The men were not released for several hours. When Nathaniel finally returned to collect Itani from our home, she leaped up from her meal and rushed to him, throwing her arms around him and sobbing. “Nathaniel! I was so afraid!”
He held her and kissed her hair. “My beautiful Itani. You kept me going.”
He walked her back to the table where they sat together while he ate and told us of the war.
“The Nubians are fearsome,” he began. “They are bigger than the Egyptians, more like us, but the military men were bigger than us again. They are so dark and so strong, there was always the fear that they would sneak up and assassinate us in our sleep. They wore the skins of cheetahs and lions around their loins, and the animals’ teeth around their necks. They were bare-chested, and had designs embedded into their skin. However, most shocking of all were their queens. They led whole regiments to battle, and were bare-chested and easily just as skilled and powerful as their men were.
“The Egyptian captains seemed to prefer to send out the Hebrews in the front line with their own men following behind, which was terrifying to behold. As you know, we are not trained soldiers, so many lives were lost. But, we did fight with all our hearts so we could return home to our families.
“I was put in the regiment with Jared and we were assigned to watch over the king, so we very rarely had to fight. It was only when the king felt his blood boiling and wished to join the fray were we expected to…” He paused and glanced at me. “I’m sorry, maybe I shouldn’t…”
I waved my hand. “I know what war entails, Nathaniel. I have been present when Horemheb has killed men―”
“You have?” Malachi grabbed my arm with alarm.
I kicked myself mentally for slipping up. Malachi didn’t know I had been there when Horemheb killed Smenkhkare and Meritaten, and I intended to keep it that way. He would be furious, and it would bring up old feelings I wanted to remain subdued. I rushed to make an excuse. “Yes, there were executions in Amarna. Horemheb’s wife was executed, remember? Not that he ever let me see, he always made me shield my eyes.”
“Speaking of the Commander,” Nathaniel said, waving a roasted sheep rib. “He is incredible! He can kill five men with one blow! His mere presence instills fea
r in our enemies, and no one dares to defy him. At the end of each day, he would return covered from head to toe in the blood of the men he killed.” Nathaniel shuddered at the memory. “But the king would see him fighting and watch with great delight. We could all see how much he admires the Commander and tries with all his might to live up to the standard he sets.”
I grabbed Malachi’s leg, knowing he was jealous, and even angry that Tut would see Horemheb’s fierceness as something to be in awe of. Malachi grabbed my hand and looked at me.
“Naomi,” he whispered while Nathaniel continued his story. “I’ve lost Tut as my son, haven’t I?”
I gasped. “No! Don’t say that! He still loves you.”
He shook his head. “But not like he does the Commander. He worships him because he can see he is a powerful warrior, but I am just a shepherd.”
“You are easily as powerful as Horemheb,” I said softly, leaning closer to him. “Just because you don’t use your skills as they were originally intended, doesn’t mean you have lost them. I have seen you carry a full-grown sheep as if it weighed no more than a feather, or know exactly where all our children are when I am struggling to keep track.”
He ran his finger down my cheek and smiled. “At least I’m still your hero.”
“You always will be.” I linked my arm through his and leaned against his shoulder to finish listening to Nathaniel’s account.
ut slammed his hands down on the table in front of me, making me start. He laughed. “Mama, I called to you three times.”
“I’m sorry, my mind was elsewhere.” I looked up at his grinning face and remembered how he had treated Ankhe a few days earlier. “You are a horrible boy.”
His face fell. “What did I do?”
“I saw you at the wharves with Ankhe―”
“Oh, that!” He scoffed and folded his arms. “I expected to come home to a child and she managed to kill it.”
I stood and glared at him. “She didn’t kill it, it just died.”
“You don’t seem to have that problem. Look at you, you’re pregnant again. Maybe there is something to this royal family curse. Maybe I should get a Hebrew woman like my father did.” I slapped his shoulder and he pulled away from me. “Mama!”
“You’re not talking like the son I raised. You sound like…like Ay!”
He sneered. “Ay would never touch a Hebrew woman. He thinks they are vermin.”
“You’re making me very angry.”
He paused and looked me over. “You know, I came in here to tell you how much I missed you while I was gone, and how when I had to make hard decisions, I always tried to think what you would do, but now I’m regretting it.”
I huffed and rubbed my eyes. “Tut…”
“Mama, I am Pharaoh. I can do what I like.”
“Tut―”
“And I can be displeased with my wife because she isn’t capable of giving me a child. That’s what she’s for, that’s what you were for.”
My head snapped up. I felt as if he had stabbed me right through the heart. I narrowed my eyes. “Get out.”
“I will not be dismissed.” He raised his chin defiantly. “I am Pharaoh.”
“You are a selfish, disrespectful boy!” I yelled, tears forming in my eyes. “What has happened to you? The Tut I knew and raised would never speak unkindly about his wife, and he would never blame her for a stillborn child because he knows his mother grieved so terribly for her own, or have you forgotten Benoni?”
He blinked as the memory suddenly overcame him. “Mama, I―”
“And my Tut would never speak to me the way you just did, making me sound like a common whore. Your father loved me, Tut. I was more than just a vessel for breeding to him.”
His eyes widened with alarm as he realized what he had said. “I didn’t―”
“Just get out!” I pointed to the door. “I don’t want to see a Pharaoh, I want my son.”
He slumped as he gazed at me, wide-eyed. “I’m sorry, Mama.”
“You better be sorry,” Horemheb said as he walked into the room, straight to him. He grabbed Tut roughly. “Don’t you ever talk to your mother that way again or I will hang you out to dry by your ears.”
Tut pulled away frightened. “Horemheb! You heard?”
“I heard everything, and I agree with your mother. You owe Ankhesenamun an apology, and hope she’s willing to forgive you.”
Tut glanced between the two of us, looking horribly guilty. He then straightened his crown and said, “I’ll go right now.”
He rushed out, and a few moments later, we heard the sound of a chariot pulling away.
Horemheb turned to me. “Are you all right? That was completely unacceptable.”
I sighed. “Sometimes I wonder if I let him be king too early.”
“He’s young; all young men are that way. He just has a position of power to hold over everyone.” He came around the table and touched my shoulder. “As long as he has you to keep him heading in the right direction, he will be fine.”
“I don’t know. I feel like I’m losing him.”
He shook his head, smiling. “No, you’re a long way from that. On the battlefield, he would ask me, ‘what would my mother think?’ or ‘how would my mother handle this?’ There were even times I would catch him pretending to have conversations with you to help him decide what to do.”
“I don’t know how I would help. I have no idea how to fight a battle.”
Horemheb grinned. “In his mind, you do.”
I laughed. “I would tell him to go to you.”
“I am the best,” he said proudly, standing taller. “But you made him see how the way he is treating Ankhe is unfair. I couldn’t do that. He has been very unkind to her since he has returned. He has refused to see her, and when she does manage to catch him, he’s cruel to her.”
“That must have broken her heart.” I sighed. “I was very disappointed when I saw him shun her at the wharves. She came to me after the child died and told me she was afraid of Tut being disappointed in her, and I told her that my son would never do that.”
“So he made a liar out of you.” Horemheb scowled. “I will have his hide―”
“No, leave him be. I think he has been scolded enough to know he’s in the wrong.”
Horemheb looked away, quickly changing the subject. “I saw Abimbala out there.”
“You did?” I gasped. “How is she?”
“Magnificent. She was one of the warrior queens who led the armies. She was one of the few leaders willing to negotiate with me. She wasn’t pleased that we sent Hebrews in to fight our battles before us.”
He shook his head. “She still loves you. She made me point out your family so her men didn’t kill them, and after she spoke with Tut, she commented how like you he is. Nahktmin almost made the battle worse when he heard her speak of you, and said you were a conniving whore bent on stealing the throne. They despise Ay and his posterity, probably because Abi doesn’t speak favorably of them.
“When I told her Gerlind was now one of his wives, she flew into a rage and demanded she be released to her. It took me all my reasoning to calm her, and she only let it go when I told her she visits with you, and her daughter is married to Tut. The negotiating seemed to turn from there as she softened and saw that even though Ay is in a position of power, your son is still the king and Pharaoh.”
I stared down at my hands on the table, wondering what Abi thought and felt. Did she see Tut as the hope for peace and prosperity between the two nations? I hoped so, because that’s who I knew he could be.
I suddenly remembered what I had wished to tell Tut when I saw him, and my heart sank. I turned to Horemheb. “I have sad news for Tut. His Aunt Eliora died in childbirth.”
Horemheb’s eyebrow twitched. “She’s your youngest sister, the most beautiful one, correct?”
“That’s the one.”
His eyes lingered over my face, but reflected no emotion.
“I’m sorry to
hear it.” His gaze fell onto my pregnant belly, and there was a twinge of fear on his brow for a split second before he said, “Ah! I was beginning to think your husband had finally grown tired of you!” He reached out and touched my abdomen. “Now this is the Naomi I know so well.”
I pushed his hand away. He laughed, while I tried to suppress my smile.
The smell of food burning suddenly filled my nostrils. I spun to the stove. “Oh no!”
I pulled the stew off the stove and carefully poured out what I could into a bowl, and huffed at the chunks of meat and vegetables burned to the bottom. “I’m sorry.”
Horemheb picked up a spoon and took a sip. “Still better than army food.” He grabbed hold of the bowl and walked to the door. “Much, much better.”
I smiled and giggled.
The children were in bed and Malachi and I were extinguishing the lamps when a soft tapping sounded on the door. Malachi went to answer it, and a quiet voice spoke in Egyptian. “I need to see Naomi.”
I stepped up beside Malachi as Ankhe unveiled. “Ankhe!” I gasped. “Come in before someone sees you.”
She stepped inside and smiled. “Not that anyone would out here. The nearest farms are those of my sisters Hepsati and Itani. They wouldn’t speak a word of my visit.” She took my hand and we sat together. She motioned for Malachi to join us, then she gazed into my eyes. “I know Tut spoke to you, and you are the reason he apologized to me.”
“Oh!” I squeezed her hand. “Ankhe, don’t think that I made him―”
She shook her head. “Oh no, I am grateful. My grandfather and the Commander both tried to talk to him, but he refused to acknowledge that the death was not my fault. But when he came to me today, he told me of the child you lost. He said if you could lose a child, and you were the best mother in the world, then anyone could. He then begged my forgiveness, which I eagerly gave.
KIYA: Rise of a New Dynasty (Kiya Trilogy Book 3) Page 5
