“Dear Naomi, you are a gift from the gods. My mother would never have been able to raise a son like you have and taught him to love the way you did.” She looked at Malachi. “And you, you must have been a great role model for him as a boy. I know he never had a chance to know our father, so all the things he learned about being a man he must have learned from you. You were always a kind and decent guard, and I see that in him. I know you must be a loving husband because he, too, does all he can to emulate that. So thank you, both of you.” She stood and stepped toward the door.
“Ankhe,” I said, gently grabbing her hand. “Wouldn’t you like to stay and visit for a moment, since you have come all this way?”
She smiled at me warmly. “No, I must return before my absence is noticed.”
I stood beside her and walked with her to the door. “Are you sure? You know you are welcome to―”
She wrapped her arms around me. “Dear Kiya! You were always a riddle to me, until that night you and Horemheb came to the palace and had my sister and uncle done away with. I knew then that you loved Tut with all your heart and would do everything you could to protect him. I decided in that moment that I could love you, and I would pretend you were my real mother.”
My stomach flipped at her words, knowing Malachi had heard them. As she released me, I did everything I could to remain calm and bid her farewell, then kept the door open as long as possible to watch her leave.
“Naomi,” Malachi’s voice was deep and stern. “Shut the door.”
I cringed and slowly closed it, and even more slowly turned to him.
He stood staring at me with a dark expression and his fists clenched. “You were there that night?”
“Malachi―”
“Six years, Naomi! Six years you have been keeping this from me?”
I dropped my gaze, ashamed. “I didn’t want to hurt you.”
He rushed at me and grabbed my face so I looked up at him. “This hurts me, Naomi, finding out you have been hiding this from me all this time. I thought you trusted me.”
“I do―”
“No you don’t!” He let me go. “If you did, I would have known this long ago.”
“I didn’t want you to know because back then, things to do with Horemheb were very painful for you. I couldn’t tell you that I slipped out during the night with him. You would have lost your mind.”
He laughed sarcastically. “And this is so much better!”
He stepped back, looking me over with contempt. “So tell me everything now, Naomi. There were many men who died that night, along with the prince and princess. How many did you kill?”
“None,” I answered softly. “Horemheb forbade me from even looking as he wielded his sword.”
“Of course, he wouldn’t want to take away your purity, would he? He couldn’t damage the woman he loves.”
I hung my head. “Please don’t bring that up.”
“Why? Because we both know that, despite him no longer making advances to you, he still does? I would feel safe in betting he brought you with him that night to try and draw you to him and fall into his arms. Did you fall for it, Naomi? Did you fall into his arms, then come back to me in guilt? I remember that day, and you and I made love that morning. Did you do that because you were guilty for betraying me with him?”
“No!” I grabbed his robe. “I could never betray you with anyone. I went to protect Tut, that’s all.”
“And what was your crucial role in the whole thing? Did you hold Tut in your arms to keep him safe?”
“I had him hide―”
“So you didn’t stay with him, you went with the Commander! Were you in the room when Smenkhkare and Meritaten were killed?”
I twisted my fingers together with guilt.
“Answer me!”
My gaze snapped up to meet his. “Yes I was. He took me in to instill fear upon them for trying to kill my son.”
He stepped closer to me, glaring down furiously. “Then you might as well have been the one who drove the dagger through their hearts.”
“It was Smenkhkare’s throat, with a sword,” I whispered.
His eyes caught fire. “Naomi! I can’t even look at you right now!”
He pushed me out of the way and marched out the door.
I hurried out after him. “Malachi, please―”
“No, I can’t do this right now. You lied to me in the worst way. Tell Zakkai he can meet me at Tobiah’s in the morning.”
“Malachi, please don’t walk out on me!” I pleaded as tears streamed down my face.
He turned on me, pointing into my face. “Would you prefer me to sneak out?”
I gazed up at him desperately, while he glared down at me. Slowly, I saw his expression soften, so I reached for him. “I’m so sorry I kept this from you. I didn’t want to hurt you, but I know now it was the wrong way of doing it―”
He scoffed and pulled away from me. “Like that time you avoided telling me he kissed you?”
I slumped my shoulders and hung my head with shame. “Yes, Malachi, just like that.”
He glanced back at the house. I looked over to see the children peeking through the windows. I turned back as he rubbed his temples.
“I don’t want to discuss this any further. I’m going to stay with my brother tonight so I can wrap my head around the revelation that my wife is an accessory to murder, and is still unable to detach herself from that horrid man.”
He turned and started walking away from me again.
“Malachi, don’t go!” I began after him but he shook me off.
“Someone needs to stay with the children.”
“Malachi―”
A hand wrapped around mine and pulled me back. Hepsati gazed up at me. “Mama, leave him be.”
I looked across and saw Joshua standing by the door of their home, and Itani and Nathaniel by theirs.
I looked back at Hepsati, alarmed. “We were that loud?”
She nodded, looking embarrassed. “Come, let’s get you to bed. Rachel can sleep with you tonight. She will enjoy getting out of that room with her brothers.”
I looked down the road to see Malachi disappear in the darkness. My heart sank. I was so good at hurting him, and I hated myself for it. I looked back at Hepsati, who tugged my hand gently.
“Hepsati, I wish you hadn’t heard all of that. I never wanted you children to know about the Commander’s feelings for me.”
She smiled. “We all know, Mama. The others have all spent time at his estate with you, and Tut told me after that time he came back to us and showered Malachi with hate.”
“Poor Malachi.” I shook my head. “I cause him so much grief. All his troubles are a directly connected to me. I wouldn’t be surprised if he took the children and had me put out.”
Itani stepped up beside Hepsati and took my other hand. “Mama, Papa loves you more than anything. He will come back.”
I glanced back down the road. “I hope so.”
As they walked me back to the house and I settled into bed with Rachel beside me, I thought of what I could do to ease Malachi’s pain. I decided it was time to stop working for Horemheb and find a different way to see Tut.
hat?”
“I’m sorry, Horemheb.” I bowed my head. “It’s too much for me. I have to put Malachi first.”
We stood at the doorway to his room as I held his breakfast on a tray for him.
“But this has been working fine for years,” Horemheb protested. “Why the sudden change?”
“He found out about me going with you to kill… you know.”
He grunted. “He can be so pathetic. It’s not like you did any killing, or even saw anything. I can’t believe you married him, he’s so soft―”
“Stop it!” The tray shuddered in my hands. “You know he was a good guard and a valiant soldier. So don’t talk about him like he is weak. He’s a good husband.”
“I don’t care.” He took the food from me. “How do you intend on seeing T
ut?”
I sighed. “I have left a note for him explaining everything. He is old enough now to be able to move around on his own, so could visit us.”
His jaw clenched but he nodded. “All right, Naomi.” He turned back into his room and brought me a bag of coins. “This should cover the last of what I owe you. Now get out.”
I took the coins and bowed quickly, then rushed to collect my children and head for the gates. As we approached, they flung open and Tut charged in on his chariot. I averted my eyes as was expected, but he pulled up hard. “Servant, where are you going? I was expecting a good meal.”
I bowed. “Home, my lord. I no longer work here.”
“What?” He waved for the gates to close before he stepped down. Speaking in a low voice, “Mama, why? Did he hurt you?”
“No.” I sighed. “Malachi and I are having some problems, so I need to separate myself from the source.”
He rested his hands on his hips. “That again? I thought you had put it behind you.”
“Malachi found out about the assassination.”
He blinked, trying to figure out what I was talking about. “Oh you mean… But that was so long ago, and you were protecting me.”
“It doesn’t matter. Malachi has just discovered that I was there and is deeply wounded by it.”
“But what about me?” He reached down and picked up Aaron. “You won’t be able to see me anymore.” He squeezed Aaron. “How can I teach these boys to be warriors if I can’t see them?”
“You are seventeen now. You can make an excuse to visit us.”
He paused. “It would be nice to spend more time at the farm and see everyone, and I haven’t seen Eliora and the new baby yet.”
My grief for my sister swept over me and I couldn’t help tears welling up in my eyes. “Eliora has passed. I haven’t had a chance to tell you. I’m so sorry.”
“What? How?”
“The childbirth killed her, but the child lives. She will be with your uncle Samuel until she is weaned.”
“That’s so terrible! And after you sacrificed yourself to save her all those years ago. What a waste.”
I grabbed his arm. “Not a waste, Tut. She married a good man and lived free her whole life. That was what my sacrifice was for.”
He smiled at me lovingly. “You are so brave.” He stepped forward and kissed my forehead. “I’ll visit you all when I can.”
I left the children with Adina and rushed to wait by the fields for Malachi to return. The men stood watch in the distance, with the boys playing and teaching the dogs how to herd sheep. I walked along a short way and found a rock to sit on. I stroked my belly, feeling swollen from all the walking I had done that day.
Joshua noticed me first, and slowly limped over to greet me. He smiled and sat beside me. “Naomi, you look a little worse for wear.”
I patted my belly. “I’m getting too old for this.”
He chuckled. “You’re not that old.”
“For childbearing I am. Luckily, it seems Malachi will no longer have anything to do with me.”
His smile fell as he gazed out across the field. “He will come around.”
I looked into his face. “He has said something, hasn’t he?”
He stared at the ground. “He may have made a snide comment about Aaron possibly not being his.”
I launched onto my feet. “How dare he! He knows I would never―”
“He claims the Commander raped you.”
I stepped back in disgust. “He’s taking this too far. He knows Horemheb would never do that. He may be bloodthirsty, but he’d never harm me, especially like that.”
Joshua stood and grabbed my shoulders. “Naomi, he’s in pain. He will say and do anything to ease it.”
“Naomi.”
I turned and found Tobiah gazing firmly down at me.
“Walk with me.”
I hurried to obey as he walked away.
Once we were a distance away from Joshua, he spoke. “My brother has been living with us for a few days now and, as you would guess, he has told me everything. Suffice it to say, I am very disappointed in you, woman.”
“I know.” I wrapped my arms around myself. “And although it may be a little late, I have resigned from my servitude in Horemheb’s house. I have come here today to tell him, because I haven’t seen him since.”
“Tell me, and be completely honest, are all those children his?”
“Yes!” I grasped his arm. “Without a question! Except, of course, Tut and Itani.”
“Even Aaron?”
“Of course! The boy even looks like him! How could he doubt that?”
“So the Commander has never taken advantage of you, or forced himself on you?”
“Not once,” I answered fervently.
He stopped walking and turned to me. “Naomi, I have always liked you, and have even on occasions envied the love you and my brother share. But sometimes―like this―I see a woman who has been tainted by the royal family. You don’t need to hide things from us. We are not going to go on a killing spree or sneak around to harm one another, like they do. When you keep things from my brother, it hurts him deeply. He has such a passionate love for you that he would gladly give his life to protect you, but things like this make him feel like you do not reciprocate.”
“But I do!” I grabbed his robe. “I didn’t want him to be dragged into it, and because it involved Horemheb, I knew it would hurt him. I thought I was protecting him.”
He gazed down into my eyes for several moments before he said, “I believe you. I’ll send him home with you tonight.” He gently removed my hands from his robe. “Wait with Joshua. I’ll talk to him.”
I made my way back to Joshua while Tobiah marched across the field and pulled Malachi aside. I watched as they talked together, with Malachi nodding every so often, but not saying much. My heart cried out to him, feeling desperate to have my husband back. Then suddenly he turned and looked at me. I sat up straighter, feeling hopeful as he approached.
Joshua stood beside me. “I’m going to start heading home. Good luck, Naomi.”
Once he had left, I found Malachi standing over me. “Stand up.”
I stood.
“You resigned?”
“Yes, you are more important to me―”
He waved me off. “Come.”
I turned and followed him as we slowly made our way back toward our farm. We walked in silence for a while. I didn’t want to upset him further, so I intended to let him lead. Finally, his fingers brushed against mine. “I love you, Naomi.”
My gaze shot up to him and I grabbed his hand. “Malachi, I love you too―”
“For a while I believed that―and most of the time I still do―but that man is still your vice.”
I clung to his arm. “I’m not working for him anymore. I know I have to put you first.”
We fell silent for a few moments while he contemplated. Then, “How much did you do to assist him in murdering those people? Did you hold them down for him? Did you try to seduce Smenkhkare to make him vulnerable?”
“No!” I gasped, as the events of that night ran through my mind. “Horemheb made me act like a ghost come back to haunt them. It was a scare tactic so they knew why they were going to die. He made me close my eyes whenever he went to kill, so I never saw a thing.”
He grunted. “I still can’t believe you were there. When I heard that, I felt as if my wife had turned back into an Egyptian queen and I despised it. I know you will be caught up in the intrigues of the palace for the rest of your life because of Tut, but to find you contributing to them is something else. Naomi, I thought you were happy, I thought this life I’ve given you was enough.”
“It is, and I am very happy. You make me happy, you have given me everything. Please, don’t think that because I was weak over six years ago means everything we have done together was a lie.”
He fell quiet again, but squeezed my hand tighter in his. We arrived back at the house
. He glanced around and sighed. “It’s good to be home.”
I hurried to bring him water and something to eat. When I returned, he had removed his robe and sandals and sat by the table waiting for me. I placed the food in front of him, and he caught my hips. He turned me to face him and whispered, “We have gone through so much together, haven’t we?”
I smiled, my hopes rising. “Yes. We have five, almost six children together, and have raised two princesses and a king.”
He ran his hand over my belly before gazing up at me. “I don’t know what I would do if I lost you. I have missed you so terribly.”
I sank onto his knee. “You will never lose me. I am yours.”
He reached up and touched my cheek, then pulled me in to kiss him.
Several weeks passed, and I was in the marketplace trading for supplies when I heard the sound of chariots heading our way. It had to be Tut; he was the only Egyptian willing to race through our sector of the city, so I calmly pulled my children off the road. Others were not so accustomed to his antics and became frightened as the four chariots burst into the street. I glared up at him as he passed me in the lead, which only made him laugh.
“That was your son, wasn’t it?” the storekeeper, Nathaniel’s father, asked quietly.
“Unfortunately, yes,” I answered. “It probably means he intends to visit us today.”
“My son speaks well of him. He says despite his youth he is a fair and noble king.”
I giggled. “He tries, but to me, he is still just a boy.”
I finished in the marketplace and led the mule-drawn cart home. My assumption was correct, and that evening, after the family was all home and cleaning up for our meal, Tut rode up in his chariot. “Mama! Come out here! I have a surprise for you.”
The children gasped in awe, so I rushed out to see what he had done. They gathered around behind the chariot, looking in. Then Malachi bent over and lifted up a full-grown male ostrich. “You killed this bird?”
Tut stood up straighter and answered proudly. “Yes, and this one is for you. I already sent two back to the palace.”
I rushed over, checking its black feathers. “What are we going to do with an ostrich?”
“Eat it, of course!” Tut laughed. “And the feathers are very valuable.”
KIYA: Rise of a New Dynasty (Kiya Trilogy Book 3) Page 6
