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

by Katie Hamstead

  Horemheb gave us so much freedom, and blessed our family with his position. After Rena’s son died, she and Adina came to me, worried about their other younger sons. Adina had been apprehensive to ask me for help, as she was still furious. We sat and talked together and we wept at the pain we had caused each other, and I came clean with both her and Rena about Tut’s death. They were horrified, and Rena flew into an indignant rage, wailing for an uprising against Ay. It took us several minutes to calm her enough for me to tell her Horemheb planned to remove Ay from power, he just needed some time.

  The problem was, I had no idea what Horemheb was doing. He did take on the boys under twelve from among all my nephews, but since then, I hadn’t seen anything. He would close himself off for days and not speak to anyone, only emerging to get something to eat. He then sat and watched me in silence while he ate, which always made me feel terribly uncomfortable, and at the end he always asked, “Have you heard word of any princesses becoming available?”

  “No,” I always answered.

  He would then grunt and walk out.

  “Mama,” Rachel suddenly said, cutting into my thoughts.

  I turned and saw Horemheb staring at me by the door. His expression was dark, and I wondered what I had done.

  “Rachel, take Ezra into the next room,” I commanded.

  She hurried to obey.

  Horemheb watched them leave, touching Ezra’s head as he passed him. He stepped into the room and shut the door. “Ankhe is pregnant.”

  I dropped the bowl in my hands; it shattered on the ground. I rushed toward him. “No! She can’t! It could kill her!”

  He shook his head. “It doesn’t matter. If she has a son, Ay will have an heir and gladly trade her life for his. After they found Nahktmin’s body, he has grown more and more desperate to replace him so his line will continue to hold claim to the crown.”

  Nahktmin’s body washed up, a few weeks after he died, on the flood plain. His body had not been in a good state, and only his clothes, jewelry, and small dagger made him identifiable. Ay had gone on a headhunt, convinced it was murder, and investigated anyone he suspected of foul play, including Horemheb.

  Horemheb’s estate had been ransacked for any sign of treachery, but, true to form, Horemheb outwitted him and concealed anything suspicious on me the day before, and had me bury them on the farm. There were dozens of letters from spies, foreign leaders, and even courtiers and soldiers loyal to him. One in particular was his young general from Lower Egypt, one Ramses, who worked in Memphis to gain a stronghold there for Horemheb.

  I leaned against the windowsill. “How is she taking her situation?”

  He shook his head, frowning. “Not well. I’m afraid she may harm herself. She still grieves for Tut, and having Ay force her to constantly yield to him is driving her over the edge of sanity.”

  “Can you bring her to me?” I asked, concerned for her wellbeing, and knowing if she saw me, it would ease her mind.

  He rested his hands on his hips and shook his head again. “Ay has her locked away. She has tried to run too many times. She can’t even leave her room without a full guard escort.”

  “Can you get me into the palace?”

  He scoffed. “Naomi, you know under the current circumstances that would be madness.”

  “Then why did you tell me about her if you had no intention of having me do something about it?”

  His eyes met mine and I saw a smile curl in the corners of his mouth. “You’ve got me there.” He stepped up to me and lowered his voice. “You must enter through the secret passageway that opens up into the wives’ corridor. Do you remember which room is Ankhe’s?”

  “I do,” I answered.

  “Very good. I will meet you inside the passageway tonight, by the doorway leading out into the palace. I have checked who is on guard duty and they are men who are loyal to me, so will turn a blind eye if they catch us. We will both go in to her so you can calm her mind, then I can reason with her, see if we can find a way to help her escape.”

  I nodded solemnly. “When do you want me there?”

  “As soon as you have put your children to bed and are confident they are sleeping.”

  I nodded. “That will be an hour or so after sunset.”

  “I will be waiting for you.” He turned hurried out.

  I gently dabbed a wet cloth on Zakkai’s shoulder, making him wince. The severe sunburn already made his skin blister. His skin was a dark brown, from all the exposure to the sun, and he looked more like Tut as a result. I would stare at him for long periods, remembering Tut when he was his age, even though Zakkai was much larger.

  “Mama,” Zakkai said, his deep voice croaky. “When do you think this will end?”

  He turned and looked at me, and in his eyes, I saw Malachi. I stroked his cheek, feeling my love for my husband tug at my heart. “I don’t know. Horemheb is doing all he can.”

  “I know he is.” He turned back around so I could continue cooling his burn. “I’m glad he helped the younger boys. He’s the only good Egyptian I know.”

  “Itani is good,” I responded.

  “But she’s not a real Egyptian,” he said. “She’s my sister.”

  I smiled. “What about Ankhe, then?”

  He frowned. “I don’t really know her. She’s only come out here a few times.”

  I didn’t respond, but gently dabbed the wet cloth over his burned arm. I was probably the only one aside from Hepsati who knew Ankhe well, which saddened me. “What about Hepsati?”

  “Mama,” he grumbled. “You know what I mean. The laborers are cruel and hate us.”

  My gaze dropped to the scar across his back, left by a whip when he slipped while pulling a cart. “Yes, sometimes I feel like it’s my fault, too. If Ay hadn’t hated me so much―”

  “He probably would have done it anyway.” Zakkai sighed. “Uncle Samuel said you would eventually say that, and he said to tell you that Ay thinks you’re dead, so it’s not about you at all. He just hates Hebrews.”

  I finished by putting honey on his open wounds, then covered them. “How does that feel?”

  “Better. Thank you, Mama.”

  I ran my hand through his hair and kissed his head. “You need your rest now, son.”

  His joints groaned as he forced himself up. We stood almost eye-to-eye in height, and he smiled as he looked at me. He’d had a growth spurt recently, and I knew he would soon overtake me and grow to his father’s height.

  “Goodnight, Mama,” he said softly and kissed my cheek.

  I watched him shuffle to his room, looking worn and beaten. I wondered what Malachi would think, and what he would do if he saw his son so broken. I took a deep breath and pulled the curtain to the boy’s room closed. Then, I snapped into action. I hurried to clean the house and extinguish the fire, then quickly checked on all the children to make sure they were asleep, before I slipped out the door.

  I was extremely cautious as I made my way through the city. Guards were posted around the outskirts of our sector once slavery started, to make sure no one tried to run away. I paused at the archway leading into the Egyptian sector and stared at the guards playing senet. I had already planned how to get past them, I just hoped it would work, otherwise, I would find myself in very serious trouble. I veiled my face and walked right up to them.

  The pair looked at me, surprised, and one unsheathed his sword. “What business have you here at this time of night?”

  “My master has asked me to return to his house,” I answered, keeping my eyes low.

  “What for?”

  “He is fond of me.”

  They both smirked. “Who is your master then?”

  “He doesn’t wish me to say. He is afraid that if he is discovered with a weakness for Hebrews he will be scorned, and he does not want his wife to know.”

  They both laughed. “Well why don’t we have a little fun as payment to let you pass?”

  I had been afraid of that, so I had come pr
epared. I pulled out two bottles of wine. “Please, don’t harm me, but take these instead.”

  They laughed again. “We will do both.”

  They pulled the bottles from my hands and drank.

  However, I had tampered with the drinks and made them stronger, so by the time they had finished the bottles, they were drunk. I pushed them both back into the wall and walked into the Egyptian sector.

  I made it to the secret passageway and slipped inside. To my surprise, I found it well lit. I glanced around nervously, hoping it wasn’t a trap. Suddenly a man stepped out from behind the corner, making me jump.

  Horemheb chuckled. “I was starting to think you weren’t going to show.”

  I clasped at my heart as it raced. “You scared me!”

  He walked over and pulled the door shut behind me, then removed the torch from its hook by the door. “Come, time is wasting.”

  We rushed through the passageway, and just before we opened the door into the wives’ corridor, he extinguished the torch. We stepped out, and he glanced around.

  “Good, the guards have moved elsewhere, as I ordered. But we don’t have much time. They will return by midnight.” He took my hand and led me to Ankhe’s room.

  The room was dark, but her silhouette by the window, staring out, grabbed my focus. She looked skinny and unhealthy, and her hair had begun to grow long, which meant she was not bothering to keep it trimmed to wear under her wigs.

  She turned, startled, and jumped to her feet. “Don’t come any closer!”

  “My queen, it is your servant, Horemheb,” he responded.

  “Commander?” She rushed to light a lamp.

  “I have brought a surprise for you as well.”

  “Oh, Horemheb. I don’t…” But as the room lit up and she saw me, her eyes widened and she fell to her knees. “Naomi! Oh Naomi! I didn’t want you to see me like this!”

  I rushed to her as she cried. “Ankhe, you don’t need to be ashamed.”

  “But I do!” She sobbed. “Nothing has gone well for me since Tut passed! My grandfather is a cruel and heartless husband. He doesn’t care for me in the least, and beats me if I try to resist him.”

  Her tears streamed down her face. “You must be so ashamed of me for carrying his child when he killed your son! Oh, Naomi, I don’t know what to do anymore. I’m so tired of being used.”

  I wrapped my arms around her and coaxed her to sit on the bed. She cried harder than I had ever seen anyone cry. As I sat and thought about her life, I realized how blessed I had always been. Despite the sorrows and losses I had suffered, compared to hers, they were nothing. All her life, she had been used for her bloodline, as a tool to give men power.

  She started out third in line, so her mother had never seen her as a potential queen. She had loved her father and lost him while she was still young, then she had been given to a boy to seal his claim on the crown. She must have at least felt relieved to find him pleasant and kindhearted; that was why she loved him. Then the same man who had tried to force Tut out and deny him his crown had killed him, and forced her to carry his child.

  “Ankhe, take heart. We will do all we can to help you.”

  She swung her legs up over my lap and clung tightly to me, nuzzling up to my bosom. “Naomi, I don’t want this child. I don’t want to be the one to replace Nahktmin.”

  I didn’t respond as I remembered what happened during her last delivery. If she carried a boy, she was destined to die. “Ankhe, you look like you haven’t been eating―”

  “I haven’t. I’ve been trying to starve the child to death.” Her head shot up and she looked me in the eyes. “If I die in the process, then so be it.”

  “Ankhe!” I gasped. “You shouldn’t talk like that.”

  She smiled, and in her eyes, the madness of her family shone through. “You still hold to hope after everything that has happened to you?”

  “There’s always hope.”

  She chuckled and collapsed onto her bed. “Not for me, there isn’t. Tut was my only hope. I loved him so much. All I want is to be with him again.”

  She stared off, her mind wandering to a different time and place.

  “Ankhe,” I said gently, leaning over her. “Please let me―”

  She grabbed my face and pulled me closer, so our faces were only a hand’s width apart. “I see him. He resembled you a great deal. I always loved that, it made his face gentle.”

  She closed her eyes and tried to kiss me.

  I pulled back, horrified. “Ankhe!”

  She laughed manically until she rolled off the bed. She hit the floor with a thud and groaned. As she climbed to her knees, her gaze caught on something. She stared at it with her jaw hanging. I followed her gaze and saw Horemheb standing back by the wall. He stood taller when he noticed us both staring at him.

  “Commander,” Ankhe said softly, as she slowly rose to her feet. “You are the man my father trusted with killing his enemies.”

  “I am,” he answered calmly.

  “And you are the man who Tut idolized because of your power and skill in battle.”

  “We did share a mutual respect.”

  She smirked and walked over to him, running her hand down his bare chest. “And you are also the man who killed my horrid uncle Smenkhkare and sister Mayati.”

  “That is not common knowledge, but yes, I am.”

  She circled around him, running her hand over his muscular arms and back. “You were always a fine specimen of a man, strong, handsome. I lusted after you for many years after my father’s death.”

  “What are you trying to do, Ankhe?” His gaze fell and met hers as she rested her chin on his shoulder.

  “I want you to grant me one wish.”

  “And what might that be?”

  “Kill me.”

  “No!” I jumped to my feet and grabbed her by the shoulders. “Ankhe, you don’t want to die! We can find some way to help you.”

  “I love you, Naomi, but this time you are wrong.” She shook me off and turned to Horemheb, grasping him by the hips. “Kill me, Commander. If you kill me, Ay’s power will weaken. The few wives he has left are old and unable to bear children. Kill me and end our family.”

  “Horemheb, don’t! You know she’s confused and grieving. Don’t do it!”

  His eyes met mine. “I’m sorry, Ankhe.”

  Ankhe swung around and shoved me. “Stop it, Naomi! He only refuses to kill me because of you! If you weren’t here, he would pull out that sword of his and run me through!”

  She grabbed at the sword. Horemheb held it in its sheath, but suddenly she jumped back, having pulled his dagger free. She laughed manically again as she ran it over the palm of her hand, drawing blood. She then met my stare.

  “Naomi, I will tell Tut how much you miss him, and if I see Malachi, I will tell him you remain faithfully his.”

  She raised the dagger and looked it over.

  “Horemheb, stop her!”

  He didn’t even try. He turned his attention to me. “Naomi, close your eyes.”

  “No!” I moved to rush for her but he caught me and covered my face, just a moment before I heard her plunge the dagger in. I struggled against Horemheb as he held me tightly.

  “No! Let me go!”

  “You are a good servant, Horemheb,” Ankhe wheezed just before she fell to her knees.

  He let me go and rushed to her, catching her before she collapsed. She pulled his dagger out and handed it to him. “Don’t get caught.”

  “I won’t,” he answered.

  She smiled at him. “Good man. Don’t let Ay win, either.”

  “That won’t happen.”

  She laughed again, but it sounded weak as she bled out.

  I rushed to her side. “If we can stop the bleeding, maybe we could―”

  “Oh no, Naomi.” She touched my hair. “I made sure it was a fatal blow.”

  I began to cry. “But why? I could have taken you away from here.”

  “No,
you couldn’t. Ay would have hunted me down. This is the only way for me to be free at last. My only wish is that you really had been my mother.”

  Her eyes rolled back and she died.

  Horemheb was quick to react. He lifted her up and placed her on her bed, then found her shaving blade, covered it in blood, and placed it in her hand.

  He turned to me. “Hurry, we must leave before we are discovered.”

  “But…” I trembled as I stared at her.

  He swung me up into his arms. “We don’t have time for this.”

  He ran us down the corridor and into the secret passageway. Inside he set me down and lit the torch.

  Tears streamed down my face. “Horemheb, take me away from this place.”

  “Gladly.” He took my hand and we ran.

  He took us to his estate where he hurried to wash the blood off us both before he clasped my face. “Naomi.”

  “Why didn’t you stop her?” I asked breathlessly.

  “She would have done it after we left. I told you she was not in her right mind. I only brought you to say goodbye.”

  “You lied to me?” I tried to push him away.

  He caught me and held me by the waist. “No. I had hoped that maybe you would give her strength to go on, but instead…” He shook his head sadly. “It’s probably for the best.”

  “For the best?” My lip trembled. I pushed him off me as I sank onto a stool and wept. “When will it end?”

  “I’m working on it.”

  I shot to my feet and glared at him. “I’m done with him, Horemheb.”

  “I know you are, and so am I.”

  “We must make a definite plan. He has no way to continue his line. None of our neighbors will send wives for him, so it’s time for him to die.”

  “Agreed.”

  I searched his eyes. “Do you have any ideas?”

  “Nothing new, no.”

  I suddenly found myself overcome by how handsome he was. I grabbed him by the back of the head, and pulled him down to kiss me.

  He was eager to reciprocate, and pushed me up against the wall. I ran my hands up his muscular bare back and felt goose bumps ripple over his skin. I grabbed him by the belt and pulled him up harder against me as I broke away and kissed his cheek and ear. I dropped my hand down and began parting his skirt.