Akhenaten studied her until Nefertiti thought she would scream from the tension. Then he laughed softly.
'Mery-Re, return to the palace. I've changed my mind.'
Nefertiti watched the high priest gather his men and retreat. Disapproval was blatant in his stiff posture.
Sebek came up beside her while pharaoh moved away to speak with Wadjnas. 'I feared for you, majesty.'
Nefertiti said nothing. She was still shaking from the risk she'd just taken. Once angered, Akhenaten could be vindictive and cruel. Although never its victim, Nefertiti had seen the results of pharaoh's wrath.
'My queen, are you well?'
'Yes.' She pressed her shaking hands together. 'I–I prayed for help from Osiris, and he came to my aid.'
'Yes, majesty.'
Nefertiti heard the warrior's skeptical tone. Sebek had never ventured an opinion about pharaoh. Such a liberty was not to be contemplated.
Sebek glanced over Nefertiti's head. 'My queen, his majesty summons you.'
Akhenaten waited at the entrance to the temple. His white robes stood out against the darkness of the stone around him. He lifted his arm; his eyes beckoned. Summoning her patience and her shredded composure, Nefertiti went to join her husband. As Akhenaten guided her outside, she couldn't help wondering if he would forget his desire to wipe out the name of Amun.
Chapter 9
Two chariots stood in the forecourt of Meren's town house. A line of servants on their way to the docks carried boxes and wicker trunks past the double reflection pools and out the front gates. Two Syrian girls, the personal maids of Tefnut and Isis, scurried after the group headed for Lord Sunero's yacht. It was already hot this morning as Meren helped Tefnut into the chariot beside her husband.
She leaned down and whispered to him, 'Try not to worry, Father. I'll write so that you'll know how Isis fares.'
'I'm not certain this is the best course,' Meren replied.
Sunero gripped the reins of the chariot with one hand and steadied his wife with the other. 'Leave it, Meren. You can't rush healing. Such things take many weeks and months. And you're not going to change your decision after I've had that mountain of parcels and boxes stuffed on board my yacht. I swear Isis has taken half the contents of your house.'
'Not quite half,' Meren replied with a faint smile. 'Although Bener would agree with you.' He touched Tefnut's hand. 'Take care, little daughter.'
Tefnut pressed a hand to her belly and said, 'Father, you're the only one who would refer to me as little.'
'I would, too,' Sunero said.
'Anyone would look small next to you, husband. You're as tall as an obelisk.'
'And as majestic,' Sunero added.
'Ha! Certainly as noticeable.'
Meren listened to the couple's exchange as they drove down the avenue to the gate. He returned their waves as they left the grounds, thinking how easy they were with each other. Had he and Sit-Hathor ever been so free with each other? After all this time, he seemed to remember only the pain of missing her and the emptiness in his heart, the emptiness he was afraid to fill.
Chastising himself for descending into another dark mood, Meren watched Kysen and Bener take leave of Isis. The chariot driver waited in the shade of the loggia while the family conversed, and a groom held the reins of the horses. Bener was talking gravely to her younger sister. Occasionally Kysen would offer a terse comment or pat Isis on the hand. Isis hung her head and listened, nodding and saying little. Seeing no improvement in her spirits, Meren sighed and realized he'd been right to agree to this visit. The old Isis would never have listened meekly to advice from her siblings. She would have given a derisive sniff and left them in mid-sentence to go her own way.
Meren joined his children beside the second chariot. As if by prearrangement, Bener dragged Kysen back to the house on the excuse that she wanted his opinion of a newly brewed batch of beer. Meren tried to catch Isis's eye, but she turned away to stroke the neck of one of the horses. Meren took the reins from the groom, who melted away to stand at the chariot driver's elbow.
'Will you at least bid me farewell, Isis?'
She glanced at him before staring at the horse's neck again. 'Of course, Father. May the gods be with you while I'm away.'
'And with you, my little one.'
When Isis didn't answer, he sighed. 'Isis, you can't live in shame forever. I'm tired of seeing you skulk about the house like a sick little jackal. You made a terrible mistake, but I know you never intended harm, and I forgive you. Now you must forgive yourself, and I do wish you would make haste about it, for I don't think I can bear this miserable humility of yours much longer.'
Isis stared at him, and her mouth went slack with astonishment. 'You don't hate me?'
'I love you,' Meren snapped. 'You would have known that had you not pretended to be asleep when I tried to see you in your room last night or had you not been avoiding me all this time.'
'No,' Isis said with a shake of her head. She stroked the horse's withers. 'You have to hate me.'
Uttering a gasp of exasperation, Meren dropped the reins and wrapped his youngest daughter in his arms, squeezing hard before releasing her. Isis gawked at him as he picked up the reins again.
'I don't have to hate you, but it seems you must hate yourself for a while longer.'
'But-'
'But you're not going to do it in front of me,' Meren said. He took her arm, guided her into the chariot, and signaled the driver. 'I have made sacrifices for your safe journey, my Isis. Have mercy on Tefnut and try not to sulk so much. Your frowns will curdle the spirits of the child in her womb.'
'What I did-'
Meren handed the reins to the driver and stepped away from the chariot. 'Farewell, daughter. You are always in my heart.'
The chariot jumped into motion, and Meren waved to Isis as it clattered down the avenue. His last glimpse of her was of a wide-eyed, lithe, and beautiful young girl staring at him in astonishment.
When she was gone, Meren walked to the loggia and paused to lean against a column. Behind him the polished cedar of tall front doors gleamed even in the shade. The solar orb cast glittering fans of light across the reflection pools. Once again his thoughts turned to his investigations. Dilalu had returned with a small caravan of horses with which he tried to tempt his noble customer. During that interview the merchant had hinted of his extensive trading contacts and the ease with which he obtained rare items, and dropped the names of several of his more warlike customers. Meren assumed that the oily foreigner was testing his openness to the clandestine purchase of arms.
He'd spun Dilalu in a web of sweet anticipation of profit, but said nothing definite. In the meantime there was Yamen. Kysen had persuaded him to delay dealing with the officer when Meren expressed a desire to reach down his throat and rip out his spine. Now he realized he may have allowed his terror over Kysen's near-death to influence his view of Yamen. He would invite the officer to the house for a meal with several other military friends.
Meren was headed inside to summon a messenger to go to Yamen when the sound of more chariots made him turn. To his surprise, Maya, the royal treasurer, and General Horemheb came into view. Preceded by several attendants, their chariots sent pebbles flying as they drove up to the loggia. Grooms rushed to see to the horses, and Meren's steward and servants hurried to attend the guests.
Only a formal greeting was possible until Meren led his friends into the reception hall, where Bener and Kysen
