Read Dancer of the Nile (Gods of Egypt) Online
Authors: Veronica Scott
Dancer of the Nile (Gods of Egypt) (26 page)
“Is the evening air giving you a chill?” Kamin adjusted the shawl more closely for her. “Speaking of the falcons, the Great One Horus said he would stand as your patron from now on.”
To go from no patron among the Great Ones to being a favorite of Horus! Amazing.
Eyes narrowed, she asked,
“
He conferred such an honor on me, a woman? I thought he only watched over warriors.”
“My heart,
you
are a warrior, don’t doubt yourself. My men have adopted you as an informal member of the regiment. They regard it as a high honor to be stationed outside your tent.”
“I’m flattered. Even though the Hyksos menace has been removed—”
“For now,” Kamin interrupted. “They won’t give up so easily. They and their evil god are intent on conquering Egypt. But those concerns are for another day. We can savor the victory for a time.”
She nodded. “I feel at ease, being surrounded by your men, soldiers loyal to you.”
“By the way, Horus has granted us one further boon—neither will survive the other. Our lives and our deaths are truly linked.”
She relaxed into his hold, letting her head fall against his strong shoulder as she had done so many times on their long journey. “Such a fate pleases me like no other could.”
“He also told me he would come and serve as a witness for the judging of our hearts, when the time comes.”
“May it be many long years away,” Nima said. “The Afterlife was beautiful, but I’m in no rush to walk there again.”
“Agreed.” Kamin nodded. “At least next time we’ll go in the proper way, not a back door.”
“But still together,” she sighed with happiness.
Kamin’s eyes were intense. “I refuse to be parted from you again, not in life or death. The Great One promised me.”
“Promised
us
,” she corrected, drawing him in again for another kiss.
“I have a gift for you, to replace the amulet you lost when we called Renenutet.” He got up and crossed to the side table, bringing her a small white leather pouch.
She took it, surprised. “When did you find time to do this?”
“I had to do something while I was cooling my heels in Tentaris. I was a raging lion, penned up there, waiting for Tiy to get his army mobilized. So I commissioned his goldsmith to make this, and I carried it in my belt pouch as my own amulet until the moment I could present it to you, safe and sound and restored to me.” He nudged the bag. “Well, open it.”
Loosening the thongs holding the tiny sack shut, Nima turned it upside down on the sheets. A golden bangle bracelet fell into her lap. She picked it up, admiring it from all directions. There were miniature golden charms on the bangle—a stylized falcon, a snake, a tiny pair of dancer’s finger cymbals, and a tablet bearing miniature hieroglyphics.
Taking the bracelet from her hand, Kamin placed it around her wrist, fingering the tablet charm. “This says, ‘Nima, held in Kamin’s heart for all time.’”
Suffused with joy and tenderness, Nima rubbed his check softly with her good hand. “My beloved soldier.”
She thought he blushed a little under the tan. “You—you like it? We can add a charm when our first son—or daughter—is born. It’s not the same as the bead amulet your mother gave you, but—”
Nima turned it on her wrist for a moment, admiring the intricacy of the charms. “Perfect. It’s perfect. What can I do for you?” she asked, looking him full in the face and smiling. “You do so much for me—”
“Just love me,” he said, gathering her into his arms and lowering his lips to hers.
And so she did, for many long and happy years, until the gods kindly took them both into the Afterlife, together forever as promised.
ABOUT VERONICA SCOTT
Best-selling, award-winning author Veronica Scott grew up in a house with a library full of books as its heart, and when she ran out of things to read, she started writing her own stories. Married young to her high school sweetheart then widowed, Veronica has two grown daughters, one young grandson and cats. You can usually find Veronica on
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