Chrysocolla (5 page)

My father began talking, and everyone stayed in their place on their knees.

“Welcome home, Paramessu. The gods have been kind,” my father greeted Seth’s father.

The general rose and began to talk to my father. I tuned them both out as I felt my heartbeat pick up. Seti was here in the sea of people.

Peering over the crowd I found the face I was looking for. Seth was kneeling behind his father. My heart beat faster. He was really only feet away from me. I hated having to wait in the shadows. I really wanted to run over to him. Seth kept his eyes on my father as my father spoke, but I saw his slight smile. He had to have felt me there, too. My heart beat even faster. It was agonizing to have to just stand and watch. I stepped back to Kye. He, at least, had to have a clue what was going on and could tell me what would happen next.

“How much longer does my father have to pray for?” I asked. It was obvious my father was in the middle of a prayer. I never pictured myself as the child of a holy person, but I never really had a clue about my father. I would not have even guessed close to who the real man was.

Kye shrugged. He didn’t have a guess either. I moved back to my spot in the shadows where I could see everything.

“Thank you for your prayers, and we hope that the gods are appeased with our campaign,” General Paramessu added.

“I believe they are. Have you not brought me back a present?” my father asked in reply.

General Paramessu nodded and motioned behind him. People who had remained kneeling had to stand and move. “We hope that your marriage to a Nahrin princess will bring our countries closer together.”

“Why would it?” I whispered to Kye, who was now standing beside me and watching my mother as she followed behind General Paramessu. I understood why kings married to strengthen ties, but I was still unsure where priests fell in Egyptian society.

Kye gave me a weird look like I was crazy for even asking.

“Because my grandfather happens to be the pharaoh.” Kye motioned to my father, his grandfather.

I looked back at my father on his raised platform. He wasn’t wearing the traditional headpiece or a beard. He looked like all the other men.

“Wait a second,” I quickly whispered back. “My father is a military man, not a pharaoh. I’ve never heard of a Pharaoh Meryamun.” I knew a bit about Egyptian history, at least most of the pharaoh names, and those that I didn’t know well, I had at least heard of them from my grandfather.

“That’s because he isn’t called Meryamun by anyone anymore. He is called Pharaoh Horemheb.”

My heart skipped a beat. That one I had heard before. In fact, Seth had told me that Horemheb was pharaoh, but he failed to mention he had another name. I looked back out to my father and finally saw the difference between him and the people around him. I could see the regal glow that went along with his position. I didn’t need any more curves thrown into my life, but that didn’t seem to stop fate from toying with me. My father was Pharaoh.

Chapter 2

Finally Home

My travels just
kept getting more complicated by the moment, and we weren’t even dealing with Logan yet. Kye had to drag me back to the apartment we were to wait in for my father, the pharaoh. I was in too much shock to do anything else. First, I had discovered that Kye was my son, as weird as that still sounded, and now, I had found out my father was the pharaoh. Could anything in my life just be simple? Didn’t fate understand I would be just as happy being a farm girl in the middle of nowhere? I didn’t need all this stuff. I just wanted a simple life. Simple wasn’t what I was getting.

“This is really unbelievable,” I said as soon as we were back within our private rooms in the palace.

“I thought you knew. Didn’t Seti tell you?” Kye asked. He really was confused.

No. He didn’t. But that wasn’t exactly Seth’s fault. Did Seth even have time to tell me? Since I told him who my father was, I hadn’t really had a moment alone with him to talk other than the moment I had to use to break up with him so that Logan wouldn’t whisk me away to another time period. I didn’t leave Seth anytime to tell me about my father.

“Oh. Sorry… I really thought he told you. He said you told him who your father was, so I assumed he told you that he was the pharaoh, and that made everything work much better.” Kye ushered me to a seat like I might faint again.

Finding out my father was Pharaoh was upsetting, but nothing like finding out your new friend was actually your grown son that you didn’t even have the slightest thought about having yet.

“How is this even possible? Wasn’t my mom supposed to marry the pharaoh? Why’d she run away if it was my father?” Everything was just too confusing. Growing up in another time was part of it, but the lack of knowledge about everything was hard to get around as well.

“You mother was given to a different pharaoh. He was named Ay. She did fall in love with your father while he was a military leader. Two years after she left, Ay died, and your father became pharaoh,” Kye explained. What I wouldn’t have gave to have the Internet in the past. Kye was throwing out names, and I wanted to know more.

“So my father was the son of a pharaoh?” Wasn’t pharaoh succession by birth?

“No, your father was always part of the military. He worked his way up until he was commander of the army. General Paramessu was his second-in-command. When Pharaoh Tutankhamun came of age, your father was there beside him, keeping the country safe.”

“Tutankhamun, like King Tut?” I had always been fascinated by the gold-entombed boy king. I never imagined my father had anything to do with him.

Kye smiled. “You used to tell me how his sarcophagus got you interested in Egypt. But I always thought maybe you were already interested in Egyptian history because that was actually home for you.”

I looked around the room we were in. The white linen curtains billowed in from the open windows. I could smell the water we were near. I understood now why Seth liked the beach house and its location on the water. They were polar opposites in temperature, but the feeling was still the same. The water, the smells, the sounds all felt similar. Kye was right. Even though I had never been there before, this felt like home.

“So my father was a general for King Tut.” I prompted Kye to continue. I wanted to know more. I needed to know more.

“Yes. The pharaoh chose your father as his successor since the gods told him he would never have any children. Upon his death, his powers from the gods would pass onto your father. Unfortunately, Tut died while your father was off fighting yet another battle for his king. The pharaoh’s own father-in-law took that time to take over the country and for four short years everything was thrown out of place. You can’t even imagine what life is like when you disobey the gods. Your father was always the choice of the gods, and if you go against their wishes, they make sure you know it.”

“So my father was chosen by the gods, but he’s not a god himself?” It still sounded strange to me, but that was my life now. Strange and a bit surreal.

“No, he isn’t a god. Yes, they chose him. He came from a long line of leaders as you already know. They knew that he could get the country back on track, and they knew that his bloodline needed to be back in control,” Kye explained. “Egypt holds a spot in history for many different things. It’s important Egypt doesn’t fail, or the world you grew up in would be radically changed. The gods that can see the future, like the goddess, knew that much and told the others. Everyone wants Egypt to succeed. No one wants Logan’s future.”

“So, in other words, we aren’t in this alone?” I had to hope. If no one wanted his future, then maybe we would be able to find some others that would tell us how to change everything back the way it should be.

“Oh, we’re alone. It’s very rare for a god to show themselves, let alone interfere like the goddess has done. Some even blame her for all this. If she hadn’t created the ability to travel through time, we would have never been here now.”

That didn’t sound good. I was hoping we’d have some allies as I was still unsure how we would beat Logan. Every moment with Kye right beside me made it clear that Logan still would win. We needed as much help as we could get.

The rush of tingles that hit me were also shocking. I now could feel where Seth was at all times, and he was walking beside my father and mother and approaching quickly. Counting Kye in the mix, the four of them were a bit of overkill, as everyone came into the room behind my father. It was like being hit with a hot air dryer after a cold shower. Everything was amplified times four, and the worst was that it made what I felt for Seth even stronger. Or maybe that was the months we spent apart. Either way, I wanted to rush over to Seth’s arms but kept my seat beside Kye. Seth noticed my hands gripping the seat beneath me and chuckled at me.

Everyone returned to Egypt, and we were now all together. My father beamed as my mother walked with him, and he settled his arm around her. She was as happy as he was. They were always meant to be together and made the most adorable couple ever. It was like no time had passed between them. I was actually a bit jealous. They made love seem so easy.

My mother broke from his grasp and ran over to me. She hugged me tightly. My father was right behind her and placed his arms around both of us. The hum of our family was strange, yet completely familiar at the same time. This was what family was supposed to feel like.

“Kye said he would get you back here, but I still couldn’t believe it until I saw you,” my mother explained. She held me tight, not wanting to let go. “I really thought I’d never see you again once he took me back. He wasn’t sure you would come, but he promised even if he had to use force, you would be back here. I kind of worried about him using force since you always fight back.” My mother rambled on. That was one of the things she did when she was happy.

“You think I’d let you guys go back without me?” I teased her.

“I wasn’t sure you’d leave Logan. I remember you two back in high school. You were pretty exclusive. I like Seti a lot more, but I remember Logan. He was pretty serious,” my mother added in a whisper. She was really worried about me staying with Logan. She obviously hadn’t been told about the new Logan. Any memory I had was now wiped clean.

“Logan can’t even compare to Seti,” I whispered back. It was still strange, but Kye was right. I had to make sure I called Seth by the right name.

My mother gave me one last squeeze.

“I think you picked the right one.” She let go of me, and my father held her still as they backed up. It didn’t seem like he’d be letting go anytime soon.

I looked behind my mother and father and saw Seth and his father standing together with Dee and Ty right behind them. No one else entered with them. I caught Seth’s eyes and smiled. What I would have given to be able to throw myself into his arms at the moment, but with all our family standing around, it didn’t seem like the time to be doing that. He seemed to be holding back, too.

My father motioned into the adjoining room where there were more seats. He sat down first in one of the seats before Seth’s father sat down next. I followed Kye and sat beside him as Seth sat next to me. Dee sat down last, and Ty stood by the door. Ty stood like a statue just as the servant had that we passed as we entered the suite. My heart ached to see him back in his role as a slave. He caught my face and smiled at me. He might have not minded as much as I did, or he was just better at pretending, but it didn’t matter. It still was hard for me. This wasn’t what I wanted for him.

“Join us,” my father said to Ty. Ty looked startled to be spoken to by my father. “I hear that you have helped my daughter many times.”

Ty didn’t respond verbally but sat at the command of my father. He looked stiff as he sat on the lavish pillows, like it was his first time ever sitting on them. Ty was out of his element.

“It seems we have some issues to discuss,” my father began as he looked around the room.

I felt Seth’s arm drape around the chair I was sitting on, his fingers grazed my neck as they did so. I tried to keep my shiver concealed. He was being nonchalant about it, but it was intentional. He had touched the new lines that went up my shoulder and neck and down my arm with my other lines. My cheeks had to be burning, but I continued to face my father and pretend like Seth’s touch didn’t send chills down to my toes. I was aching to greet Seth as I wanted, but I wasn’t about to do that in front of everyone, and now we all sat together. It was torture when all I wanted to do was throw myself into Seth’s arms finally.

“Have the kids explained to you everything on their part?” my father asked the general.

“Yes, and as hard as I want to not believe them, their story sounds like the most plausible explanation,” the general replied.

He came across like the kind that didn’t believe easily, yet he was one that named his son after a god. Maybe there was a little more faith in the gods than he let on. Either way, he believed us.

“My daughter says that she met you once already,” my father continued, giving him a nod.

“Yes, and at the time I didn’t know she was yours. I thought she was Hepa when I first met her, but it was impossible for Hepa to be a young girl still. Seems I was right on that. I wish she would have told me that she was your daughter, and then I would have never returned her to her cousin. It seems we will have that to sort out.” The general was already thinking about politics again as he spoke to my mother and father. My mother smiled and nodded. It was kind of her fault for not telling me anything of the past.

“There shouldn’t be anything to sort out. It’s the father who decides when a girl marries. Her cousin has no say in it, and since the marriage wasn’t consummated anyways, they can’t hold claim to her there either.” My father wasn’t too concerned about my last trip into the past.

“I hope that they will go along with that. We just returned from the north, and even though we won, it would be best if we let the military relax for the season before we journey out again,” the general added.