Heretic of the Nile

019

The first thing that Mereneith did when she was alone with Kha to wrap her arms around him and pat him comfortingly. The boy's frame started to tremble, and she could feel the warm tears trickling down from his eyes and onto her shoulders.

"Everything will be alright," she said softly.

It was a lie, for she could not predict the future and there was too much uncertainty surrounding their circumstances, but it was what he needed to hear—and what she needed too. They were standing at the edge of a cliff and one wrong step would mean a plunge to the death.

She saw the way his gaze had hardened to coal when he looked upon the queen and the high priest, the way his fists were clenched so tightly that the bones strained uncomfortably against their restraints. She could see how much he was hurting.

All those pent-up emotions were now being released like a torrential flood, and the stream of tears erupted into uncontrollable sobs. She wondered how long it had been since he had cried.

After a long while, Kha's rage and sorrow subsided. He slowly let her go.

"I'm sorry," he said, wiping the tear stains off his cheeks. "I don't know what came over me."

Mereneith squeezed out a small smile. "It's fine. Everyone needs to vent from time to time, else you'll implode." She moved over to a wooden chaise and sat herself down, the tension from earlier leaving her drained and exhausted.

After the meeting with the king, Kha had insisted that they return to Nefermaat's residence instead of remaining at the Great Temple. She didn't argue against that. While Tjethy had clarified that they were on the same side, it was no longer possible for her to trust him the way she used to, especially not after finding out about the illicit relationship between the high priest and the queen.

"I didn't expect Father to wake so soon," Kha said, sitting down beside her. "There are truly many things about the Ak'heka crystals that we don't know of."

"The crystals certainly hold far more potential than we give them credit for. But they are mere conduits. The true power and energy to create change lie in the earth itself. If we make it out of this alive, there's something I must show you."

"The crystal mine that you spoke of?"

Mereneith nodded, her irises sparkling with eagerness. "It's unlike anything I've seen before. Crystals grown by nature, far larger than what we are capable of at the temple. Do you know what that means? That site—the petrified forest—it's a concentration point of the earth's energy that's stronger than what we know of."

"Interesting," Kha replied, twiddling with a paperweight that was sitting on the side table.

"Forget it, you're not even paying attention," Mereneith said, flicking up the whites of her eyes. When Kha listened, he could probably understand half of what she was concocting in her mind; when he was distracted, then she was wasting her breath. Everything was going in one ear and out the other.

Kha sighed, leaning back against the backrest of the chair. "Do you think Father can make a complete recovery? Looking at him today... I never thought I'd ever see him like this. Ever since I was little, he's always been so strong, so infallible. I truly believed he was a god," he said.

"No one is, Kha. Even the strongest of us will go west one day. I don't think anyone can say whether or the king will recover, but at the very least he has led a life far more inspiring than many others."

"Father has been carrying this kingdom upon his shoulders for so many years. I can't imagine what will become of Egypt when he's gone."

"There were great kings that came before him, and there will be great kings that come after him." Mereneith turned to Kha, reaching out her fingers to smoothen out the furrows between his brows. "If he offers you the crown, will you take it?" she asked.