The Pharaoh

Chapter 24

Aiden couldn't stop tapping his fingers. I knew that it was because he was nervous but the noise it was making was causing me to be anxious as well.

I tried to ignore it, I really did, but it just kept going. Finally, I just snatched his hand in mine. "Sorry but that's making me crazy," I apologized when he looked at me with a shocked face.

"Sorry. I'm just worried. Osiris said that the person I pick has to have already been judged. What if he hasn't been judged and was sent back to the realm of the living without being able to talk to anyone?" he rambled.

I breathed in and replied, "Then that'll be awful but we'll just be back to where we started."

"Aiden," Osiris' voice rang out as he walked into the open courtyard of his palace, "Have you made your decision yet?"

I could hear him swallow as he straightened his back. "I have," Aiden replied with all the power and authority you would expect from a pharaoh.

It was strange to me how he could act so confident when I knew that he was afraid. I used to think he was confident and brave all the time but now I know that's just not true. He feels just like I do... yet he isn't a weak coward like I am.

"Good," Osiris said as he got closer to us. He got right in front of us and then froze. A look of curiosity and fear fluttered across his face. "What did you do?" He asked me.

I placed a hand over my chest and wondered, "Who? Me?"

"Yes you," he grumbled, "Your power presence is significantly bigger. Maybe even on par with one of Aiden's godly siblings."

What? That can't be right. Aiden is able to manipulate what people see and his siblings are... well gods. Surely I'm not exuding as much power as they are. I'm just some skinny girl that can at times make things appear out of nowhere.

I looked at Aiden who suddenly seemed to have gone wide-eyed. He looked at me with awe and mumbled, "How did I not notice?"

"I didn't do anything," I defended myself.

They kept looking at me with a mixture of curiosity and fear. The seconds ticked by and I felt that anxious feeling come back but with ten times its original power.

Osiris didn't look convinced. He rubbed his chin with his scarred hands and seemed to get an idea. "Perhaps you should stay here with me in the realm of the dead for a bit longer than planned. It might be the smartest thing to do," Osiris suggested.

I felt my chest tighten. Stay here? Where all the colors were opposite and spirits were everywhere. No, no way.

Aiden started to glow and he let out a noise that resembled a growl. He glared at Osiris, all the while getting brighter, and harshly said, "Don't you go hunting for power again! Ra came out of retirement and took over the kingship of the gods from you for a reason! I'll align with my father if it means keeping my wife safely away from you and your power-hungry hands."

Osiris' face went white, like really white, and he gritted his teeth. "She might be dangerous. Her power seemed to have quadrupled overnight. What if all that explodes and hurts those pathetic mortals you're always so keen on keeping away from gods? If she's down here then there are no live mortals for her to harm," he tried to persuade.

"She's not going to stay here with you. Do you doubt my ability to protect my subjects?" He questioned with light pounding down on Osiris making him wince in pain, "I'll answer that for you and say no you do not doubt my ability. So trust that I can keep the great royal wife from being a threat to her people."

Burns started to appear on Osiris' face and arms. Aiden seemed to have increased whatever heat was within the light because a few moments later, Osiris let out a scream and then yelled, "Fine! She'll stay with you in the living realm."

The light vanished and Aiden's face seemed completely void of any emotion. He just strong-armed a literal god into submission, yet it seemed to be a mundane thing to him.

"I choose Rhett. Send us to him now," Aiden ordered.

Osiris glowered at him and said, "At least it'll get one of Ra's brats out of here."

He then snapped the fingers on his left hand and everything twisted.

I blinked and before I knew it, I was in a field of golden wheat. Unlike the usual golden wheat, this wheat glowed and each one looked like it had a mini star trapped inside of them. When I looked up the sky was still a beautiful shade of pink. So we're still in the realm of the dead.

"I didn't think you'd choose me," I heard from a little bit ahead of me. Rhett stood in front of us and gave Aiden a small smile. "Nice to see you kid."

Aiden froze, tears filled his gray eyes and a smile slowly started to form. "It's you," Aiden whispered with a slight tremor in his voice.

"It's me," the spirit replied.

Aiden lunged towards him and consumed him in a hug. I saw a blueish tint light up on Aiden's skin wherever he was touching Rhett. That must be how they're able to touch.

"I'm so sorry dad," Aiden sobbed, "I'm so sorry for everything."

Rhett's eyes went wide and he stopped hugging Aiden back. Aiden realized the hesitation and stepped away. "What's wrong?" Aiden asked.

"You called me dad," Rhett whispered, "You should be careful doing that. Ra might not like it."

"I don't care!" Aiden yelled, "Ra was never there when I fell and got hurt, Ra was never there when I was starving and needed to be fed, Ra never taught me how to fight, hunt, and be a man! That was all you! You were the man that raised me. Who took care of my mom and me when we needed it the most. You were the one who was there. So I don't care if Ra gets mad. You're my dad, you always were... I just wish that I had realized it sooner."

Rhett's brown eyes blinked out tears that ran down his cheeks. He took in a deep breath and closed his eyes. "I don't deserve your praise. I failed. I failed to protect your mother and your sister. I couldn't keep them safe and by doing that not only did I fail you but I failed myself and them," Rhett said.

"No," Aiden said, "It wasn't your fault. Fire is almost impossible to stop in Egypt."

Rhett opened his mouth to say something but before he could Anubis appeared beside him and announced, "It's almost time to leave. The integrity of your protection is waning."

Aiden looked at me with a sad look. "Just get as much as you can out," I told him.

Aiden nodded and said to Rhett, "Please tell my mother and sister that I love them dearly and that I'm sorry they couldn't live to see our dreams come true. Tell them that I promise to make the world safe for people like them, just like we always talked about. Also if you see her, tell Nyra that I hope she's back with her family. That even though I miss her I'm glad that she's finally reunited with them. I love you all so much and I'll be with you all again in due time, but first, there are a few things I need to do."

Tears ran down Aiden's face and a faint gray light started to glow all around him. "You need to wrap things up. It'll be worn off completely any second now," Anubis warned.

"Thank you for being my dad, even when I didn't deserve it. You truly were the best man I've ever met in every single way," Aiden said.

"Aiden I love you too and appreciate everything you're saying but I have to tell you something so be quiet for a bit. The fire didn't start naturally, it was started by a small group of men wearing royal guard robes. We were killed by men in the palace," Rhett told Aiden hastily.

My vision started to get hazy almost as if I was slowly being torn away from the plane of reality. It felt eerily similar to sinking in water.

"I love you son! Even though you're not my blood know that you were always mine! I love you," Rhett yelled. Then I was completely immersed in the unknown.