𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐍𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓 𝐖𝐄 𝐌𝐄𝐓 ; ahkmenrah

thirteen.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

❝She was like the moon, half here and half somewhere else.❞

Meeta Ahluwalia

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Luna Clair is an incredibly stupid human being. She could've resisted Kahmunrah, could've run, and yet she agreed to his terms and chose to stay here, with Ahkmenrah. He can't believe how stupid that was--and yet he's never been more attracted to her.

Luna drops to her knees beside Ahkmenrah, touching his face, his arms, his neck. He loves the way her hands feel, loves the way she looks at him. "Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

"No, no, I'm alright." He leans into her hand and gives her a tiny grin. "I think you've asked me that already tonight."

Luna looks over at Kahmunrah, who's back on his throne and playing rather lazily with a golden chalice. "Can I untie him, or is that a no-no, as well?"

"Escaping is futile," Kahmunrah replies absentmindedly.

"I'm not planning on escaping, you asshole," Luna snaps. "I'd like to hold his hand."

Ahkmenrah can't resist an embarrassed smile. (If he weren't a classy ancient pharaoh, reader, he'd be saying "YES!! THAT'S MY GIRL!!")

Kahmunrah looks over at them, slightly disgusted. Ahkmenrah can't get over how much older he looks. He remembers him as barely twenty, arrogant, and childish (young Kahmunrah is played by Mena Massoud, by the way, readers, and you're welcome), and now he's probably in his forties, arrogant, and childish. "Oh, fine. But I promise you, if you try anything, anything at all--"

"Yes, yes, you'll throw us in a dungeon somewhere and torture us with stories of your childhood." Luna rolls her eyes. "We get it." She moves behind Ahkmenrah and starts on untying the tight knots binding his wrists. Her fingertips move swiftly, and the butterflies in his stomach arise again as her hands brush his.

Then finally, his wrists are free and he rubs them, wincing. Rope is more uncomfortable than one would think. "Thank you."

Luna moves back to sit beside him and takes his hand in hers, intertwining their fingers and squeezing gently, looking directly back at him with her beautiful dark eyes. Ahkmenrah wants nothing more than to kiss her, but that would probably be inappropriate in front of his evil older brother. So he just touches her face gently, softly, treasuring the feel of her skin beneath his hands. He can't believe this could be the last night they have together, if things go wrong.

"Oh, my gods, this is disgusting!" Kahmunrah fakes vomiting into an 18th-century chamber pot. "I could cut the tension between the two of you with a spear!"

They both ignore him.

"There's nothing more horrifying than the affection of two young people," Kahmunrah continues boredly, tossing the chamber pot aside with a crash. "Other than the affection of one's own parents."

"He's an idiot," Ahkmenrah mutters under his breath, and Luna laughs quietly. She has the most beautiful laugh. He could kiss her.

"Oh, hang on a minute." Kahmunrah stands up, suddenly interested. "Hang on one moment. This wouldn't happen to be the 'daughter of the moon', would it? 'The child born in absence of light'? Your prophesied lover?"

Ahkmenrah stiffens. The prophecy. He hasn't thought about the prophecy in a long time. But now... Now it might finally make sense. His heart beats faster at the thought.

Luna frowns, confused. "The prophecy? What prophecy?"

"Tell me, girl, were you, by any chance, born during a lunar eclipse?" Kahmunrah asks obnoxiously, creeping toward them like something out of the horror films Luna always talks about.

Luna's eyes widen and she nods slowly. "Yeah. I was. Right at the peak of it, too. My dad was staring out the window when I was born. My mom says that's why she loves the moon so much: because it decided to come out of hiding after I did. That's why they named me Luna."

The daughter of the moon... Ahkmenrah takes a deep breath, steadying himself. Luna is the daughter of the moon. She holds the key to reborn life. He's the infant king. And that's about as far as he can get understanding the prophecy.

"So this devotion to my nasty little brother is straight out of that crazy old man's children's stories." Kahmunrah sneers wickedly. "I should've killed him long before that night."

"You killed Father's prophet?" Ahkmenrah's jaw drops. "Why?"

"Because he told me you were coming back to life," Kahmunrah hisses. "And that made me angry."

"He told you what?" Ahkmenrah's head is spinning. All this new information is making him dizzy.

"He made another prophecy, during your lovely funeral." Kahmunrah rolls his eyes, waving his hand like it's no big deal.

"Wait, I'm sorry--" Luna holds up a hand, interrupting. "There's a prophecy? Like a real one? Not just some bullshit televangelists make up? Involving me?"

"Apparently, yes," Kahmunrah says, like he can't believe it, either. "Supposedly, you have the power to bring my brother back to life by choice."

"What?" Luna's eyes widen and she turns to Ahkmenrah, her mouth open in surprise. "Is this true?"

But Ahkmenrah's still in shock himself. There's a second half to the prophecy... There's more. He has to know. As much as he hates it, he has to know. If there's a way for Luna to not have to choose someone to die, he'll take it. "What does the second prophecy say?"

"Oh, you're so cute, the way you think I'll just tell you," Kahmunrah coos patronizingly, like he would to a five-year-old. "It doesn't work that way, I'm afraid."

"What do you want?" Ahkmenrah throws his hands in the air exasperatedly. "You murdered me in my sleep, for Ra's sake! How much more do you need from me?"

"I suppose that is true..." Kahmunrah taps his chin thoughtfully. "Very well. I suppose you do sort of deserve to know, considering it is about you. And, since I'll probably kill you both tonight anyway, it shan't matter either way." He grins evilly. "So sit back, relax, and enjoy the story. It's an exciting one."

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q: do you like cliffhangers or no?

a: ooohooohoo yes.