The Cursed Pharaoh's Bride

Chapter 1: Not A Vacation (Technically)

Author's Note: Hello, readers! Thank you so much for checking out my story. This my first book and I hope you come to enjoy the story and characters as much as I do. This is going to be a very, very long novel full of love, magic, action, new friendships, and coming into one's own strength and potential. So prepare yourselves because this is going to be quite the journey. As you read along, feel free to comment – I would love to respond to any questions or feedback you might have. Being able to interact with you guys will make this experience so much more fun! Also, if you do find yourself enjoying the story, don't forget to leave a vote on the different chapters so others can get the opportunity to find this book. Now, enjoy your adventure and beware of the mummy's curse. -- M.H.

Carolina

"You're so lucky!" Tori exclaims from the other side of my cell phone.

"Yeah, I'm lucky that the airport in Cairo has wifi. Otherwise I wouldn't be able to FaceTime you right now," I reply with the roll of my eyes.

"Oh stop," she teases, "Just admit it. You're so lucky that you were one of the few chosen students who get to visit Egypt with the university."

I can't stop the grin that makes it onto my face or the second eye roll. "You make it sound like I'm on a school trip or a vacation," I point out, "We're here on an archeological expedition. It's research, that's why the students get such a good deal on the price for this trip. We're going to be aiding in digging up Egyptian artifacts and we're going to learn how to date them."

"Educational, cheap, exotic, and you're getting credit for the summer semester. It sounds like your kind of vacation to me," she retorts, "Let me know if you see any hot guys. And I don't mean just the guys on the expedition. I hear Egyptian men make for great eye candy, too."

"For the last time, it's not a vacation. We're not even going anywhere near a beach. And I doubt I'll be able to interact with guys when it doesn't have anything to do with the expedition," I explain.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say, Carolina. Talk to you later, girl," she says before ending the call.

I let out a sigh as I join the rest of the group. I wouldn't admit it out loud but I was lucky. Hunter College had a good number of study abroad opportunities but nothing like this. This honestly wouldn't have happened if my favorite professor, Dr. Jones, hadn't asked me to intern at her lab two years ago. Naturally, I was drawn to Dr. Jones' research on immunology as a young sophomore in college. And little did I know at the time that helping her with her research would make me look good when applying to nursing school now that I'm going to be a college senior. Though I couldn't imagine Dr. Jones would pick me to come with her to this expedition a friend of hers invited her to in Egypt. Archaeology isn't normally my thing, and I didn't think it was her's, but I find the history and science interesting. Besides, I wouldn't be crazy enough to turn down this trip.

Speaking of the devil, or should I say miracle worker, Dr. Jones rushes towards me with two men at her heal. "Carolina! I'd like you to meet my dear friend, Professor Cohen," she introduces, "He's an environmental science professor from Columbia University and he's the reason why we're on this trip. He's got connections with the scientists running the expedition."

I graciously shake the hand of the older of the two men. "Thank you for inviting us, Professor," I say.

"It's my pleasure Ms. Carolina Mercado. Dr. Jones has told me a lot about you. I hope to see you very involved in this expedition," he say politely, though it almost sounds borderline sarcastic. Maybe his Scottish accent is just making me overthink his tone. He then jerks the younger man towards Dr. Jones and I.

"I'd like you to meet Jay Lee. He's my prodigy," the old man brags. Jay gives us a nervous smile as he shakes both our hands. I can't help but at smile at his shyness. It adds to his cuteness.

The introductions were cut short when the expedition guide captures everyone's attention and leads us to bus that dropped everyone off at the hotel.

"You don't mind sharing a room with your professor, do you?" Dr. Jones asks as we walk into our room.

"Uh, I don't mind," I say. Dr. Jones is a pretty nice lady. She's just kind of...eccentric. But it is because of her that I'm here so I'm not one to complain.

"Don't worry. The mad scientist part of myself only comes out in the lab," she says as if she read my thoughts. I can't help but let out a small nervous laugh.

"Whaaaat? You're not a mad scientist," I say awkwardly.

"If you keep telling yourself that, you'll become the mad one," Dr. Jones says with a hum as she walks into the bathroom.

I let out a sigh as I flip through the folder that we were given back on the bus. It has our itinerary and a brief synopsis of the expedition. It seems like this expedition is international since there are some colleges and universities from the UK, Egypt, and China. It's not a very big expedition since they can't take that many people into the desert; it's about thirty participants and the expedition is headed by five main scientists.

Apparently, we're going to be looking into a site that was recently found with ancient Egyptian artifacts. They don't know yet what time period it's from but what they found so far seems comparable to items from the first dynasty of ancient Egypt.

* * * * * * * * *

I let out a yawn as we load some Jeeps and a small van with our equipment and bags. The box in my hands suddenly slips from my grip. Before it can land on my foot, two long arms reach out and catch the box. I look up to meet brown, almond shaped eyes hidden behind familiar large, black framed glasses.

"O-oh. Uh, thanks, Jay," I say awkwardly.

"It's no problem," he says as he put the box into the truck. He gives me a small grin, which doesn't help my already embarrassed state. "Did someone not get enough sleep?"

"Not really," I say sheepishly, "The heat made it hard to stay asleep for too long."

"The situation was the same for me, too," he chuckles. I soon find myself sitting next to the cute nerd as we ride into the desert.

"So, I'm assuming you attend Columbia University," I say.

"I don't actually," he says, "I just graduated from City College. I will be going to medical school at Columbia in the fall."

"Really? If that's the case, how do you know Professor Cohen?" I ask.

"I started doing research with him when I was in high school," he explains, "And then he let me continue to intern for him during college. I think he put a good word in for me with the administration when I was applying to their medical school."

"Wow, that's really impressive. No wonder he calls you his prodigy," I tease slightly.

Jay lets out a nervous chuckle. "Cohen likes to brag a little too much. I'm not as great as he says," he protests, "What about you? Dr. Jones loves to talk a lot about you, too."

I can't stop the blush that spreads across my cheeks. "I'm just a biology major at Hunter College. My goal is to get into nursing school," I say.

"Hunter is a great school and nursing is a great field. Based on what Dr. Jones says about you, I'm sure you'll be great," he says with a warm smile. I can't help but smile in return to his nice remark.

It's not long until we make it to the main digging site. There are already some workers digging deep holes into the sand. Some spots are already marked up with flags but seem untouched.

"Good morning fellow students and professors," one of the scientists starts, "My name is Dr. Simon Cormac and I will be one of your guides for this expedition. You will all be split up into five groups and each group will be responsible for digging at a different site for the next three days. We will then take our findings and give each of you the experience of dating and researching the artifacts."

I am relieved when I see Jay and Professor Cohen put into the same group as Dr. Jones and I with Dr. Cormac. We are also joined by a student and professor from London.

"We'll be starting off with digging today," Dr. Cormac says, "Don't expect to find anything yet. We're predicting to find more artifacts in this site but nothing is ensured."

I let out a sigh as I dig my small shovel into the sand. I don't know how Tori thinks this is considered a vacation.