The Egyptian Royals Collection by Michelle Moran Read Free Book Online Page A

remained surrounded by her women, court ladies who were dressed, as Ipu had told us, in the fashion she dictated: long hair, sleeveless sheaths, and hennaed feet. They hovered around her like moths, her little belly evidence that she, and not my sister, was the future of Egypt.
    “It’s too hot in here,” Nefertiti said, taking my arm. “Come with me.”
    Our father warned sharply, “Do not go far.”
    I followed Nefertiti’s angry footfalls through the hall. “Where are we going?”
    “Anywhere but here.” She stalked through the palace. “He left, Mutnodjmet. He actually left without meeting me. His future queen. The future of Egypt!”
    We went outside and found ourselves at the fountain. We put our hands beneath its flow, letting the water drip from our fingers to our breasts. The rippling water carried the scents of honeysuckle and jasmine. As Nefertiti took off her wig, a familiar voice pierced the darkness.
    “So you are my mother’s choice of wife.”
    Nefertiti looked up and the prince was standing there, clad in his golden pectoral. She wiped any trace of surprise from her face, and at once she was Nefertiti, flirtatious and charming. “Why? Are you shocked?” she asked him.
    “Yes.” But there was nothing airy in Amunhotep’s response. He sat and studied Nefertiti in the moonlight.
    “Is Egypt’s prince tired of the dancing then?” She did it perfectly, hiding her nervousness by sounding coquettish.
    “I am tired of seeing my mother bow to the High Priest of Amun.” When Nefertiti smiled, Amunhotep looked at her sharply. “Is that funny?”
    “Yes. I had thought you had come out here to court your new wife. But if you want to talk politics, I will listen.”
    Amunhotep narrowed his eyes. “Listen the way my father listens? Or the way you listened to your tutor when he professed love in Akhmim?”
    Even in the darkness I could see my sister blanch, and I realized immediately what Kiya had done. I thought I would be ill, but Nefertiti was quick.
    “They say you are a great believer of Aten,” she recovered. “That you plan to build temples when you are made Pharaoh.”
    Amunhotep sat back. “Your father keeps you well informed,” he remarked.
    “I keep myself well informed,” she replied.
    She was smart and she was charming, and even he couldn’t resist the earnestness of her stare in the light of the oil lamps. He moved closer to her. “I want to be known as the People’s Pharaoh,” he admitted. “I want to build the greatest monuments in Egypt to show the people what a leader with vision can do. The Amun priests should never have been allowed to achieve such power. That power was meant for the Pharaohs of Egypt.”
    There was the crunch of gravel and the three of us turned.
    “Amunhotep.” Kiya stepped into the light. “Everyone is wondering where the Prince of Egypt has been.” She smiled lovingly at him, as if his disappearing was both quaint and wonderful. She held out her arm. “Shall we return?”
    Nefertiti nodded. “Until tomorrow then,” she promised, and her voice was low and sultry, as if there was a great secret between them.
    Kiya’s arm tightened around Amunhotep’s. “I felt our child move tonight. A son,” she swore, loud enough for Nefertiti to hear as she steered him away. “I can already feel him.”
    We watched them walk into the darkness, and I noticed how tightly Kiya was holding on to Amunhotep, as if he might disappear at any moment.

    Nefertiti seethed, her sandals slapping across the tiles to our chamber. “What will he do in two days when we are united before Amun? Will he bring Kiya along and ignore me then, too?”
    My father stood and closed the door. “You must lower your voice. There are spies throughout the palace.”
    Nefertiti sank onto a leather cushion and put her head against my mother’s shoulder. “I was humiliated,
mawat
. He sees me as just another wife.”
    My mother caressed my sister’s dark hair. “He will come