Ornament of Pharaoh by Kylie Quillinan
Author:Kylie Quillinan [Quillinan, Kylie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Chapter 21
Ineniâs gathering lasted until late into the night. My eyes drooped and I was trying not to yawn long before anyone suggested it might be time to leave. I didnât want to be the first to depart, but the later we talked, the more I fretted over whether Ahmose was waiting for me to return before she went looking for Ettu. As we finally left, Ineni surprised me with a kiss on the cheek.
âThank you for coming,â she said. âI hope you werenât too bored. We must have spent a lot of time talking about people you donât know.â
I emerged into the hallway to find a line of maids waiting to escort their mistress to her chambers. So I wasnât the only one taking measures to ensure I didnât walk the hallways alone. Ahmose and Merytre were there, leaning against the wall and looking more awake than I felt. We didnât speak until we were well away from anyone else.
âIs there any news?â I asked, rubbing my eyes and trying to look alert. âAhmose, I thought you would have gone by now.â
âI was waiting until we collected you before I left,â Ahmose said. âSo Merytre wouldnât have to come on her own.â
âIâm sorry I was so long,â I said. âI should have made an excuse to leave earlier.â
âDid you learn anything useful?â Merytre asked.
We reached my chambers and I tried to pretend to myself I wasnât hoping Ettu would be there when we opened the door. She wasnât, of course. I waited until the door closed behind us before I answered Merytre.
âIt was mostly Palace gossip, but there is some kind of alliance between the women who were there,â I said. âHenutmire asked whether they were going to talk business, and then something about how she thought they had decided to trust me. I donât know what it was all about.â
âInteresting,â Merytre said.
Ahmose disappeared into her bedchamber to prepare to leave. I sank down onto a couch, lightheaded as fatigue and too much wine both caught up with me.
âDo you think she is all right?â The words slipped out before I realised what I was going to say.
Merytre sighed. âI donât know and thatâs the truth. I pray to Horus she is well.â
âFunny you should mention Horus,â I said and told her about the protective amulets the women were wearing.
âI have one myself, although I donât wear it on a chain.â Merytre fumbled in her pouch and withdrew a small item. She set it on her palm and held out her hand to show me. Like the ones I had seen earlier, the eye seemed to stare at me balefully.
âYou donât find it⦠disturbing?â I resisted the urge to edge away from it.
âOf course not.â Merytre tucked it back in her pouch. âIt protects me from evil. Thatâs why Iâm not afraid to walk the hallways alone. I did tell Ahmose she didnât need to wait tonight because Horus would protect me, but she insisted.â
âIâm surprised everyone wasnât already wearing such amulets.
Download
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.
Sita - Warrior of Mithila (Book 2 of the Ram Chandra Series) by Amish(53819)
The Crystal Crypt by Dick Philip K(36432)
Cat's cradle by Kurt Vonnegut(14757)
Always and Forever, Lara Jean by Jenny Han(14469)
Ready Player One by Cline Ernest(13978)
The Last by Hanna Jameson(9799)
Year One by Nora Roberts(9299)
Persepolis Rising by James S. A. Corey(8967)
The remains of the day by Kazuo Ishiguro(8390)
Never let me go by Kazuo Ishiguro(8310)
Red Rising by Pierce Brown(8256)
Dark Space: The Second Trilogy (Books 4-6) (Dark Space Trilogies Book 2) by Jasper T. Scott(7905)
The handmaid's tale by Margaret Atwood(7447)
The Circle by Dave Eggers(6830)
Frank Herbert's Dune Saga Collection: Books 1 - 6 by Frank Herbert(6710)
The Testaments by Margaret Atwood(6491)
Legacy by Ellery Kane(6388)
Pandemic (The Extinction Files Book 1) by A.G. Riddle(6182)
Six Wakes by Mur Lafferty(5825)
