Forbidden Desires : The Immortals Book One

Chapter 10

1255 B.C.

Abu Simbel Temple

Egypt, one of the greatest empires of the ancient world found itself in deep turmoil; the slaves demanded their freedom and each time the pharaoh refused, strange things happened as a result. It started with the Nile flowing red and things got progressively worse from there.

Egypt looked a shell of what it used to be; a barren wasteland struck by one calamity after another.

Now Egypt sat in darkness; the ninth calamity so far. Even Amun-Ra has turned his back on us, Nefertari thought. Two days with no end in sight to the darkness and Ramses was home from the Libyan front, leaving their eldest son, Amun-her-khepeshef in charge to Nefertari's chagrin.

She sat in silence at dinner with her pharaoh, the only sound the copious amounts of wine poured into Ramses' cup. Nefertari, now thirty-five, drank only water. She was with child again, about two months along. She'd yet to tell Cain or her husband-she wanted it to be her little secret for a bit longer.

Extra torches burned hot to combat the heavy darkness; it only served to illuminate the look of displeasure on Nefertari's face. The table boasted a meagre feast at best due to the spreading famine, and the Egyptian wine had a peculiar odor.

The question burned her throat; she had no choice but to let the flames escape. "...Have you spoken to him? To Moses?"

Ramses stopped gorging himself long enough to breathe, his exhale an aggravated sigh as he grumbled, "I have."

"And--"

"And my answer remains the same," he finished, his furrowed brow much more pronounced in the wavering light. "I'll not be dictated to-Not by him, his so called god, and certainly not my own wife."

Nefertari cut her eyes at him, sitting back in her chair. The man she used to love was no longer there, a vainglorious and callous changeling left in his place. In public, he was the picture of a gentleman, everything a woman wanted. In private...he was everything a woman dreaded.

"You've barely touched your food." he observed. He smiled at her in earnest, but she knew better. That smile used to disarm Nefertari, send her into a fit of blushing swoons when they were besotted teens but now...it made her want to smack it off his face.

"I'm not really hungry." she murmured, looking out into the darkness. Torches flickered along the streets, barely making a dent in the blanket of blackness that covered the sky.

"Hmph," Ramses grumbled, stuffing more food into his mouth. "Then why bother having dinner with me?"

"Because you yell at me when I don't." she replied flatly, folding her arms.

"And who's fault is that? Hm?" He polished off another cup of wine. "I wouldn't have to yell if you weren't so damned stubborn."

"So I'm to be corrected, am I? Like a mule?" she bellowed.

Her raised voice moved him to stand up and stalk towards her at the far end of the table. Nefertari shielded her face to absorb the blow she'd come to expect, but surprisingly Ramses pulled her out of her chair and into a hug.

"Shh...I love you, Nef. Always have and I always will. Come here." he crooned as he kissed the top of her head; she always smelled like jasmine.

As he pulled her into a slow dance he whispered, "We used to dance like this when we were children, do you remember?"

"I remember...you were kind to me then." She let him hold her, all the while shivering with disgust.

Ever so slowly, he tightened his grip. "I'm kind to you now; you just refuse to see it. I allow you to travel freely, I allow you to see our children. I allow you to keep that Kushite in our court..."