Chapter Ten

There was a feeling of all encompassing dread that overwhelmed Suhad when she, Lagus and Tutankhamun finally entered Thebes three days later under the cover of darkness. They were able to slip into the city relatively undetected due to the raucous celebration taking place in honor of the queen's impending nuptials. No one seemed to notice them at all and yet Suhad could not shake the uneasiness she felt. As they passed under the threshold of the gate, she was smacked with the foreboding premonition that once she entered the walls of that great city she would never again leave it. The thought caused a freezing chill to run through Suhad's entire body.

Feeling her shiver beside him, Tutankhamun wordlessly shrugged from his outer robe and draped it across her shoulders with a tender smile. Suhad smiled back at him and in the darkness Tutankhamun couldn't quite see that the smile did not reach her eyes. But she needn't have worried about his detecting the subtle shift in her mood right then. He was already pulling his hood more securely around his face and turning his attention back to Lagus, who was just a few feet ahead of them, clearly preoccupied with what lay ahead for him. She was glad for his distraction. Tutankhamun had enough weighty matters to consume his mind. Suhad had no desire to compound his burden by voicing aloud her sudden inexplicable misgivings.

As they trailed behind Lagus through the billowing crowds congesting the streets, Suhad reached down between herself and Tutankhamun to grope for his hand. She gave his slender fingers a brief squeeze. "Are you worried about tomorrow?" she asked him.

"Not worried. Anxious. I'm beyond ready for this all to be over."

Tutankhamun was understandably tense. He was back in the city surrounded by people who held the appearance of being loyal to him but were all the while seeking his demise. Naturally then, he was more than a little mistrustful and extremely reluctant to place his faith in people he had not interacted with on a personal basis. Which is why the plan Lagus had proposed for them had required an incredible leap of faith on Tutankhamun's part.

Suhad instinctively discerned his silent musing and did what she could to comfort him with her nearness and silent support. According to Lagus, he knew a man whom they could trust, one who would house them for the night so that they could be refreshed and ready when they infiltrated the palace the following morning. She knew without Tutankhamun saying a word that the idea of yet another person being let in on his secret made him extremely fretful. His one advantage in this entire situation was that he had the element of surprise on his side. Were Ka and the general to learn of his presence too early his life, and Suhad's by association, could very well be in danger.

Lagus was more than aware of what his young king stood to lose and Suhad knew that he was determined to keep Tutankhamun safe. She diligently reminded Tutankhamun of those things, pointing out to him that Lagus would never even consider taking them to someone who did not have his full confidence. Her conviction on the matter helped to settle Tutankhamun's heart a bit, though he continued to remain on edge, growing more and more agitated as they ventured deeper into the city.

"Nefekare lives just beyond this square, my lord," Lagus informed them after they had been walking for nearly twenty minutes, "He knows that I require his aid on a pertinent matter but not the details. He does not know that you are with me."

"Will that be a problem?" Tutankhamun wondered in growing apprehension.

"There is no need for you to be anxious," Lagus murmured in reassurance, "Like me, Nefekare was ambivalent towards the Pharaoh. He believed, as we all did, that you were merely a boy, a puppet king being used by those closest to you. However, when he learned that you were the one who had been accompanying us on the Mitanni raids, his opinion of the pharaoh changed...as did mine."

"But you did not tell him that I live?"

"For fear he might inadvertently risk our return by revealing something pertinent," Lagus said, "It was for his protection and for yours. He knows only that I live and that I am coming to see him and that, for now, that truth should remain between us."

Suhad and Tutankhamun traded nervous glances. "Do you think he will help us once he does know?" she asked.

They both expelled a sigh of relief with Lagus' resolute nod. "I do not doubt it."

Nefekare was clearly anticipating Lagus' arrival because, when they arrived at his house, Lagus barely knocked on the door before it was flung open and he was yanked into his friend's hearty embrace. It was disconcerting to witness because Nefekare was no small man. He did not quite possess the imposing height of General Horemheb but he had the girth and muscle to make up for that fact. Tutankhamun didn't doubt that Nefekare could snap a man in two with his bare hands if he so wished to do so but, at present, he seemed more like an ordinary man greeting a long-lost friend than a fierce warrior.

"My friend!" Nefekare exclaimed in a booming voice, lifting Lagus completely from the ground as he clapped him on the back jovially, "You have returned from the land of the dead! May the gods be praised!"

"Not exactly the land of the dead," Lagus laughed when he regained his footing, "more like the sodden dregs of the Mitanni capital but I suppose given the circumstances it's an accurate comparison."

Nefekare threw back his head with a loud laugh. "You've not changed a bit. I have missed you, Lagus." He sobered a bit when he asked, "What of the others? Were they able to return with you?"

Lagus shook his head sadly. "Only I survived. The Mitanni take a great deal of pleasure in breaking the spirit of their enemy."

"But you've managed to outwit them," Nefekare reminded him, "and that is cause for celebration, so why the secrecy surrounding your miraculous return, my friend? The men will be pleased to learn that you still breathe."

"Matters are...complicated," Lagus replied, stepping aside to reveal Tutankhamun and Suhad standing a few feet behind him. Tutankhamun slowly pushed back his hood, revealing his face to Nefekare. The man's eyes flared wide with disbelief.

"My lord!" he exclaimed, immediately falling to his knees to do obeisance to his king.

Tutankhamun cast an anxious glance around them and made a reflexive grab for Suhad's hand, as if seeking her support in that moment. "You may rise," he granted Nefekare quickly, "Let us not draw undue attention to ourselves."

Nefekare quickly stumbled to his feet, bouncing incredulous glances between his pharaoh and his friend. "How can this be? We were all told that you fell in the Mitanni battle! The entire kingdom believes you are dead!"

"Come, my friend," Lagus replied, "Let us explain it fully to you inside, away from prying eyes."

An hour later, Nefekare was reeling from their tale of political intrigue, veering wildly between disbelief and disgust over the actions of a man he had so greatly admired. Once he had learned the truth, there was no hesitation on Nefekare's part to fulfill whatever requests Tutankhamun and Lagus made of him. "To think General Horemheb could be capable of such treasonous acts," he muttered, "Did he not fear the wrath of the gods?"

"It's not wrath from the gods that he should fear," Tutankhamun intoned, his words filled with ominous promise. And then he softened, regarding Nefekare with a look of earnest gratitude. "Your loyalty this night will not be forgotten. The number of people I can trust these days, sadly, are present only in this room...but I am happy to count you among them."

"You are deserving of nothing less, my king. How you fought with us during the Mitanni battle and even before, when we made the raids along the borders, you have earned my unending respect," Nefekare said, "I would not hesitate to give my life on behalf of yours."

"Thank you, my friend. Hopefully it won't have to come to that," Tutankhamun murmured.

Despite their protests, Nefekare insisted that Tutankhamun and Suhad share his chamber in the upper part of the house while he and Lagus remained down below near the fire. Suhad scurried beneath the blankets and watched silently as Tutankhamun readied himself for bed. When he became aware of her scrutiny, he quickly finished stripping off his outer garment before climbing into the soft, straw bed and settling down beside her. Afterwards, he favored her with a soft smile.

"What are you thinking about?" he asked once she had settled into her usual spot against his side.

"I was merely marveling over how easily you've slipped back into your role as Pharaoh."

He choked back a wry chuckle. "I wasn't aware that I had ever slipped out of it."

"You carry yourself as a king and you are treated as such."

"That is my birthright, Suhad, and it is an inescapable fact now that I have returned to Thebes. But, regardless, I am the same man I was yesterday."

"No, it's different here," she whispered, her words taking on a gloomy edge as she added, "You're different here."

At her tone, Tutankhamun shifted around in the bed so that they were lying face to face in the flickering torchlight. "Suhad, nothing is going to change between us." When her eyes skittered away in tacit denial of that, he leaned forward to kiss her, gently brushing her lips with his own again and again until she finally responded to him. "You have nothing to fear, my love," he murmured against her ear, "Do you not yet realize that the gods are with us?"

She emitted a teary laugh that was part disdainful, part amused. "The gods? Really? That is to be your argument?"

"Think about how you found me in the riverbed," he argued fervently, "I should have died and yet I did not. Think about the success we had in the Mitanni capital when we had all odds against us. We should not have escaped them and yet we did. And further think about how we have arrived in Thebes on the very eve of Ka and Ankhesenamun's nuptials. The timing could not be more perfect, as if it had been designed. The gods grant us much favor, Suhad, and I truly believe it is because we are meant to be together. This is the path they have chosen for us."

Suhad fingered his lower lip pensively before lifting brown eyes filled with uncertainty to his unwavering ones. "I wish I shared your faith."

"Do not trouble yourself, my love. I have enough for the both of us." He kissed her again, his heart swelling anew when she returned the kiss without hesitation. "I love you," he whispered against her lips, "There is nothing that can come between us."

"I know that you love me, Khaten, as I love you. Forgive my uncertainties. I think I am saddened because I know that this is the last night that I will have you to myself. Tomorrow, I must share you with all of Egypt."

"Then let us put tomorrow out of our minds completely," he murmured as he pulled her closer, "Tonight, I am all yours..."

The next morning, Tutankhamun, Suhad and Lagus rose well before dawn and left Nefekare's house just as the night sky was beginning to open up with wide, ocher streaks of daybreak in order to make their way towards the underground tunnels that would lead them directly into the palace throne room. They deliberately chose the time they did, though it was hours before the wedding was due to take place, in the hopes that there would be less people on the street and less chance of attracting less attention to themselves. Along their journey back through the high desert, Tutankhamun had briefly explained to them how he had used those same tunnels to sneak out of the palace night after night for nearly a two month period. Consequently, he was very familiar with the winding paths and was able to quickly navigate the three of them into the heart of the palace.

Except for the few, bustling servants who were busy making preparations for their queen's wedding, the throne room was hauntingly empty. Suhad tried not to be overwhelmed by the opulence and grandeur of the gleaming gold and intricate artistry that surrounded her but it was difficult not to feel out of place. Tutankhamun, on the other hand, was clearly in his element. When the room was clear, he approached the throne without hesitancy, running his fingers along the polished edges of the armrest before taking his rightful seat upon it. Even dressed in the garb of a commoner, his face and body littered with bruises and scars in various stages of healing and his dark hair secured in a messy top knot, he looked as if he belonged in that sacred seat. He looked every inch a king.

"What do we do now, my lord?" Lagus asked him.

Tutankhamun's features settled into an impassive mask as he replied, "Now we wait for an opportune time."

That opportune time began making its swift approach a little more than an hour later as the throne room gradually filled with guests and attendants for the queen's wedding. Tutankhamun, Lagus and Suhad kept themselves carefully concealed behind a heavy, ancient tapestry, rigid with tension and breaths suspended as they awaited the start of the ceremony. No formal plan had been made for the moment when Tutankhamun revealed himself but neither Lagus nor Suhad doubted that, when he did so, the execution would prove explosive.

From his hiding place, Tutankhamun listened intently to the chatter of the circulating guests in an attempt to ferret out who among them had taken part in the conspiracy against him. For the most part, the consensus among the gossiping guests seemed to be the belief that Ka would prove to be merely a figurehead as Pharaoh. It would truly be General Horemheb who ruled Egypt from behind the scenes. Ka would merely serve as his unwitting puppet. That Ka should become the very thing for which he had repeatedly scorned Tutankhamun filled the young ruler with supreme satisfaction. The irony was sweet.

The moment to reveal himself finally arrived after the bride and groom had made their way to the alter before the high priest Amun. As the holy man whipped himself up into a gyrating, righteous frenzy over the benevolence and power of their great gods and the glory that had been bestowed upon Egypt, Tutankhamun at last stepped out from the shadows and revealed himself to the high priest. He was only vaguely aware of Suhad and Lagus following behind him as the high priest's zealous monologue faltered. Tutankhamun met Amun's fearful stare squarely.

The high priest Amun choked out the last of his sentence, color draining from his incredulous features as he beheld a wrathful, and very much alive, Tutankhamun standing before him. "God of gods and King of kings, he has risen," he uttered in stunned disbelief, "God of gods and King of kings, he has risen again!"

A stunned gasp reverberated out across the crowd of guests before descending into an eerie silence as Ankhesenamun slowly pivoted and regarded the face of her dead brother. "My brother," she gasped softly, as tears of disbelief and happiness filled her eyes, "You live! Gods! You really live!"

Ka, on the other hand, was a great deal more reluctant to face Tutankhamun and it was plain to see why once he did. Guilt was stamped all over his ashen features as he met Tutankhamun's glittering glare. "My friend," he choked in disbelief, "You still breathe. My heart swells to see you in health."

"He has been delivered back to us from the arms of Osiris!" Amun declared as he looked out among the stunned crowd, "Our Pharaoh has returned to us!"

Throughout the entirety of it all, Tutankhamun said nothing. In those moments, he was so overwhelmed with grief, revulsion and rage that he could scarcely speak. To see them all gathered together in his palace, in his throne room...from his most trusted vizier Ay to the most humble handmaiden who prepared and cleaned their chambers, to honor the man who had left him for dead thoroughly nauseated him. He hated them all. It took every ounce of self-control he had not to rage against them in that instant, to sentence them all to the bleak fate Ka and Horemheb had intended for him. Instead, he continued to stand silent as everyone present began frantically backpedaling.

Ka darted an uncertain look towards Ankhesenamun before removing the crown from his head and extending it towards Tutankhamun without ceremony. "The celebration is yours, my friend," he said, "It is your rightful place." When Tutankhamun made no move to take the ancient diadem from his hands, Ka allowed the crown to drop from his hands. It landed against the polished stone floor with an echoing clank. "I meant no offense to you, only to carry on your legacy...in love and respect."

Tutankhamun forced a smile then, even as he struggled with the tears of anger and sorrow that threatened to overwhelm him, and held his arms out to Ka. "Come, my friend," he invited thickly, beckoning Ka closer, "Let there be peace between us."

Wary, but relieved by Tutankhamun's composed acceptance of the situation, Ka took a few tentative steps forward and allowed himself to be folded in his friend's light embrace. As Tutankhamun drew near to his ear, he whispered, "I know very well who you are, Ka. You are not my friend. You...are a betrayer." Ka reared back in stunned dismay, trembling anew when he attempted to take a step back and Tutankhamun's grip on him tightened. "Fate is not what you are given," he told Ka in a trembling tone, "It is what you take!"

Before Ka even had a moment to discern what he meant by those words, Tutankhamun quickly took hold of the dagger at Ka's waist and plunged it deep into Ka's body, twisting the blade and yanking it up deliberately once it sank into his flesh. Ankhesenamun's piercing scream of horror split the stunned quiet, provoking the guests into a pandemonium of fear, drowning out the clattering sound the dagger made against the floor when Tutankhamun dropped it.

"You were once my brother, Ka," he whispered mournfully as the fatally injured Ka slid from his arms, "I loved you."

A wildly weeping Ankhesenamun was at Ka's side before he had even crumpled to the floor completely. She glared at her brother in destroyed grief as she gathered a dying Ka against her. "Have you gone mad? What have you done? What have you done?" But Tutankhamun had no answer for her. He was still in shock, unable to speak and acutely aware of the warmth of Ka's blood cooling on his hands and clothing.

Disgusted by his lack of response, Ankhesenamun threw a desperate look at Ay, the trusted vizier who had raised both she and her brother from the time they were children. "What are you doing?" she cried, "Don't just stand there like a wooden fool! Get the physician, curse you! Can you not see he's dying?"

Ay, however, could not move, not when his pharaoh was regarding him in the same predatory manner in which he had regarded Ka moments before. He could not be certain that he would not suffer a similar fate as Ka had. Registering the queen's hysterical weeping only on the periphery of his consciousness and without ever taking his eyes off of his pharaoh, Ay deliberately stooped to the ground and retrieved the fallen crown. He extended it towards a traumatized Tutankhamun much the way Ka had done earlier, his breath suspended in anxious anticipation of what the young ruler would do next.

"Take it and place it upon your head," he urged softly, "It is your birthright, the inevitable conclusion to what you have started here this day, my boy...just as it has always been."

After what seemed to be an indefinite interim of indecision, Tutankhamun finally stretched forward his shaky hands and took hold of the crown, placing it on his head just as Ay had instructed him. The wizened vizier offered him a tremulous smile of commendation, his relief at being spared his life palpable to all present. "Now, Pharaoh Tutankhamun, my king, address your people."