-Amos Kane-

"I don't understand, I was borderline failing my studies because I couldn't make them right-"

The Chief Lector waved this away, "You couldn't make human-like shabtis"

He avoided the real issue as he continued with my lessons. The statuary that had failed me had allowed others to pass his courses for worse. He failed me because of my family name. Instead of addressing the issue, the Chief Lector had decided to just dedicate odd hours to continuing my training himself rather than trust anyone else to do their job right.

At the time of uncovering the real issue, I assumed it was someone spitting on our name. Looking back on it now, I felt my old lecturer's anger towards what our name stands for amongst the Per Ankh: terrorism. Amongst several others, I trust my father had wronged him in some valid way too, and I wish I could explain and apologize to him for whatever wrong was committed, but that would mean nothing. It doesn't matter the wrongs my father had done towards his own family, because to them we bear his name and carry on his aggressive legacy. Julius was right, there was no reason to stick around, it all meant nothing.

And still, I don't know how to explain the serious danger my niece is in. How can I explain the legacy of the Kane name that the Per Ankh rumors of? When she knows just as well as I do being marked for her grandfather's crimes is wrong? Warning her can suddenly tip Vika over the edge to follow through with her tendencies.

"Are you two going to act all tense over this still?" Rua broke the silence on the boat in a teasing manner.

My eyes darted back at Vika, to find her eyes had landed on me. That earned a chuckle from the former Set host, and I was immediately grateful Sadie had retired to the cabin already. Vika's eyes land on Mariano now, seeming a tad ticked off.

"Don't be like that printsessa."

"I don't trust my niece around you," I spit out finally. Vika's green eyes are back on me in response. "We've avoided this, and now it's right here for her to digest. Your history, Vika?"

"My history is of a hurt girl wanting answers, Kane."

"You think I don't know that?" My voice raises some. "I was content with the risk of knowing, but my niece?"

"You think I'd harm her?" Her eyes narrow in response, daring me to answer.

I sigh and return the same challenging glare. She's killed for people knowing less about the matter, and she knows that. Rua steps into our line of glaring, a grin on his face. "Okay, now that the ice is broken-"

"I could have killed you, dumbass!" Vika's venom spits past Rua.

"Please, like I haven't heard that a million times over," I roll my eyes at that.

"Stop it!" My eyes quickly land on Vika's brother speaking up now, seeming irritated as well. "Rua, leave them be. The last thing we need right now is a spark to the old fire they already extinguished."

"Not true," Mariano quickly shuts down. "These two have snuffed it to smoke, but it's been threatening to ignite all over again. This needs to be discussed-"

"You're instigating!"

"For a good reason!"

Vika stands up, I suspect it's to see me better because I imagine it's a tad difficult through another ba. "I thought we were in an understanding?"

I huff at that. "I'm pretty certain we're on the same page about my father being an asshat."

"Idiot," she sneers and waves Rua to back off so he's not between us. "Is that all you see of our alliance? An agreement that Jabari is a fool?"

"How is it anything else?" I demand.

She's furious, I'm willing to bet this would have already turned physical if I was in my body still. "You really devalue your actions, Amos," Mariano speaks, eyes on me.

"That's not his fault," Vika answers.

Rua waves her off. "Your allegiance is based on respect for each other, not the aggressive moron in the background."

I cross my arms over each other. "That's kind of how it works."

Vika rolls her eyes and goes to distance herself from all of this, entering the cabin to slam the door behind her. I stand up and have Rua push me back to sitting. "She won't hurt Sadie. That part of Vika died a long time ago between your families."

"How am I to just trust your word on that?" I demand.

"Because you showed her that people are not their family names." Rua is glaring down at me. "You respected her enough to understand where she is coming from, that's not something Jabari would have done."

"She won't do anything to Sadie," Yevgeni sounds sure, and I catch myself glaring at him, earning a returned glare for it. "Menshikovs are incredibly loyal to Iskandar, we always have been. While to you your apprenticeship meant virtually nothing, it means much more to us."

Again, why are people making a big deal out of this? "How so?" I question.

"Because now there's loyalty involved and not some alliance between the two of you. Vika is more than likely upset that you've never even bothered to mention it." Yev sighs in annoyance as he relaxes his facial expression. "But how are you even supposed to know how big of a deal it all is when you were more than likely told it wasn't?"

"You need to let her in," Rua's gaze is as if he is staring right into who I am as a person. "You know better than to think he will be able to guard it forever. That's like expecting Bast to keep fighting the Lord of Isfet for eternity."

His boyfriend seems interested in what Rua is doing now, watching as I process where the former host of Set is heading with this. "He's right," Caroline pipes in her support.

She's been keeping her distance. Fair, I'm sure there's bound to be something I had fucked up since the last time we saw each other that pissed her off. Maybe it's the fact that I wanted her back so desperately that I allowed a god of chaos to get away with as much as he had. Or maybe she's angry I never gave her father closure on her death, having listened to Iskandar's scolding on the matter instead.

The distance alone tells me that she is real. Not a manipulation of the mind, she is actually here. Yet, I'm finding myself hurt despite how happy I am to see her again. I fucked up since her passing, she hadn't been there to scold me for any of it. Hadn't been the rock to support me through the bullshit I refused to tell her about but she always knew. Maybe I just don't deserve her.

Or maybe she's pissed off about what I've been trying to destroy for years now. That would explain why she is getting involved now. Makes sense, it's what killed her after all.

I sigh in annoyance at all of this. "It's not that simple-"

"Yes, it is," Rua brushes my frustration off rather easily. "I've learned a lot from watching over your shoulder, Amos. We both know the better option is getting it into Vika's hands. She's not Blood of the Pharaohs, and she's the best the Per Ankh has for hiding valuables. And, to be honest, I don't plan on us moving anywhere until you tell them where it is."

No, I refuse to let the damned thing have any light shine on it again. I didn't make my deal with Set for me to turn around and go against it. So now I'm finding myself in a stare-down with Rua.

"I'll tell her," Caroline decides on her own. I peer at her in confusion, to find she's annoyed with me too. "Rua's right, you can't just expect Set will be able to protect it forever. I thought I destroyed it, remember?"

"Because he lied to you," I remind again.

"He did," she agrees, "like how he said he wouldn't hurt you. But we both know how that turned out."

"Set is different," I argue my stance.

"I trust Set will keep his word, Amos. He's loyal to you, I don't doubt that. But how long will it be before someone else gets their hands on it?"

There's silence as Caroline and I are both reliving the museum all over again. I am pretty certain I would be crying if I had my body. I wouldn't want anyone else to endure what we had. It's why I haven't told anyone. It's why I took Iskandar's scolding on the matter after everything. I'm not looking forward to the subject coming back up. Should have left the past buried.

I sigh as I realize that despite my best efforts, they're not allowing me to keep hanging onto the burden I've kept to myself much longer. It's no longer just a secret, Caesarion is looking for it. Would he anticipate that Set would be guarding it once he did find where I put it? Maybe.

Vika's green eyes are on me from the chair she is sitting in when I enter the cabin. "Where's Sadie?" I inquire as I close the door behind me.

Vika points to a door behind her, "The beds are there."

I cross my arms and watch as Vika seems annoyed that I haven't followed it up by leaving her alone. "This needs to stay between us," I hesitate.

Vika takes a moment before she gestures to a chair. Taking a sip of water as she's still peering at me while I'm trying to puzzle out the best way to talk about this. What details do I tell her? What should I just keep to myself? Can I keep any of it with me?

"The last time I saw you this spooked, you were concerned your family would turn against you for reporting your father's actions." Vika huffs as she places her glass on the table. "You're an idiot if you think I'm going to hurt your nephew and niece. You should have told me that you were his apprentice way before now."

"It's really not that-"

"You clearly don't understand," Vika growls. "My family has always been loyal to Iskandar. An apprentice of his? We see that as someone who also deserves our loyalty. This changes everything, Amos." She takes a moment before relaxing her face some. "If I knew sooner, I wouldn't have allowed Jacobi and Kwai to sit comfortably within my nome's walls. Vlad wouldn't have agreed to the damned adder's fake deal."

There's silence between us, and I know she's questioning if her brother would have had the actual strength to do as much. Maybe, I won't count Vlad out on the idea, but I'm not certain he would have been able to stop much, knowing from experience myself. "Sorry."

The Russian woman sighs, "No, I'm sorry. I'm stressed out by things spiraling again since your passing. I have no cigars either, so I'm just taking my frustration out. Some of it might be Rua and Yev too."

I nod in understanding to that. I can only imagine the politics erupting all over again, I just hope they are listening to their Pharaoh at this point. I trust my nephew to be able to keep his head on straight, kid is a hell of a lot stronger than I am. More brain cells than his father too.

I summon the Cuban cigars I had planned to give Vika, setting them on the table next to her. "I was hoping to hand those to you once the First Nome was completed," I explain. "Obviously, that is shot now. So I'd like you to have them for, uh, looking for me I reckon."

Vika takes a moment to fight her facial expressions now, trying to still be angry. "I guess we are both suckers then, aren't we?" Vika finally says something. "I appreciate you as a friend, Kane."

I snort at that, processing she's having a hard go of things if she's saying things like this. I move the box closer to her. "You should probably light one now. I'm still not used to you getting emotional like that."

She caves and pulls one out. "How did you know to grab Cuban? You're not a smoker, or at least as far as I know."

"I did my research; I wasn't going to hand the Chief Architect nothing but the best choice. Especially when she's a Russian noble." I watch her light it and enjoy the first puff on it. "I had Zack point me in the right direction since I posted him there anyway."

"The water elementalist that tried to kidnap your nephew?" Vika inhales it again.

"The very one."

She nods, "Well, thank you, General."

I frown at that part. "It's just Amos now. I'm sure by now there's been a replacement for me?"

Vika gives a disgusted face at that. "Kyra refused; Mel is the new General." And she doesn't sound enthused about that.

"Mel has a good head on her shoulders. I'm willing to bet the two of you will get along with time."

"Doubt it," is the immediate response to that. "Amos, you died while on a diplomatic mission. War is threatening to happen, and Mel is a leading force in it all."

Oh… oh… I guess I hadn't considered the political implications of that. "That… no, I need to tell you what happened then. The Romans didn't do this-"

"I know," she closes her eyes for a second. "I talked with Iskandar; he told me about Caesarion. He's the one who also told me that you happen to be his pupil." She hesitates a moment. "I couldn't bring myself to tell your niece."

Considering the lecture I received from Sadie about it, I can't blame her on that front. Thankfully my niece was exhausted as it were and went to bed rather than possibly continue on that. She has every right to be pissed at me, I had lied to her and told her to not tell anyone about what she had seen in her vision. I dared to question Ruby's vision before for it all to come true. I wanted to avoid any attempts to change any outcomes.

"Kurtz stood his ground with her trying to take his nome for a base," Vika updates further, and I'm starting to question if I even want to know more. "She held him prisoner in a shed on their roof and beat the hell out of him. Kyra is taking care of him for the moment."

I'm shocked. What the hell Mel? "She wants the Romans to answer for their actions," the Russian continues. "Amos, what are the chances that she is hosting Anat?"

She's asking before she accuses. I hesitate to answer her, dreading the thought of what has been going on since I was removed from the picture. "Mel has always been aggressive in handling situations. I did a mission with her once and was warned by Desjardins that I should stay in charge because otherwise, she wouldn't hesitate to fight everyone. Not a good companion for a political meetup, but for the occasion was needed." I sigh after saying as much. "Julius would have been better, but he had walked away from the Per Ankh at the time, so we had to make due."

Vika gives me a knowing look now. "Is she hosting Anat?"

Direct as always. "She wasn't in Camp Jupiter." I hesitate as I process what Vika explained of her actions since. "There's a strong chance. Mel and I are friends, and… she was trying to keep me alive but it hadn't played out in her favor." And now I feel like I've doomed her for saying as much. But, if it's true, she needs to be stopped before she can enact vengeance on the camp.

"Emotions were high between us. We, um, discussed Caroline's passing. Mel considered her like a sister."

"And she's your lover," Vika finishes for me. "I've never met her until now."

"Well, we never actually dated. And right now, things are a bit tense between us, or at least on her end of things."

Vika exhales, "The Sabrina girl?"

I immediately give her an annoyed look for bringing her up again. "I don't know, we'll talk about it hopefully."

"She has your ren, she knows," Vika answers swiftly. "Well, I hope you two can make it work."

I grumble at that. Caroline having my secret name of all things makes sense now that I am aware of it. And I suspect I know when she got that information and why, but that'll be a conversation I have with her privately. "Is Carter in favor of war?" I ask, partially dreading what the answer will be.

"I don't have an answer to that," Vika is quick to answer. "What I can tell you is he is scared. He found out that we have been working on finding you, and demanded his sister come back and rip my title from under me."

I can tell Vika didn't seem bothered by the threat to her position. Why would she, I'm the one that handed it to her anyway. She would have been content with doing what she is now just as the Russian Nome Leader anyway. While I could have her pass the word to him that I advise against doing as much, I know she won't tell him that.

"You said Iskandar talked with you?" I bring it back around.

"Yes," she judges me for a moment. "He said you happen to have something that Caesarion wants."

Great, but I guess that's a sign in itself that Iskandar supports the idea of bringing Lady Menshikov into the situation. And what, has the late Chief Lector been watching me like a hawk since passing into Aaru or something? I'm starting to dread what happens when we see each other now.

"I suspect you know whatever it is," Vika continues, studying the unease I have on my face again.

"I do," I swallow as I process that I still don't want to talk about it. "Actually, I have been informed by Mariano and Caroline that we're not going anywhere if I don't tell you. Given that we're in the Underworld of a different pantheon than ours… I can lead you right to it to make it easier."

Vika is studying me now, and I feel like a nervous initiate all over again. "What's the catch?"

"I don't want Sadie anywhere near it," I sigh after getting it off my chest. "It has to be you since you're not Blood of the Pharaohs. And, I'll ask of you to hide it."

She finishes her cigar, and I'm glad I insisted she have one before we discuss this. "Another item containing a god?" She questions quickly. "Is it Horus again?"

I shake my head, "I don't think Ptolemy knows. It's, uh, his mother's crown."

The silence is deafening. "I was an idiot," I spill. "My mother had just passed on, and Caroline showed up. Said she wanted to move into the Twenty-First Nome. We went right into our typical research on her ancestors. Decided we'd visit Alexandria and see if we could dig anything up. Well, we did, and I wish we hadn't."

Vika is still quietly taking me in, but the wide look in her eyes has a hint of worry in it. I look away from her, taking in my hands on my lap instead. "Caroline died for it, but she thought she had destroyed it. It reappeared two weeks into taking the leopard cape, had a magician bring it to me upon discovery, so I was able to stow it away before it could harm anyone else."

"Sorry." The worst response to all of this felt like a knife in the heart.

"No, don't be, I should have known. Iskandar made sure to lecture me on the matter after it came to light. I should have known better."

"Maybe, but we both know people are prone to mistakes," Vika trying to extend sympathy still. "Certainly, explains why you've never talked about the woman though."

"I was instructed to not speak on any of it," I dryly explain. "Iskandar didn't want anyone else digging around there. I wasn't allowed to tell Caroline's family about what had happened either." I face the Russian to see perhaps the most somber expression on her face yet. "Mel and I talked about it at Camp Jupiter. I guess Sebastian looked for answers and informed the family. I can't be mad about it, because they deserve to know. I'm just upset I wasn't able to do it. Upset that they're not angry at me for any of it."

"Kurtz knew?" Vika seems interested in that. "Do you think it might be the reason for Mel's sudden aggression on him?"

"No," what a weird thing to ask, it's kind of throwing me off trying to puzzle out how any of that would happen. "I have no idea why she would do what you claim had happened, to be honest."

"Your cousin is the one that told me," Vika verifies swiftly. "Your buddy Trevor got him out of there." She closes the pack of cigars and tucks it into the inside of her coat. "I should probably tell Rua to get us out of here. Then you can point us in whatever direction we need to go?"

I nod and watch her get up from the table. I wish I felt better for giving up this information, though by force. However, I didn't explain everything still. How I had made a deal with a certain god to guard the damn thing. More mistakes to cover other mistakes.