“No.” Her mind spinning, she tried to think, to sort through the words that stung her heart. “Lamar wanted me out of Timara. He knew I was destined to be its queen.”
She’d admit her trust in her father had taken a beating, but she wasn’t ready to deem him the heartless bastard Jarek claimed him to be.
“You are.” His voice grew quiet. “You are destined to be
my
queen.”
The breath whooshed out of her lungs. “I…this isn’t making any sense.”
He dropped to one knee in front of her and placed his hand on her knee. “I tried to open your eyes to this from the beginning, but you wouldn’t listen. You believed Set because he’s convinced you all along that he’s right, but he killed your father, Kira, and as much as that hurts to hear, it’s true.”
Pain lanced Kira’s heart, and she leaped to her feet so fast she pushed him back. He was lying. He had to be lying. “You’re a liar. He wouldn’t do anything like that. He’s not capable of such treachery.”
Yet, a spark of doubt slipped into her mind. Hadn’t she seen her stepfather’s fury more than once, heard him take the other gods in Enun to task when they failed him? And worse, hadn’t she once witnessed the brutal beating he’d given Hezen, the God of Fire, after Hezen had threatened to leave the city? Proof that he was more than just capable.
Jarek stood and pinned her with his gaze. “Search your heart, Kira. You know the truth. Set claims you own this city because he knows you have Timaran blood in your veins. You and your parents lived here for many years until Set challenged my father. When Set realized he could not win that battle, he took the next best thing…you. The only problem was he didn’t know that our souls would connect so strongly. He cannot separate us. But he has certainly tried.”
“None of this is the truth. He is not the man you’re painting him to be. Though he is my stepfather, he has raised me as his own. I call him father by choice, not by coercion, and it’s because he has always treated me as a real father would treat a daughter. He has been nothing but good to me. I know him.” Hands shaking, she refused to listen to the small voice inside of her head that belied her words, the voice that was demanding to be heard.
“Do you want to know how he killed your father?”
The question caught her unawares, and had Jarek not caught her, she would have fallen back against the bed. “What? Why would you ask me that? Even if it were true, and I’m not saying it is, why would I want to know how…” Her voice trailed off while her heart thundered in her chest like the hooves of a hundred horses.
“He hung him at the gate to the city, leaving him there for my father to find. It was Set’s way of warning my father that the battle wasn’t over.”
Kira broke free of his embrace and pushed her hands against his chest, but her strength wasn’t enough to move him. “You bastard!”
Jarek took hold of her shoulders. “Call me what you will, Kira, but it changes nothing. Set realized when he took you back to Enun that you would need a mother. So he killed your father and married Nephrytys.”
Her world spinning, Kira took a few moments to regroup. “I can see I was wrong in assuming Timaran gods have the highest integrity.” She whipped her hands up and down her body, changing her clothing to a long, flowing tunic. “I will not stay here and listen to this any longer.” She couldn’t. Panic, desperation, and fear curled in the pit of her stomach, a tight bundle of oppression.
Jarek’s fingers bunched the material of her tunic. “Where do you think to go then? Do you really believe you’ll be welcomed back home now that you’ve crossed over to the other side? Tell me, Kira. Was your father angry when he discovered our liaison this afternoon?”
She tried to pull her arm free, but Jarek held tight. She heated her skin to well past the boiling point, but he didn’t flinch. Nor did he remove his hand. Her eyes narrowed to twin laser points.
Jarek shook her slightly. “Your powers will not kill me, Kira. They only work now because I allow it. Whether you like it or not, I am the true ruler of Timara.”
She squared her shoulders and flung her hair back. “If that is so, then tell me where I belong.”
“You know. At my side,” he responded instantly, his hands fisting in her hair. “You belong with me, Kira.” Taking hold of her hand, he placed it over his heart. “I feel it here, and if you’re honest, you feel it too. What is your heart telling you?” He dipped his head lower.
“Set is my father,” she whispered, though her voice broke. How could she explain the pain ricocheting inside her chest? Jarek might think Set a monster, but she knew him as the father who’d loved and raised her. Though at times he lost his patience with her, she’d never doubted his love. She refused to allow Jarek to make her do so now.
His lips brushed her cheeks. “Set wants you to believe he’s your father.”
“He raised me as his own when my father was killed. I have wanted for nothing.” A tear ran down her cheek.
“But he doesn’t love, Kira. You’re a means to an end for him.”
She tried to shake off the effect of his words, but they climbed into her heart, taking root. What reason did Jarek have to lie to her? To save his kingdom? She didn’t sense any fear within him. He didn’t doubt his ability to keep her from overtaking Timara. Why, then, would he concoct such a story?
“Who told you these things?” she demanded.
“It’s part of Timaran history, my love. Surely Set has allowed you to read about the history of the city you’re supposed to own?” When she didn’t answer, Jarek pressed her. “Listen with your heart, Kira.”
She closed her eyes and tried to shut out not only the sound of his words, but even more, the small inner voices that refused to grow silent. “I have to go,” she whispered.
“You belong here.”
She gripped his wrists and looked up into his face. The gentle look in his eyes didn’t reassure her. “I don’t know where I belong right now.”
“Are you going to see your father?”
Her long black hair cascaded over her shoulders. She watched Jarek pick up several strands and bring them to his nose. He inhaled the fragrance and kept the locks fisted within his hand before he met her gaze once more.
“You will come back to me.” He made the statement a command.
Kira didn’t have the energy to get angry again. Instead, she slipped out of his arms and, with her heart shattering, she allowed the winds to take her across the universe, to the place she’d always called home.
Chapter Six
The welcoming scent of her homeland greeted her when Kira crossed the divide. The excited chatter told her the lesser gods saw her. They quickly acknowledged her presence with sweeping bows and lowered eyes.
Kira glided down the hall with its alabaster floor and brass statues gracing every corner. Her heels clicked against the precious stone, and as she placed one palm against the door to her mother’s chamber, she paused long enough to draw in a deep breath.
The hinges swished open with barely a sound and, with little benefit of lighting, Kira barely made out Nephrytys’s shrunken form beneath the swath of silk sheets.
“Mother,” she called out softly, so as not to alarm her.
Nephrytys opened her eyes, and Kira saw pleasure fill the glassy orbs. She hurried to the bedside and took hold of her mother’s hands.
“You’ve returned,” Nephrytys crooned, drawing Kira’s hands to her mouth for several kisses.
Kira sat on the edge of the mattress. “How are you feeling?”
The sadness in her mother’s eyes gave Kira the response Nephrytys couldn’t say aloud. Kira lowered her head for a moment and squeezed the lined hands within hers. “I won’t let you go without a fight, Mother.”
Nephrytys laughed then coughed. “You cannot fight destiny, my daughter. My life span was determined long before you were born.”
Seeing the exhaustion on her mother’s face, Kira realized she didn’t have long before the blessed oblivion of sleep claimed Nephrytys once again. If she were to get the answers she so desperately needed, she could waste no time. “Mother, there is something I must ask you.”
Nephrytys shifted her gaunt body and focused her attention on her daughter’s face. “I’ve felt your worry for days, Kira. And I already know what you seek.” She dropped her eyes, and her chest rattled with the effort to continue the conversation. When she looked up, a portion of her old fire had returned.
“You want to know if Set killed your father.” Nephrytys spoke in a voice so low, Kira barely heard her. “More importantly, you want to know if he killed your real father and claimed me as his own.”
Kira closed her eyes and bit her lower lip. She did want to know, but then, she didn’t. The next words her mother said would change her life forever, and she wasn’t quite sure she was ready to handle the change.
“Mother, please don’t say any more. I don’t want to know.” A gentle hand touched Kira’s cheek, and Kira opened her eyes, knowing the effort it cost her mother to make such a movement. She captured the hand and held it against her skin. The warmth of the palm reassured her.
Nephrytys smiled and her chin wobbled. “You do want to know. That is your problem, Kira. You are too much like me. You want the truth when you know you’ve been fed a lie, and the gods help me, I am the one who fed you this time.”
Kira snatched her hand free and stood. “No! Mother, don’t. You’ll tire yourself. Just rest now. We can discuss this later.”
“I do not have many more laters left, Kira. We must discuss it now.”
The sharpness in her mother’s tone brought Kira back to the mattress.
Nephrytys rolled her head on the satin pillow. “I should have told you this sooner. I didn’t want to lose you, but now, with my time approaching, it doesn’t matter.” She caressed Kira’s face with fingertips as gentle as spun cotton. “Know this, my daughter. I have loved you from the moment I knew you existed in my womb. It is my love for you that convinced me the lie was for the best. One does not confront a man like Set and come out the victor. Unless it is this new man I see in your eyes.”
Kira blinked. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. There is no man in my eyes.”
Nephrytys laughed softly. “It is okay to love him, Kira. You fight him heart and soul, but deep down inside, you know he is a part of you. Just as your father was to me. I should not have allowed—”
“Silence!” The voice cracked like a whip, and as the chamber door banged against the far wall, Set spun into the room, his face a blistering mask of rage. “You will remain silent, woman!” He pointed a finger at his wife. “And you,” he turned his attention toward Kira, “you will join me in the atrium, now.”
Nephrytys clung desperately to Kira’s hand, but Kira knew her mother’s heart couldn’t withstand the strain of a confrontation with Set. So she kissed the fingertips and lowered Nephrytys’ hand to the mattress. “I’ll return shortly, Mother.”
“Set, please.” Nephrytys’ plea fell on deaf ears. The god turned and stalked from the room without a backward glance.
Kira gave her mother a reassuring look and blew her a kiss. “Everything will be fine.”
“Kira?”
“Yes, Mother?”
“Set has a temper you have yet to see.”
Kira smiled. “So do I.”
“That’s what scares me.”
Kira backed toward the door. “I can take care of myself, Mother. You just rest.”
Nephrytys lifted one shaking arm and extended it out over the edge of the bed. “Ma’at, hear my words. Save this daughter of my loins. Keep her from all harm…no matter the price.”
Kira knew the power of the prayer, and she lowered her head humbly. Once upon a time, Nephrytys and Ma’at traveled closely together, never leaving one another’s side. Kira didn’t know why the two separated, but she knew her mother still carried a direct link to the powerful goddess. As the goddess responsible for breathing life into the Enunian gods, Ma’at controlled the very air they breathed. Any invocation to her brought swift results, especially one coming from a friend.
“Thank you, Mother, but Ma’at’s protection is not necessary. Set will not harm me.” Though her voice rang with confidence, doubt seeped into her soul. After the way his rage had overtaken him and Jarek’s words, Set was capable of anything now.
Nephrytys closed her eyes. “Still, my heart will rest easier knowing Ma’at will watch out for you.”
Kira couldn’t argue with that. She took one last long look at her mother before slipping out of the room to join her father in the atrium, with its gold-lined glass walls and shiny glass ceiling.
Overlooking the beautiful lands of Enun, the palace of the gods showcased the world below them in all its glory. The shiny walls surrounded a rushing fountain flowing with vivid blue water, and the rushing noise gave Set just the barrier he needed to shield his words from carrying down the hall.
Kira didn’t even attempt to pacify her father when she arrived. Instead, she stepped inside the room, closed the beveled-glass door, and leaned against it. “I’m here, Father.”
Set’s eyes glistened with a fury she’d never seen before, and as he approached her, Kira felt her own relief pour through her at the memory of her mother’s prayer. Ma’at would not allow harm to come to her, even if only out of duty to Nephrytys.
“What right do you have to question your mother?”
The words smacked Kira full in the face. “Right? I don’t require a right. She is my mother.”
“And I am your father. And I say you will not speak to her again outside my presence.”
Kira’s own fury swelled. “You cannot make such a condition.”
Set closed the gap between them. “You allowed Jarek to seduce you, and now you question the very people who’ve loved you all of your life.”
The silky smoothness of his voice sent a shiver down her spine. “You are the one who taught me to accept nothing at face value. You…” she pointed her finger at the center of his chest, “…told me nothing is as it seems, that no one can be trusted.”
“I meant no one outside your family, and you know that,” Set snarled the words as he moved around the atrium with short, jerky movements. “I will not allow you to upset your mother.”
“Mother was not upset.”
“She would never show that to you. She loves you too much.”
Kira folded her arms and took the plunge. “You killed my father, didn’t you? That’s what you were afraid of her telling me.”
Set’s breath hissed out of his lungs. “How dare you!”
“That doesn’t answer my question.”
“Leave me,” he commanded.
“Without an answer to my question?”
“I do not answer to you.”
Kira raced forward and put herself directly in his path. “Did you kill my real father?” She enunciated each word slowly.
Set’s hand snapped out and caught her across the cheek as he had before. She didn’t flinch or move, nor was she surprised. Her eyes never left his face, and as he continued to watch her, she saw it, that slight trace of uneasiness in his eyes. He gave her the answer she didn’t really want.
Sickness crept into her stomach. “How could you let me believe you saved me and my mother, when in reality, you took the life of the man who really loved me?”
He didn’t bother denying the accusation any longer. “You would never understand the reasons for my actions.”
She took a step away from him. “Oh, I understand perfectly. You needed to groom someone to take over Timara. You knew all along about my destiny, didn’t you?” When Set didn’t respond, she continued, “How could you have done this? You killed an innocent man for your own gain.”
Tears rained down her face, and she shook from a combination of fear and dismay. Her vision blurry, she stumbled backwards, her hand searching for something to hold onto, something to provide a link to reality. Encountering a gold statue of Thoth, she gripped it tightly, using it to help her focus.
Her heart shattered, bled, and she drew in a staccato breath and managed to look Set in the eyes through a watery veil. “I’m leaving, and Mother is coming with me.”
Set’s hand snaked out and caught hold of her wrist in a punishing grip. “Your mother stays with me. It is her place.”
“I won’t allow her to stay with you.”
He flung her hand away. “You have no choice. I will not allow her to leave. Do not make the mistake of thinking you are strong enough to best me, Kira.”
Kira held her arms wide. “We’ll see about that.” The air shuddered around her, and she dissipated, her heart in her throat and fear clouding her vision.
She didn’t have much time, but she knew exactly where she was going.
Jarek met her outside the gates of Timara. “I’ve been expecting you,” he responded to her stunned expression.
“Set won’t release my mother.”
Jarek watched her face for any signs of deception. “So you believe me, then?”
Her white, even teeth worried her lower lip. “I’m not sure what I believe, but I do know that man isn’t my father.”
Jarek took hold of her arm. “This will not be pleasant.”
She breathed out and then in with hesitation. “I will not allow you to kill him.”
Jarek squeezed her arm lightly until she looked up into his face. “Have you not learned yet that some things are beyond your control?”
She clenched her jaw, and Jarek found himself smiling at her tenacity.
“No, I haven’t. What I want to do, I do, and I want to protect my mother.”
Jarek wrapped one arm around her waist. “I know.” Her body didn’t relax against him, in spite of his words.
“Did Lamar really transfer his powers to you when he ascended?”
The question caught Jarek by surprise, but he answered anyway. “Yes.”
She nodded her head once. “Good, because you will need them.” She raised her arms, but Jarek held her in place. Silver eyes met his, and he saw the trace of irritation and fear deep within the depths, though she’d never admit to the anxiety.
“Why this sudden change of heart?”
Kira brushed his hands off her arms. “My heart has not changed, Jarek. I only want to make sure my mother is safe before I confront Set again.”
“Then why have you come back to Timara? Why did you not just take her with you when you left Enun?”
She tipped her head back and gave him a saucy smile, though fear clouded her eyes. “I need a diversion, something to keep my father busy. On short notice, you’ll do.”
Jarek didn’t break a smile. Instead, he grabbed hold of her arm and fixed his eyes on her face. She smelled like honeysuckle, as if she’d just bathed among the wildflowers, and his blood warmed when she placed the palm of her hand against his chest.
“Jarek, we need to go,” she whispered.
His hands caught hold of her waist, and he lifted her to eye level. “We will, but first, there’s something you should know.”
She looped her arms around his neck. “What?”
He heard the swift intake of her breath and wondered at the way her pupils dilated. He brought her closer to press her firm breasts against the wall of his chest. “You will return to Timara once this is over.”
“Is that a command?”
His lips drew closer to hers. “A command spoken out of desperation,” he allowed, before crushing her lips beneath his. He felt the surrender in the way her body shifted against his, and when her legs linked around his hips, her compliance was complete.
A thrill shot through his body. She was his. Would be his for all time. The heady knowledge was even more motivation to bring this battle with Set to an end. He wanted to be done with this, to start his life with Kira, his queen.
He broke the kiss reluctantly, raising his head to draw deep gulps of air into his lungs. “We must go.”
Kira slid her palms along his cheeks. “Just remember your place, Your Majesty, and we’ll get along just fine.”
Jarek not only smiled, he laughed, loudly and heartily, before wrapping his arm around Kira’s waist and spinning out into the universe. They broke through the thin veil of atmosphere and arrived at the back entrance to the palace in Enun. Before Kira could put one hand on the knob to open the door, it swung wide.
Set glowered down at her. “You’re too late. Your mother is gone.”
Black rage swept through Kira, and she pushed Set out of the way. “What have you done with her?”
Set righted himself easily. “I did nothing. Once your mother realized you’d left, she simply passed on to the other plane of existence.”
Kira whirled around, pain so deep she could barely stand. “You bastard! You killed her. You killed my mother!” She launched herself at him, but Set neatly avoided the attack.
Jarek came in behind Set and took hold of his shoulders, spinning him around and slamming him against the far wall. “You will tell Kira where her mother is.”