“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“I, um.” Snapping myself out of it, I cleared my throat. “We need rest. Both of us. But we don’t have a tent.”
“No,” she lamented. “We were supposed to get a new one in Naunet.”
“You’re going to freeze if you sleep with only a cloak,” I insisted.
Aethra spun, searching for a source of warmth. I bit my lip, remembering what I’d said back in the inn.
I couldn’t think of a worse time to tell her, ‘I love you.’ Maiden’s grace, I’d probably ruined any chance I had of winning her forgiveness.
Had Eleos been right? Was I not charming after all?
No, that couldn’t be right. My hair and winning smile were my best assets. Love addled the brain and disarmed even the wisest men.
Love. A terrible thing I’d promised myself never to feel again.
“Seth?” Aethra raised an eyebrow. “Are you okay?”
“Fine,” I said, wondering what my face had looked like. “You should stay with me—the way you did in the inn.”
Aethra’s eyes flicked off to the side, and she reluctantlynodded. “Alright.”
Exhaustion hit me all at once. Laying out my cloak, I waited for her to make herself comfortable before lying beside her—this time draping my injured arm around her waist.
I dwelt upon the stick tucked safely in my pocket. Back in Cynthus, I’d started whittling one just like it, intending to shape it into a traditional Duathi present given to women. But I’d lost it upon our capture.
Maybe it was foolish to start another. But it had already been foolish to spend my nights whittling it, knowing full well I meant to betray her.
Cold air whipped across the fire, sending embers across the night. Aethra shrank against me, shivering.
“We’re headed for the city of Ma’at, right?” She asked. “What’s it like?”
“Haven of justice, seat of she who judges,” I said, reciting its ancient passages. “Where souls wander upon death, to be judged by Ma’at herself.”
“The city is named for her? Who is she?”
“The queen.” I nestled my head into her curls. “Haimyx fell in love with her when she was the princess of an enemy country. He kidnapped her, starting a war. A war we won.”
“Why am I not surprised?”
I chuckled. “Haimyx was enamored by her. Ma’at had him wrapped around her finger. He allowed her to return to her old capital and govern it as she liked. Many people took shelter within its walls, for Ma’at shielded them from the kingdom’s crueler laws.”
“Like what?”
“The Duat, for one. Ma’at didn’t care if you were noble or born in a barn. She judged all equally.”
Aethra hummed. “She sounds like arealgoddess.” Pausing, she shifted, looking up at me. “Was she?”
“No,” I said, running my fingers across her stomach. “Ma’at was my mother.”
“Your mother?” Aethra sat up. “I thought she was an Elpis Maiden?”
“She was.” I braced on my elbow. “But her magic manifested late in life. Long after I was born.”
“Tell me about them,” she said. “I want to know about her. About Haimyx.”
“Are you sure you won’t fall asleep if I tell a story?”
