“It was like an Egyptian palace,” you said, relaying your impressions of the golden city of Ra. “Everything was so decadent. And the way everyone was dressed, like something out of a history book.”
“Did you communicate with anyone?”
“I tried, but I didn’t understand the language. I probably could have learned it, after a while.” You sounded reminiscent, wistful even, and I recalled Bastet’s promise of peace and tranquility.
“Do you wish that you’d stayed?”
“No,” you said adamantly and gave me a grave look. “It wasn’t real, you know?” You glanced out at the water and rubbed your fingers together. “It was too… shimmery, like Mater’s dreamscapes, an imitation of life.” Your focus centered on me again. “What agreement did you make with Bastet?”
I’d need to choose my words wisely, for you were very good at sniffing out deceit.
“I told her about our revolution. How we are dedicated to dismantling the Imperium and humbling Azrael before the Thrones. I said you were needed to lead us as only a sunborn can.”
“And she just… gave you Thirran’s soul?”
It wasn’t a lie, not outright. “She liked the idea of you restoring the sunborn tribe to their former glory.”
“I’m only one person.”
“There may come a day when you wish to propagate.”
You balked at that, and I chided myself for sounding too prophetic. I shouldn’t be alluding to a time when I might not be at your side.
“You told me before Nephilim can’t reproduce.”
“Your particular lineage hasn’t been studied before. And if not, you could always adopt.”
“We,” you corrected.
“Yes, of course. We.”
We docked soon after, and I hauled our provisions to the beach while you laid out blankets and the food we’d brought for a picnic. We ate some, then you stretched out on a flat rock to sunbathe, one knee bent, your ebony hair loose and shining.
How much time did we have left—years, months, days? Would I survive long enough to bear witness to the fruits of our revolution, or would my fate be as Azrael prophesized, gored by a crude blade? And in my absence, who would protect you from the forces who wished to subjugate you?
Concerns of things left unfinished haunted me even as I approached you with a singular purpose in mind.
Mortality, I did not care for it.
