My mother looked equally beautiful on his arm. Her bright, white linen dress flowed as she walked. She reminded me of the goddess, and my heart ached for the woman who was no longer able to be with us. My mother looked the same as when she left me in the morning, except for the pure gold head covering she was now wearing. Wings of sort came down from the top of her head and framed her face with gold. It was beautiful against her auburn hair.
Together they paused just inside the room. My father waited until all the people looked back to him before he spoke.
“Welcome, guests, to my wedding. I never knew this day would come and was even as surprised as they rest of you were,” my father started. Several people around us chuckled with him. “The gods have blessed me more than I can ever thank them for. Today, we celebrate my wedding to Kiya. Many years ago, I met the princess when I traveled to escort her to Kemet. She disappeared, but not before taking my heart with her. The gods have been kind to return her to me, and I couldn’t wait another day to marry her. Today we asked for the blessing from the gods and are happy that they agree that we should be wed.”
Cheers erupted around us.
“Along with Kiya, they gods were even more kind to have brought me an even greater present. The gods returned my child to me.” The audience went completely silent at his admission. My father looked across the room to me in the middle of everyone. His eyes sparkled as he spoke. “She was taken away from me before she was even born, but I thank the gods for returning her to me. Unfortunately, she is all grown and I missed many years, but that won’t stop me from doing my fatherly duties. After talking with my councilors, I have arranged what I feel will be a good match for her. In one week’s time we will celebrate yet another marriage back in my palace in the capital where my daughter will marry General Paramessu’s eldest son, Seti. I hope you will all join us for the important day when we bring two families together. It will be a momentous occasion when the house of Horus and the house of Seth are joined in marriage. We have worked hard these past ten years to bring Kemet back from the ruins of the former pharaohs. The priests have told me that great things will come from uniting these two houses. Join me as I welcome my daughter back.”
My father nodded to me and motioned for me to stand. I slowly stood in the hall of kneeling people, and it was strange to be a pillar and exposed. I didn’t know how my father was used to having people always kneeling around him. It felt weird to me. Now he didn’t seem to mind, but I kind of wondered about my father when he was younger. I’d have to ask him when I got the chance.
The people around me starred as I stood there. No one said a word, and it was nerve-wracking to stand before everyone as the center of attention. Slowly, a girl near me raised her hand to touch me. She waited with an outstretched hand, and I had no clue what it meant. My father raised his own hand and motioned for me to do so. The girl touched my hand and then her forehead before bowing to me now instead of my father. Quickly everyone around me stood to do the same, and I was engulfed by the crowd that all wanted to touch my hands. Seth was pushed away from me, but he just smiled and nodded as I desperately watched him go. I got the feeling this was all part of being the princess.
Person after person approached me to touch my hand and mumble some sort of greeting. I wasn’t exactly sure what was going on, but just played along since my father and Seth both seemed to understand. The crowd around me pressed tightly as more people tried to touch my hand. I got the feeling they understood I wasn’t going to stand around all night doing it, and would walk away as soon as I could.
“Don’t think this changes anything,” a way-too-familiar voice said into my ear. My heart beat faster, and I didn’t want to turn and confirm what I already knew. Logan was in my father’s palace. “You will still be mine. I can see our son is still here, and that’s all I need to know. This changes nothing. Once I find the last stone, I’ll be coming for you and there will be nothing your father can do to stop me.”
I turned to fire a retort at him even though I had no clue what I was going to say. He backed up and flashed me one of his model Logan smiles before fading among the guests who were still trying to touch me. I stared dumbfounded and watched him go.
Coming to my senses, I looked around the room to see if I could see the rest of my family and friends. The mob was too tight, and I just wasn’t tall enough. I dropped my hand and began to push through the mass of people to where my father and mother were. Everyone parted and allowed me through. Seth came out of the crowd also just as easily as I had. When I reached my parents, my father bent down and touched his forehead to mine.
“I’m so happy you returned to us,” he told me.
My mother beamed from beside him. They were beyond happy. This was probably the day they both had been waiting their whole lives for. I couldn’t ruin it by telling them about Logan. I’d have to wait and talk to Kye. This was their wedding day, and they deserved to have it without worry. Even with everything, I was happy to be there with them.
I looked around the hall of people. Once I reached my father, everyone took that as their cue to go back to their little groups and enjoy the night. Seth waited just below us on the stairs as he watched me. I wanted to decipher his smile, but I was too worried now about Logan. I scanned the crowd and my father’s words rung way too true in my head. I was happy to have returned to him, but unfortunately, I wasn’t the only one who returned.
The party really began once my father and mother arrived. The music grew louder and people made it a point to come to the main table to greet us. I sat for hours as each person had a turn coming up to us, when I really just wanted to go talk to Kye. Logan had me worried. Could he really beat my father? Was I safe in my father’s country, or could Logan do as he pleased once he had the last stone? I had too many questions, yet I had to sit and play the part of the good princess.
“Honey, do you need to get up and walk around a bit?” My mother asked. I had enough nervous energy to run laps around the room. I smiled at her. Even as the queen, she was still my mother.
My father finally noticed. “Seti, can you please escort my daughter on a walk through the gardens. I don’t think she has seen the main gardens yet, and they are beautiful at this time of night. If she’s too tired to return, can you make sure also that she makes it back to her rooms?”
“Yes, my pharaoh,” Seth replied as he stood and bowed to my father. He was in formal mode.
Seth waited for me. He took my hand in his as he led me back through the room. I knew if we stopped, people would still want to talk to us, so I had to be discreet. I nodded to Kye, who stood and followed with Ty right behind him. It was nice that Kye understood me.
Seth noticed, but said nothing as he kept walking. In his hands, no one said a word to us. I felt the warmth where our hands connected. When I thought before that Seth was still mad at me or even over me, I could feel his love now. Our physical connection amplified what I felt through the bond. He still loved me. Now all I had to be sure was that he forgave me for what I did. I appreciated being able to leave the party and finally have time with him. Too bad there was more that needed to be talked about before we could talk about us.
Seth walked back through the palace to the gardens I had already found earlier. I smiled as he went over to the spot Kye, and I had claimed.
“What’s going on?” Seth asked, looking between Kye and me.
“I heard people talking that an ambassador from Assyria was here. I was worried that the only Prince from Assyria that would be close enough to make it to the wedding would have to be Logan, but I didn’t see him anywhere, thankfully it wasn’t.”
“Oh, it was him,” I replied. “He stopped by and told me that he was looking for the last stone and then he was coming for me.”
All three men turned and stared at me. I couldn’t sugar coat it. They had all been trying to keep me safe, and just now saw that I wasn’t. None of them had even seen Logan. It wasn’t a fair game. Logan was really good at stalking me
.
“What do you mean he talked to you?” Getting visibly mad, Seth clenched his fists and tried to keep his voice composed. “When?”
“When I was trying to get over to talk to Kye and my father arrived. People started to surround me, and he was in the group of people,” I explained.
I shivered, hating that he had gotten close. If he had been able to time travel, I would have lost again. My father was the only reason I didn’t get whisked away. It stunk. I wanted to have more power and be able to stop Logan, but I was still at his mercy. What good was all the power the goddess gave me if it didn’t keep me safe?
“Mari,” Kye said, reaching for my hand. “He can take you, but he can’t stop you from traveling. You are stronger than him. Trust me.” He already knew what I was thinking. Kye was good at that, and his words made me stop my train of thought for a moment.
“He trapped me before,” I replied.
There was no way I was going to forget the bracelet. Kye had warned me not to accept anything from him, but I hadn’t listened. It was one of the reasons I was in this mess right now.
“That only works if you let him put it on. Your willingness to take it from him is what sealed it on you. If you don’t take anything from him, you won’t have to worry about that,” Kye explained. He didn’t seem too worried about the bracelet.
“And you have enough stones to travel through several times and back again,” Ty added, patting my back. He knew how this was terrifying to me. I had only just learned how to time travel. I wasn’t anywhere near prepared to deal with Logan, who had lived more than three lifetimes traveling as he pleased. Somehow I needed to get caught up on everything, and I needed to do it before Logan found the last stone or we all were in trouble.
“So we just sit here and wait?” I asked. I didn’t really like Kye’s approach now that I knew Logan could come and go as he pleased even in Egypt.
“How about we go treasure hunting?” Seth replied.
“Treasure hunting?” I asked, not sure where that was going.
“Isn’t Logan looking for one more stone? What if we find it first, and don’t tell him? He can spend the rest of his life looking for that stone and in doing so will leave us alone.” Seth looked at me, waiting for a response. He was right on my track. He was ready to go on the offensive.
I raised my eyebrows at the thought. I did want Logan to keep busy and away from me. Seth’s plan actually sounded decent. I was all for getting the last stone and not telling Logan, and I was definitely on board for being left alone. Why couldn’t Logan just go away? Treasure hunting it was then. Ty nodded, and Kye smiled and nodded, too. That sounded like a great plan.
Chapter 4
The Last Stone
I sat and stared at Kye. He was still not making any more sense than he had the first time he explained it to me. With the goddess’ power running through my blood I was connected to all the stones. I should, in theory, have been able to feel them, just as the goddess could see when someone asked to use her power. Kye said that by embedding the stones in me, she was essentially giving me her power. While I only had five of the hundred stones, it was enough to make me feel the magic of her where ever it was. I had her powers now, supposedly all of them to some extent.
I understood that the stones were inside me, and how I was to access their power, but that didn’t help when feeling for the missing stone. Kye assured me that it was within my realm of ability. I trusted him. It made logical sense, but that didn’t mean I could do what he wanted. Somehow, I was now connected to the stones. According to him, it would be easy to find the lost stone. It wasn’t. And I was pretty sure I wasn’t connected to anything besides the ones I loved.
“Mari, focus,” Kye told me for at least the twelfth time. Focus really didn’t seem to help anything.
“Just give it another shot,” Ty said a little more kindly.
At least he wasn’t getting fed up with my lack of ability to do things perfectly on the first, second, or tenth time. Ty had been there since the beginning, and it was nice to have him there now, even if he couldn’t do anything to help. No one could. I wished time traveling came with a manual.
Training was just a bit hard with Kye. He had high expectations of me. I had to imagine the person Kye knew as his mother, and the person who was me were completely different. It wasn’t fair for him to compare me to my future self. She had years more experience on me.
I wished I had more help. The guys were good motivation, and while I had yet to figure everything out, they were also an endless stream of suggestions. I was completely drained and had no more ideas, so I appreciated them greatly, well at least Ty and Seth. Not exactly Kye, who sat with a scowl on his face watching me fail again.
It wasn’t fair that Dee got to bail on us. So what if he had a wife and wedding to get back to himself? Wasn’t he part of this? Couldn’t Kye bug him? And what about Seth? He wasn’t helping either. Why was I the one being forced to do something I couldn’t? I wanted to blame Dee because he wasn’t there, but I knew in reality it was all on me. I had to figure it out. I just needed a break from all the work. It was getting to be too much for one time.
I looked across the garden to where Seth was lounging by one of the ponds as he took a nap in the sun. It was obvious that he was happy to be at home. He was relaxed now. I thought he fit in perfect in the future, but now I saw that this was truly his home. I was foolish to think he would stay in the future with me. He belonged here. I guess I did also, but it was still hard. Until a few months ago, I didn’t even know I came from the past. I had no idea how my mother kept that from me. Why didn’t I suspect anything?
Seth was sprawled out, and I examined him. His eyes were closed so there was no chance he could catch me eyeing him over. His perfect abs rose and fell with each breath, and I greatly appreciated the dress of Egyptian males at that moment.
“While that’s good concentration, I’m guessing that you aren’t focused on finding the stone,” Kye told me as he stepped in front of me, blocking my view.
Oops. I was caught, but you couldn’t blame me. Seth lying around half-naked was much more fun than to try to do something that I didn’t even know where to start. I had no clue how to concentrate on a stone, or anything like that.
“Come on, Mari. You can do this.” Kye was now trying to pep talk me. Nope. That wasn’t going to help either.
I tried not to look across the garden and instead shut my eyes. I looked for any feeling I could feel. My mother and father were across the palace in their rooms. Kye was feet away from me, but I already knew that. And Seth wasn’t much further. I peeked out of my eyelashes a bit, making it seem like my eyes were still closed when they actually weren’t. I really didn’t feel anything else, but I didn’t want to be scolded again.
“I thought you understood this stuff a bit more,” Kye said as he stopped his pacing and sat beside me.
“Know what? No one trained me. The goddess made sure I was unprepared for all of this.” I opened my eyes and stared at him. He knew that much.
I couldn’t help but be a bit bitter about it. From everything Logan and Kye had told me, I was the only one that she didn’t train. It wasn’t fair. How was someone supposed to figure it all out without the slightest clue about anything?
“Was time traveling like this?” Kye asked Ty.
Ty shrugged. “It was more like an accident. And then with a little bit from Logan, she was able to do it perfectly. Just a little knowledge is all Mari needs, but I can’t imagine how she is supposed to figure this all out on her own.”
I smiled at Ty. At least he had my back.
“But she still figured out how to travel on her own,” Kye pointed out.
It was just a coincidence more than anything, yet Kye didn’t want to believe that. I was the perfect mother in his eyes. I wasn’t just frustrating him right now; I was crushing his image of me.
“How do other people find the stones?” I asked, a little less grumpy. “Like when th
ey want to time travel. Do the stones just drop into their lap? How do they do it?” I looked at Ty, and he shrugged.
“I didn’t find the stones; Seti did,” he explained.
I glanced across the garden to the sleeping Seth. Time to wake sleeping beauty. I stood up and put my fingers to my lips to shush Ty and Kye before making my way across the garden as silently as I could. Upon reaching Seth, I dipped my hands ever so quietly in the water and cupped a bowl full of the cool liquid. I moved carefully, trying to not spill a drop as I positioned my hands to over Seth.
“You know that isn’t the kindest thing to do to your future husband,” Seth said without opening his eyes.
“Do what?” I asked as innocently as I could, like I had just walked over.
“Mari, I feel you. I can sense you, and you are holding water in your hands right now.” Seth still didn’t open his eyes.
“Just ‘cause you can sense me, doesn’t mean that you knew there was water in my hands,” I complained, letting the liquid drip through my fingers onto the ground instead of Seth.
“No. That was because I could see you,” Seth replied, opening his eyes finally. “When I felt you moving closer, I cracked my eyes open a bit and watched as you filled your hands with water.”
I flicked the remains of the water from my hands onto him. Seth laughed.
Seth reached up and pulled me to him, using me to dry the drops of water on him. I laughed and tried to push away, but it was no use. Seth was way stronger than I was. I relented to being his towel.
“So was there more of a reason you came over here, or was it just to get me wet?” Seth asked. “I’m pretty sure I don’t need a bath.”
“Yeah,” I said as I scooted off him and sat beside him.