Egyptian Moon Book1: Return

THE HOOK

Prologue

Ancient Egypt ca. 1370 BC – ca. 1330 BC

She found pleasure in him when she could. With burning candles and scented oils, she prepared her chamber then bathed in the perfumed waters of his choosing. Wrapping her flesh in the fine silken linens of the gods, she stood waiting, closing her eyes to focus on an image of him. He always came to her by night, the handsome nobleman from a foreign land. She smiled to herself, knowing that when she gave herself to him, he would not leave until her desires overflowed.

In the middle of her thoughts, he quietly appeared, splitting the heavy-paneled tapestry curtains. He gazed upon her, and then he smiled. With her black shining locks neatly in place and her eyes shaded heavily with green, she returned his look of pleasure.

Dressed in his finest attire, he hurried across the stone floor. The ornate rugs shielded the sounds of his sturdy steps.

They embraced. She delighted in how his hands caressed her body, moving downward from her shoulders, touching places that exploded into desire. She tilted her head back, laughing quietly. Mindful that their secret time together would not last until morning, she continued to savor his smell and touch while she let him lay her down. Excitement moved into intensity as she welcomed him inside. Looking up, she studied his face locked in an expression of fervor. Her hands smoothed the waves in his beard and then pulled him to her lips.

When their time came to an end, sadness consumed them. Both knew that bedding each other again and again was their only reward. A daughter of a pharaoh would never wed a nobleman from a foreign land.

The pharaoh, who was her loving father, may come to take her as his own; it was his right, or the right of her doting brother, maybe even a cousin. She knew she had to always watch for signs that maybe one day she could sit upon the throne or become regent to the male who was next in line.

Prayer from the Heart of an Egyptian Princess

I pray to the one God from whom all other gods came into being, the God who has no name and no graven images of marble—the God known by the elite, the priests and the educated.

Come, Holy Priests, embalm my flesh, prepare me for my journey. I pray you mix the exact portions of myrrh and natron. I pray that the gods will deliver me safely to the other side.

When it is his time, I pray that my foreign lover comes safely to the second kingdom. And when my soul finds an acceptable vessel, I pray I will emerge as a new kind of pharaoh, changing the laws and customs of the land and letting love decide the fate of my people.

Then, once again, I will spend heated nights between fine-scented linens, entwined with him. Then, once again, he will only be satisfied by the taste of my breasts, and our bed of fire will ascend to the gods. With my foreign lover, I will walk in another time.