He was almost lost in those wet eyes.
It reminded him of the time in his youth when he got lost hunting antelope in the depths of the desert at the Dakhla Oasis, where mist spread over the surface of the crescent bay, casting a pink hue at dusk.
But in the next moment, Rahotep shifted his attention to the abnormalities Xin Hexue was displaying.
The room was overflowing with the smell of wine, and Xin Hexue’s ears showed an abnormal flush. After his abrupt interest into the wine storage room, he looked over at him warily.
Like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.
Rahotep’s heart felt a jolt, and a strange numbness spread through him.
Using the word “like” wasn’t entirely accurate.
Because this newly appointed high priest really had a tail.
It was as fluffy as dandelion and swaying gently, but not in a friendly gesture.
Especially as its owner’s slightly narrowed eyes were gradually sharpening into vertical slits.
Rahotep removed the sword he wore at his waist. This sword had been by his side for many years, and he had grown accustomed to carrying it at his hip when traveling.
Now, it was discarded away, like the broken and useless pottery jars on the ground, and wine spread over the carnelian adorning the scabbard.
Rahotep approached Xin Huexue at a deliberately slow pace, showing that he meant no harm.
“Iah, don’t worry.” He softened his voice, adopting a tone of gentleness he had never shown before. Even though his actions were meant to approach and express concern for the divine envoy, he felt like a cunning bird catcher setting out a golden cage to lure a nightingale.
“I won’t hurt you.”
His shoes stepped over the broken pottery, producing a crisp screeching sound. To humans, it was a harsh sound, but it seemed to please the young man across from him.
The corners of Xin Hexue’s eyes curved slightly, but his gaze toward Rahotep remained distant, as if veiled by a layer of mist.
Rahotep finally approached this nightingale that had landed in front of the golden cage.
He asked in a low voice, “Tell me, what is making you uncomfortable?”
As soon as the words left his mouth, Rahotep felt a wave of this belief. His voice was low and hoarse, and unconsciously deeper and more magnetic, like a green peacock fluffing its feathers to display courtship.
Xin Hexue seemed to recognize the uninvited guest only when he was at such close range.
“Rahotep…?”
He called out the Pharaoh’s name from his lips.
A name connected the life and death of the people of the Nile, both in this life and in the next. His soul, his power, his destiny in this life…all were contained within that name.
After his succession, no one would dare address him by his name again. Whether nobles or commoners, they knelt on the ground, trembling endlessly before the power and authority he held, and the gods behind him.
But, at this moment, it was him who felt the soul-shaking tremor. In response, he could only call out the other’s name: “Iah, are you still conscious?”
Perhaps he fell within the circle of people the divine envoy could trust.
Rahotep didn’t know whether to feel fortunate. After Xin Hexue recognized him, his wary expression eased slightly like dispersing clouds. He even took his hand and pressed it against his own cheek.
“Hot…”
IAH, who was like the moon, pressed against his palm.
“Why do I feel so uncomfortable…?”
The young man murmured unconsciously, warm breath escaping his lips, wrapped in the golden, flowing sweetness of wine.
Rahotep’s breath hitched. But even if he stopped breathing, that rich fragrance seemed to permeate every pore of his body and marrow.
A wet, pink tongue flickered in his vision, leaving a glistening trail as it quietly brushed against the web of his thumb.
He remembered the helpless surrender of the young antelope he had deliberately released after a hunt, its damp nose nuzzling him.
Xin Hexue lifted his eyelashes, his dazed gaze fixed on him. “Help me, Rahotep.”
His innocent appearance made it seem as though the person who had just tentatively flicked out a cat-like tongue had nothing to do with him.
The seemingly omnipotent and all-knowing divine envoy was astonishingly blank in this aspect, unable to cope with unfamiliar physiological reactions.
Like the quiet, clear crescent bay deep in the Dakhla Oasis he had once seen.
And Rahotep had already deduced part of the truth from the divine envoy’s abnormal reaction.
The shadows of two people fell upon the wall. The intoxicating aroma of wine made the exquisitely colorful murals appear upside down, and the cobalt blue mineral powder painting the starry sky on the ceiling seemed to float and drift among them. Rahotep’s heart trembled, and reason shattered strand by strand like a spider’s web as he lifted Xin Hexue’s chin.
The tall shadow bowed its head, covering him.
Rahotep tilted his angle, pressing and grinding until his actions gradually tinted the pink lips a deeper red and made them increasingly plump and lush, like pomegranate fruit ripening to a juicy fullness.
Moist breaths were exchanged between them, and the fragrance emanating from Xin Hexue’s skin enveloped all of Rahotep’s senses. His mind shattered into a dizzying oblivion, and he was so dazed he offered up the Pharaoh’s dignity to be trampled upon, moving to help the divine envoy resolve his current predicament.
Rahotep’s hand moved down from Xin Hexue’s narrow waist until it touched the place where desire surged, the place that even the divine envoy couldn’t find a solution to.
Excessive stimulation climbed up his spine, almost making Xin Hexue’s waist go weak in the next instant, and he slumped against Rahotep.
“Mmm…”
Rahotep’s reason returned for a moment. His gaze swept over the chaotic storage room, at least remembering that such a place was unsuitable for any romance.
………
A new robe was soon brought for the Pharaoh.
Guards and servants stood outside the half-open door of the storage room, heads bowed, not daring to glance inside even once.
Faint sounds came from within.
Not long after, the storage room door opened.
The Pharaoh stepped out, and in his arms was a person wrapped in a long robe.
Since it was tailored to the Pharaoh’s measurements, not an inch of skin was revealed.
The guard, who had served by the Pharaoh’s side for protection for a long time, could not think of anyone close to the Pharaoh.
A dancer he met at today’s celebration? Or a slave offered by some noble?
Many thoughts crossed his mind, but he still could not imagine.
Unlike the former Pharaoh, who had been surrounded by wives, concubines, and mistresses, the new king had not had any close relations with men or women so far. For a moment, the guard had no basis for speculation even if he tried.
“Return.”
He only heard the Pharaoh say coldly.
“Yes.”
The guard lowered his head, unable to resist glancing into the storage room out of the corner of his eye.
The shattered pottery and chaotic mess made his temple twitch.
“Pharaoh?”
He spoke hesitantly, causing Rahotep ahead to pause briefly.
“Your sword…”
‘Do you still want it?’
It lay on the ground, like those pottery shards, as if it were commonplace rubbish.
“…Bring it.”
Rahotep ordered without turning back.
………
The luxurious sedan quietly retreated from the bustling temple, returning under the cover of night to the grand palace ablaze with candlelight.
The guard knelt on the ground. “Pharaoh, we have arrived.”
The intricately embroidered curtains hung motionless, blocking anyone from peeking into the sedan.
The guard seemed to hear an ambiguous sound again, and beads of sweat the size of beans fell from his forehead to the ground.
Only when the Pharaoh stepped out of the sedan, carrying the person, did he breathe a sigh of relief.
But when he looked up, he caught a glimpse of skin on the instep of a foot, exposed where the robe had not been fully covered.
It was so white it was dazzling, as if carved from the most famous alabaster by Upper Egypt’s finest artisans.
However, in the vast land of Egypt, the guard knew only one person with such skin color.
He stood frozen in place, even forgetting his respect and fear for the Pharaoh and stared directly at the man.
On the Pharaoh’s jaw was a clearly visible bite mark.
‘That was…’
‘That was… the divine envoy…’
The guard felt absurd, and a dizziness washed over him.
He looked up, standing out conspicuously among the other guards and servants that were bowing respectfully.
Rahotep’s indifferent gaze swept over him. “You know what you can see and what you can hear.”
‘Great Sun God above…’
The guard trembled with fear, bowing respectfully.
‘Forgive me.’
………
Xin Hexue had shattered many pottery jars of wine in the storage room, and this was not without consequences.
At the very least, fragments had scratched his calf.
It went unnoticed at the time, and now there was blood smeared around the corner of the robe from a shallow cut on the calf.
Rahotep applied anti-inflammatory herbs to the wound.
In addition to the herbs, the palace servant brought another jar of ointment.
While applying the medicine, his gaze could not help but linger on Xin Hexue. The more he looked, the more uncontrollably his eyes wandered over the thin sweat on Xin Hexue’s neck that was clinging to the fair and smooth like rare dew drops.
Rahotep had never considered himself a vulgar man, but now he realized he could also be mesmerized by others.
Was it love or lust?
His eyes darkened as he glanced at the ointment nearby but did not reach for it.
Reason told him a kiss could still be concealed amid the clamor of celebration. Even helping with his hands could be a plausible explanation..
But once the boundary was crossed…
The long fluffy snow-white tail wrapped around Rahotep’s wrist, slowly curling.
“Rahotep?”
The young man lay on his back on the silk carpet, his eyelashes trembling as he looked over with empty and helpless eyes.
Rahotep’s Adam’s apple rolled. The like fragrance spread like a thick fog, enveloping his senses once more.
His distinct knuckles bent, and the calloused fingertips easily scooped out the ointment.
The long tail indeed grew from the last coccyx vertebra.
Even just the depth of one finger was enough to make the innocent divine envoy collapse on the gold-and-red intertwined silk rug, crying out pitifully, as if his tail was being broken.
A broad palm covered the small of his back. The web of the thumb rubbed against his waist, and the thumb adorned with a ring fit into the sunken curve.
He held the cat by the nape, preventing the moon-like Iah from escaping.
Rahotep completely fell into the oasis-like dream.
The unceasing impacts made the bed’s hanging curtains sway violently as if there was a sandstorm. He held Xin Hexue’s waist and turned him over to face him, so he could see those teary eyes.
It was dizzying.
Their sweat-drenched bodies intertwined, and Xin Hexue placed his hands on the back of Rahotep’s neck and shoulders, nearly hanging entirely on the other person, like a delicate vine clinging to a great tree.
“You will satisfy me, right?”
Rahotep didn’t know if that murmur had truly come from Xin Hexue’s mouth.
………
………
Distant Lower Egypt.
Compared to Upper Egypt, which relied on river valleys for survival amidst desert cliffs on all sides, Lower Egypt in the delta was densely dotted with oases, and was lush with water and vegetation.
The wind from the Mediterranean, carrying not yet dried sea moisture, blew in through the window from the north.
The Red King’s palace was sufficiently extravagant. Ivory carvings and gold-made collectibles were displayed in abundance alongside. The floors were covered with carpets, embroidered with gold thread and gemstones like flowing golden rivers. Envoys leading merchant caravans spent extravagantly to bring back leopard skins and ostrich specimens displayed in the hall, decorated to resemble their once lively forms, yet all could be discarded at will.
Wisps of smoke rose from the incense burner.
The cry of a golden hawk outside startled the servants in the hall, but it was too late to drive the bird away.
The sleeping tyrant was awakened.
All the servants in the palace knelt down, cold sweat dripping from their foreheads. “Pharaoh…”
The man sitting on the bed had the same facial features as the Pharaoh of Upper Egypt, but no one would mistake their identities.
He had sharp eyes, with a deep purple within, full of fierce energy like a sea brewing a storm. His honey-colored chest was bare, and he sat with one leg propped up, having just emerged from a dream.
“Let it in.”
The Red King rose from the bed.
Along with the golden hawk, a venomous snake also entered the palace, flicking its tongue.
It slowly slithered all the way to its master’s side. When facing the bronze mirror large enough to reflect its full body, it suddenly flared its hood like a fan, its snake pupils vertical and threatening.
Exactly like its master.
A servant removed the papyrus note from the golden hawk’s foot and presented it.
The Red King did not take it immediately but turned sideways, sweat trickling down the knotted, deep honey-colored muscles of his back.
Clearly, there was nothing there.
But he remembered that…in the dream, the young man whose face was unclear scratched his back with marks, yet he clamped him tight.
And…
The waist was very slender.
There were even two lower back dimples.
The Red King curled his lips into a cold smile.
Not only did he not know, but his elder brother probably didn’t know either…
Apart from extreme pain, they also shared extreme pleasure.
Hey everyone, I’m soo sorry for the abrupt hiatus last week, I was dealing with something and the scheduled chapters ran out before I came back.
But, I am back and will be resuming normal updates! I apologize for the inconvenience!
