Page 144 of A Thousand Nights Before Dawn
Namir nodded in agreement. “They should have, along with my ancestors. If the prophecy was here all along, then my mother would have moved the night of the Feast to a different day once she knew about the eclipse.”
“At some point, your ancestors could have forgotten or chosen to ignore thesibyl’swarnings,” Zahra signed. “The Thoth was created the night of Asenath’s death so that Iset wouldn’t be able to corrupt the title of Pharaoh with an unworthy person. But the Pharaohs knew who she was, so she created Apep, spreading stories about his wicked deeds until her name fell into obscurity. It is why there are so few records of her, why she was so easily wiped from our memories. She has been manipulating us this whole time, making us run in circles until the assassins could complete their task and kill you.”
“Then why did Iset wish to curse you?” Namir asked. “Zosar’s spell had already bound your memory.”
“Because Iset knew that I was asibyl. She tried to end the line ofsibylswith me the day my home was destroyed, but my mother saved my life. She tried to kill you during the Battle of Henen-nesut, but your cousin saved you. When we finally met, she knew she had to stop me from helping you.”
Ramses’s brow furrowed. “But that was long ago, before Namir was King.”
Zahra nodded. “Yes, but Iset did not need Namir to live. Nubia could have easily become Queen, and Iset would have used her as a sacrifice instead. All she needed was a night wherethe moon was weak, and she knew tonight there would be a lunar eclipse.”
Namir shook his head. “But that doesn’t explain why Iset would go after me. Nubia was heir until my father’s death.”
Zahra leaned forward. “You are part of the prophecy, Namir. Think about it. A day with a thousand nights? A timeless King? While you have been trapped in this day, you have been timeless.”
Namir leaned back, stunned. “Then you must be thesibylof the blood moon. Who are the children of the eclipse?”
“I am one of them,” Zahra signed. “I was born during a lunar eclipse.”
Namir’s brow furrowed. “Then if we are both a part of this prophecy, then Iset has already won.”
“I don’t think so. Yes, the pieces of the prophecy are all there, but as long as we don’t let Zosar offer chaos her price—your life—then the prophecy will not be fulfilled.”
Ramses leaned forward. “If Zosar is executed, then Iset will not be able to hurt Namir, right?”
Zahra nodded. “Iset will have no power without her servant.”
Namir ran his fingers through his hair. “I still don’t understand how we can speak of this now if Zosar placed a spell on us so we wouldn’t remember. Is his spell broken?”
“No.” She shook her head. “His spell is still intact.”
“Then how do we remember?”
“Because I am actively fighting it.” She had been fighting it for some time to remember Iset, but not to this extent. The weight of the spell on her mind was already making her weary, but she couldn’t risk forgetting all they had learned. “If I had broken the spell, he would have known. We have to ensure he does not know until we are ready to end the Thoth’s spell.”
Namir’s face filled with worry. “Zahra, what about yourka? When we were in thepr-aaof old, I saw?—”
“As long as we end the Thoth’s spell quickly, I will be fine,” she promised. “But that means we need to find Nubia now and remove the mark from her.”
Namir looked down upon hearing Nubia’s name, his brows knitted together. “I still can’t believe she… If I touch her, she will remember everything.”
“I know.” Zahra’s gaze softened. “It will scare her, but the Thoth’s power will bind her memory tonight, and she will not remember tomorrow.”
“I would be glad if she did not remember.” Namir sighed. “One more day, and we can put this whole mess behind us.”
Zahra smiled at the thought. She moved to stand. “Now we must find her.”
“That’ll be easy,” Namir signed. “I know where she is.”
“Where?”
Namir smiled. “Where she is every night.”
Zahra followed Namir to a room on the second floor. Nubia was on the balcony in her room. She was sitting on a bench with a mass of pillows, reading a scroll. Her head shot up at the sound of a door closing, and her eyes went wide upon seeing Namir. She dropped her scroll as she stood. “Menes, where have you been?”
Namir smiled, and Zahra lingered behind. “Out adventuring, as usual. I am here now.”
Nubia clenched her jaw and threw one of her pillows at him. Namir blocked it weakly, wincing as it fell to the floor. “We have all been worried sick. You cannot hear that some assassins have been captured and then run off. Do you wish to send Mwt to an early grave?”
