be home.
The jubilant, shocked welcome of Rhacotis—his city—was all he needed to understand that few had expected him to return. Before he’d arrived on the shores of the Cursed Continent, neither had he. And now he’d done the unthinkable. Mereruka might as well have risen from the dead. As he helped Taisiya down the steps, he couldn’t help his smile. He was home, alive, and he’d brought death back with him—and she was a beauty.
He hadn’t realised how much he’d missed Rhacotis until he’d set foot on the pier. Home smelled like aromatic spices mixed with the sea. Home was the place they called his name like a benediction. Home was where the sun shone brightest, illuminating the smiles of his people.
His two most trusted retainers appeared, pushing through the crowd.
“Prince Mereruka! Thank the gods you’ve returned,” Nofret said as she knelt at his feet, her green eyes shining with tears.
The first scribe’s skin was plum, her hair sparkling like spun silver and her fingers forever darkened by ink. Nofret was nearly as tall as he, heavyset and possessed of surprising physical strength. Once upon a time, she’d been a trusted official of his mother’s. Now, she set her brilliant mind to making Rhacotis wealthy and prosperous beyond belief.
“It is good to see you alive and well, Prince Mereruka.” Qar knelt beside Nofret.
Taller and broader than most, the brown-skinned hippo shapeshifter was barrel-chested and thick-necked. His braided black hair fell forward as he bent his head, the ears of a hippo and ivory tusks jutting out from his bottom jaw. Mereruka had confidently left the defence of the delta and his city in Qar’s hands. Though the hippo shifter was easily stronger than any wild hippo, he was not nearly as bad-tempered.
“Nofret, Qar.” Mereruka nodded. “Meet my wife and Maat’s newest royal, Princess Consort Taisiya.”
Taisiya gave the barest nod of her head as he presented her, copper waves of hair swaying in the breeze. In front of his people, this raucous crowd, she was the picture of serenity.
“Greetings, Princess Consort Taisiya,” they said in unison.
“Taisiya, Nofret is my first scribe and Qar is my overseer of the soldiers, who defends my lands and keeps the peace in my territory. They are trusted members of my household.”
“Greetings, Nofret, Qar. This is my attendant, Vasilisa. Treat her as an extension of me.” Taisiya tipped her head to her companion.
Vasilisa curtseyed.
“I pride myself on serving the princess consort and ridding her life of vermin. If you require my assistance, simply call out. I have tasted your shadows and can now locate you with ease.” She looked to Taisiya, who smiled. “If there is nothing further, I will take my leave.”
Despite the harsh sunlight, Vasilisa burst into black flame and sank slowly into Taisiya’s shadow, waving her black, clawed hand. Fae in the harbour who witnessed it yelped and leapt back. To their credit, Nofret and Qar didn’t budge.
So his wife did know when to have a flair for the dramatic after all. He placed a hand over hers on his arm and squeezed. Good girl.
“If we’re speaking of vermin, then you should prepare yourself, Prince Mereruka. In your absence, a swarm has brazenly taken up residence in your home—at the suggestion of King Khety,” Nofret said.
Mereruka glamoured over his displeasure—barely. It took a moment before he could release the stiffness of his posture. Someone had invaded his home? His place of refuge? They would die—painfully. It was brazen indeed to take up residence in another man’s home, king’s permission or not.
“They have been draining your treasury, raising prices, and charging enormous tariffs on all incoming trade as well,” Qar said. “The people of Rhacotis have been grumbling loudly of late.”
The bastards were trying to ruin him and destabilize Rhacotis. Of course they would. Khety was always jealous of him, of his well-run nome, of his contented, wealthy subjects. Had it not been enough to send him off to certain death? Had it not been enough to send multiple assassins with him on a supposed doomed voyage? Now he must endure the insult of his place of sanctuary being defiled. His blood was beginning to boil. How bad would the damage be?
Taisiya’s thumb stroked his arm. He caught a sly smile turning up the corners of her lips.
“Are they telling us that a band of ruffians have been sleeping in my new home, eating my food and dispensing with my wealth?” she asked.
What new game was this?
“Yes, dear wife, I believe they are.”
“How does Maat usually treat those who steal from royalty?”
“With extreme prejudice, Princess Consort Taisiya,” Qar replied, a savage grin on his face.
“Then take us to our home, so that I might demonstrate my skills for the people of Maat,” Taisiya said.
Nofret and Qar cleared the way to a small barge, one decorated so finely that every onlooker knew it to be from his palace. As Nofret’s magic propelled them along the channels, the people of Rhacotis showered them with welcomes and flower petals until they reached his home, a modest palace complex seated atop a stone outcropping. Qar leapt from the boat and held out his hand for Taisiya. She took it gracefully and waited for Mereruka to disembark before placing her hand on his as they made their way to the doors, the soaring, painted walls a welcome sight. Armed servants opened the first set of colossal doors and knelt.
“I heard that my home has been invaded. Where are the miscreants?” Mereruka asked.
“In the courtyard, Prince Mereruka.”
“Take us there.”
They passed through the smaller buildings for his soldiers, servants and scribes, through the administrative offices and training grounds and into the core of the complex. His rooms and Bas’, his library, his personal vault, the heart of his home. This was the only place he dared let down his guard. Here, in the very centre of it all, he’d carved out a private slice of paradise where only those he trusted were allowed. An ornamental pool ringed by palm trees and a garden of sweet-smelling herbs and flowers basked in the sun of the courtyard. Here there was room to spar and play, to lounge and chat, to entertain and feast. And here, a group of shameless hatya, toadies of his eldest brother, violated his sanctuary. Dancers and musicians frolicked through his gardens, trampling greenery underfoot while the nobles gesticulated with their cups, sloshing wine and beer over the painted floors. Another floated in his pond, naked and chuckling while several fish lay speared through on the dry stone. It was all Mereruka could do to keep from shaking with rage.
“Husband, do these people displease you?” Taisiya asked.
“They do,” he said, his voice tight.
Keep it together.
“Vasilisa, would you like to begin?”
Inky talons reached up from a shadow and sank into the ankles of a lounging hatya. His screams echoed pleasingly while his compatriots fell off their seats and scrambled away. As he was dragged into the void, another tried to grab hold of his flailing arms. Waist-deep in the shadows, there was no purchase against Vasilisa’s insistent pull into the void. His grip slipped and the man’s head was dragged under. The second he lost his balance, Taisiya stepped away and let loose a bolt of lightning. Dead. Another, who had watched it all in horror, was struck a second later as the first clap of thunder reverberated in the courtyard. Dead.
The man in his pool had, by now, tread through the hip-high water to the edge while the entertainers shrieked and cowered in the farthest corner of the courtyard. All the exits to his inner sanctum were bristling with blades. There was nowhere left to run. The naked fae prostrated himself at Mereruka’s feet, black hair plastered to his saffron and amber back.
“Forgive me, Prince Mereruka! King Khety suggested that your territories were without leadership in your absence. We all thought you had died on the Cursed Continent.”
Mereruka fisted his hands at his sides. The man before him was a stranger. He leaned down and yanked the man’s hand forward, noting the name engraved in miniature on his golden ring. So, the nomarch of Shedet had sent his useless brat to interfere with Rhacotis? He would answer the insult with blood. Mereruka slapped the man’s hand away as his eyes narrowed. The courtyard was silent.
“Did His Eternal Serenity tell you to take it upon yourself to replace me in my home?” Mereruka asked.
“Not in so many words, Your Tranquility,” the man answered.
“So, on whose authority did you break into my residence and command my household? On whose authority did you steal from my treasury? On whose authority did you meddle with the affairs of Rhacotis?” Mereruka demanded.
“King Khety-”
“Did not explicitly give you permission to do these things, did he?” Mereruka hissed.
“N-no, Prince Mereruka.”
“Husband, he has admitted his crimes. Let us make an example of those who dare steal from us and call my homeland cursed.” Taisiya sidled up to him and placed a hand on his chest.
He had to get his temper in check. Word of what happened next would get back to Khety and the rest of the hatya. They needed the story to be as gruesome as it was entertaining.
“Do you have something in mind?” Mereruka asked.
“Take him out in full view of the neighbours. Turn him into a bird. If he can escape my lightning, then he may go free. If not, well, he will pay with his life,” she suggested.
Mereruka was surprised that she would willingly witness the grisly process. It cooled his anger. The spectacle would ensure Rhacotis knew who was in charge once more and put any other scoundrels on notice. It would also demonstrate his power and hers. He kissed the palm of her hand and took a deep breath.
“An excellent suggestion. Qar, drag him out of my palace.”
“With pleasure,” Qar growled.
Qar pulled the man up by his hair and shoved him along.
“Please have mercy, Prince Mereruka!” the man begged.
“Weren’t you listening? My wife will give you a chance at freedom if you can avoid being struck by her lightning. That is more mercy than a thief like you deserves!” Mereruka snarled.
Before long they arrived at the entrance. The servants opened the imposing stone barriers and Qar threw the man to the ground with all his considerable strength. As he crawled for the water lapping at the bottom of the front steps, Mereruka snared him in his magic. As the people of Rhacotis watched the man slowly melt, sweat trickled down Mereruka’s spine. The nomarch’s spawn possessed a fair bit of magic, fighting the transformation with tooth and claw. But being a hatya, he’d refused to augment his power with a single tattoo. Fool. It took longer than he would have liked, but that only added to the horror of the spectacle. Eventually, he dissolved the man and reformed him as a duck.
By now, passersby had stopped their boats in the canals while others crowded on the small islands of dry land to watch the grim process. Some cheered, others yelled epithets at the intruder-turned-fowl. The bird clumsily took to the sky to the outraged shrieks of those gathered.
“Are they watching?” Taisiya asked.
“They’re riveted,” Mereruka answered.
Taisiya stepped forward and formed a crackling spear of lightning as tall as herself in her hand. As the harsh incandescence burned his eyes, she appeared as nothing less than a proud demigoddess, lightning streaking through her copper locks as her dress billowed about her ankles. Fearsome and implacable, she was a sight to behold. The spectators shielded their eyes as she posed to throw her lightning like a javelin. With a theatrical flourish, Taisiya unleashed the bolt. In the distance, a dark, smoking shape plummeted into the waters below. Food for the fishes.
The eyes of his people turned from the sight of the execution towards Taisiya. She stood tall, a stern expression on her face. His heart swelled at the sight. Mereruka swept her up in his arms. She gasped, wrapping her hands around his neck as her eyes widened. Grinning like a fool, he called out to the crowd, his voice amplified by a spell.
“The city of Rhacotis has been restored by my wife, and Maat’s newest royal, Princess Consort Taisiya!”
Cheers rang out as Mereruka swept back into his palace. Despite his smile and the delighted looks of his household, anger over the desecration of his home simmered beneath the surface. Taisiya placed a hand on his heart.
“Your real home is here. They can tarnish brick and mortar, but they haven’t truly destroyed the heart of your home, not if you don’t let them. Trust someone who knows a little about such things.”
He was surprised by the unexpected kindness. Hope took root inside him. Stopping his stride, he bent his head to kiss the top of hers.
“Thank you,” he whispered.
“You’re welcome. Now, shall we assess the damage?” she asked.
“Prince Mereruka? Princess Consort Taisiya? If you’ll follow me, I’ll tell you what has happened since you left Maat,” Nofret said, her tone grim.