Chapter 15

For a moment, they couldn’t believe it. The low rumble filled the chamber, the fresh scent grew stronger, and soon there was no doubt left: the sky was spilling water over the land of Kemet. Rain—the first in years.

Nakht and Merit bolted upright from the wooden bed. Their eyes met, wide with disbelief, until the truth burst inside them. A wild euphoria seized them both. In the same instant, they laughed out loud. A raw, unrestrained laugh that cut through the darkness of the night behind them.

Nakht hadn’t heard his sister laugh in days. The sound pierced him, freed him. Merit, radiant, leapt from the bed, her robes half undone, and dashed outside.

“Nakht! Come!” she called, her voice trembling with joy.

He froze, struck by the sudden glow of her childish beauty. Then, with a quick gesture, he grabbed a cloth to cover himself and hurried after her.

Outside, the rain fell in fine sheets, hesitant at first, then thicker, drumming against the stone of the palace. The ground released the heavy, intoxicating scent of dust and water. The gray sky, swollen with clouds, broke open into shining beads the parched earth drank with desperation.

Merit stood beneath the downpour, arms raised toward the heavens, face lifted, drenched, smiling like a child. She wasn’t alone: servants, guards, even priests had left their shelter to embrace the rain. Some sang, some shouted, others wept as they prayed to the gods. The whole court seemed reborn in sudden fervor, as if the dust of misfortune had been washed away.

Nakht paused on the threshold, his chest swelling with a fierce, unfamiliar joy. Then Merit, dazzling, rushed back to him. Without thinking, she threw herself into his arms—not as she had the night before, not with the heavy weight of desire, but with a bright, pure innocence. She pulled him into a playful embrace, tugging him forward to jump, laugh, and dance with her in the rain.

Nakht held her tight, spun with her, their laughter joining the shouts of joy around them. For that moment, there was no sin, no shame, no crushing duty. There was only the rain—and the joy of sharing it.

The meal was served later. The rain still hammered the stone floors, and through the carved screens, the distant voices of the people reached them, high and ecstatic. The servants laid out bread, figs, and clear beer, while silence settled over the room.

Merit, her veil dry again on her shoulders, ate slowly. Her laughter was gone, but a new serenity lingered on her face. Nakht looked at her now and then, saying nothing, before lowering his gaze to his plate. Sometimes their eyes met, but neither spoke.

The shuffle of the servants’ feet, the clink of cups, the echo of songs in the distance filled the air. The rain itself went on, steady, like a drumbeat of the gods.