I hauled myself from bed and donned Daniel’s clothes once more—dusty, ripped, and stinking of yesterday’s trip in the city. I tucked an ivory artifact into each boot, and though it was stiff and conspicuous, should anyone look, I felt better having the pieces touch my skin. And somehow, knowing that Oliver knew of them only bolstered me more. It was one less secret to carry alone. . . .
I crept into the hall and toward the pilothouse. Joseph stood at the steering wheel, his perfect posture outlined by the foggy light of dawn. My eyes were drawn straight ahead—to the pyramids on the dark horizon, yet as I stepped into the pilothouse, I peered from the windows to the world below. In the gray light, the mosques looked like Gothic towers, and they cloaked the narrow roads in shadows. Yet even at this hour people moved about, clogging the streets with a thousand hues.
Joseph glanced back at me. “Good. You are awake. We will be at the pyramids in mere minutes, and I must know where to land.”
“Oh.” Tugging at my earlobe, I moved to stand beside him. “I, uh, don’t precisely know—”
“Good morning, Empress.” Daniel’s voice cut into the room, and when I spun around, I found him carrying a mug of steaming coffee—and a plate of buttered bread. With an earnest grin, he offered them to me. “Breakfast.”
A happy lump formed in my throat, and I slowly wrapped my fingers around the warm mug. The coffee smelled divine. “Thank you, Daniel.” My eyes flicked to his. “Truly—this means a lot.”
“It’s just breakfast,” he mumbled. He scratched at his stubbly jaw, and then, with aching slowness, he leaned his lips to my forehead . . .
Only to pause. His gaze dropped back to mine. “Er, is that all right?”
For some reason the coffee and bread trembled in my hands. “Always,” I whispered.
His lips twisted up, and then he pressed a gentle kiss to my brow.
“Really, Eleanor,” Allison declared shrilly, striding into the room in a rustle of skirts. “You realize you have spectators?”
I stiffened, and Daniel scowled. But Allison had already strutted past.
I drew away from Daniel, ignoring the disappointed droop in his shoulders. Allison was right—we had spectators, and now really was not the time for romance. So with an energetic interest in the landscape, I set to eating my bread and watching the muddy Nile slide beneath us. The plateau and the three pointed structures rose up from a vast ocean of sand. So silent and lonely after the farms and bustle of the city. There was no sound in that arid world. No movement. Only the hazy light of dawn.
Soon we floated over a tree-lined path with tiny figures on the road. At the end of the path, where the complex of ruins began, I glimpsed a man and his donkey. . . .
My mouth fell open. The man was no larger than a single stone in the pyramid. These monuments were larger than I ever could have guessed—larger than seemed possible. And the Great Pyramid—the biggest pyramid of all—surprised me most. Not only did our airship float as high as its peak, but our egg-shaped shadow wasn’t even a twentieth of its size.
“What is it?” Daniel asked, moving to my side and sipping his own coffee. “See any sign of where we should land?”
“Uh . . .” I pressed my fingers to my lips and examined the pyramids. We were closing in fast now, and what had seemed to be only three pyramids were in fact nine. And the tawny limestone looked like bricks of gold in the dawn glow—misty and rich against the receding gray skies beyond—while the eroded head of the Sphinx poked up from the sand. She seemed almost . . . longing, as if staring at the same view for thousands of years was beginning to wear away at her soul.
I found Daniel gazing upon the Great Pyramid, his face a mask of reverence. “You know,” he said slowly, “the first time I ever went down the Mississippi, I thought the highest point in the world was a bluff in Missouri. It still stands out in my mind, Empress.” His gaze darted to me—then right back to the Great Pyramid. “I thought that cliff was the biggest thing I’d ever seen. All the trees at the top looked so tiny. . . . But this pyramid? It makes that Missouri bluff look like a sand castle.”
I smiled at him, but pink burned onto his cheeks. “I reckon I’m just showin’ my ignorance.”
“Pshaw.” I nudged him with my elbow, but when I opened my mouth to declare him absurd, Joseph called out, “Eleanor? I really must know where to land.”
He, Daniel, and Allison all turned expectant eyes to me.
Oliver? I called mentally, thinking he might be able to hear my thoughts as I could sometimes hear his. Where do we go?
Three long breaths passed, and Oliver did not respond. No thought in my head, no hint of emotion over our bond.
My demon had cut me off, and with that realization, a spark of anger ignited in my shoulders. For all his threats and fickleness, I knew Oliver could not leave me until I broke his bond. So let him have another temper tantrum.
Hoping for inspiration, I flung a final look at the colossal, jagged pyramids and rocky plateau.