“Lily, I—”
“Just…think about it. I’m going to take a quick shower, and then maybe we can get some food. We’ll feast?”
“Of course, Lily,” Amon replied.
As I climbed the stairs, I felt the stress of the past few days flood over me. I did need to relax. I was wiped out. The fact that I was getting so emotional again was a sign that I was not feeling like myself, which had been true from the moment I first met Amon, but right then, I felt even worse.
To my delight, I found perfumed oil in the bathroom. When I rubbed it into my skin, the smell of soft flowers and sweet musk surrounded me. The scent was exotic, with a hint of citrus, delicate and subtle, an aroma far preferable to the sweat and dust I’d gotten used to. While wiping steam from the mirror after my shower, I thought about Amon.
He had become important to me. At first, it had been a mixture of curiosity and fascination that led me to follow him on his adventure, but now that I’d spent more time with him, I realized it wasn’t just fascination. I wasn’t doing all of this for the adventure or the thrills anymore. I cared about him.
As crazy as it was, I was falling for a guy as old as the desert. One who could turn into a falcon at will. A man who could twist sand into any form he chose. A handsome stranger who had seemingly zero interest in love and who put his own needs after everyone else’s.
I identified with that. How many times had I gone along with what my parents wanted even though I had no interest in whatever they were doing? How many empty relationships had I fostered with people who didn’t care a whit about me? How much longer was I going to deny myself what I really wanted?
I found Amon sitting listlessly at the kitchen table, an empty plate before him. Surrounding him were mountains of takeout containers. The spicy fragrance of meat and vegetables wafted toward me, but I had eyes only for the man with his elbows on the table, hands holding up his head.
Walking up behind him, I touched his shoulder. “What is it?” I asked. “Not hungry?”
Amon covered my hand with his and pulled me around to sit next to him. “How do you feel?” he asked. “Are you refreshed?”
“Yes,” I lied, giving him my best smile.
Cupping my chin, Amon studied my face. “Your skin is pallid and overly warm and you’ve lost flesh.”
“All the girls will want to try the new Egyptian god diet when I get home. ‘You can feast all you want as long as you’re willing to be an organ donor.’?” I laughed lamely at my own joke, but Amon didn’t even crack a smile.
He let me go and pressed his head between his hands again.
“What’s all this about?” I asked. “Was it the fight with the shabti? Are you still feeling weak?”
“The golden falcon strengthened me, Young Lily. It is not my health you should be concerned with.”
“Then is this because of the other jars? They were all broken, weren’t they?”
“Yes.”
“Okay, so then what’s the next step?”
“There is no next step.”
“Well, we can still find your brothers, right? Everything will be okay, you’ll see. Even without all your powers, I’m sure you can do what you need to.”
“No, Lily, you do not understand. Without my jars, I will continue to drain your energy.”
“So we’ll move faster. You got one jar back, at least. That’s something. We’ll get your brothers as quickly as we can. You can’t give up hope.”
“Hope,” Amon scoffed. “Hope for whom? For what?”
“Hope for a better tomorrow, for both of us. It’s not over till it’s over. Don’t assume this can’t be fixed. Let’s just focus on one thing at a time. We now know that your jars are gone, so let’s worry about your brothers next.”
“My brothers. Perhaps,” Amon murmured. “Perhaps my brothers can help. One of them is a healer.”