a spell.
khaemwaset had never known heka, dark or otherwise. by right might a court employ the services of soothsayers, sorcerers, astrologers, but these things were still an ignorance to pharaoh. he had grown motionless as was his way when his mind was clasped tightly in wandering those thoughts which had now sprung by dozens to his own mind.
setemhotep was explaining that an inundation of its own was coming to merneith. this, Horus found himself slightly unable to comprehend. he tried to think of it in terms of escalated desire, but that was not what the sesh spoke. cycles would begin for the queen, driven by some spirit of the river; she would enter a state of some prolonged divinity which even pharaoh himself was unable to fathom. a tiny sting of disappointment hissed inside him now, followed by surprise for its existence, and then bemusement to lay low both the first.
at such mention of impotence, khaemwaset grinned arrogantly, knowingly, at the little curve to the other's mouth, and their thoughts followed for a moment along the same trail. setemhotep did not speak of any such dangerous flame coming to scorch pharaoh himself, and so this power of generation must already be within him. was that why sapair had repeated this talk of heirs?
that slight shift in the physician's tone was not overlooked. he listened closely, feeling a catlike satisfaction, to have all suspicions against other men validated by the admonition. this age of cycles, of nile-rich fertility -- it would inflame the men around her.
again did pharaoh wonder if the sesh who educated him had been at the mercy of such a fire.
a silence. the obsidian lines of the Divine Incarnation became marble once more, and he said nothing else for a long while.
so we have only been practicing, pharaoh said first. this blessing begat by Hapi will descend upon my beloved and consume all in its path with desire. the queen must be more than treasured; she must be guarded. we do not know the hour nor the time, as you have said. but also, i must not put trust in men, and here his teeth glittered in an unfriendly expression.
do i already have this power, setemhotep? and do you believe the mazoi of satriya will be disciplined on this sort of battlefront?
the first was a matter of medicine; the second, far too heavy for an attendant to bear. and yet khaemwaset committed it into his care, brow smooth but eyes unblinking as he waited for an answer disallowed from imagination.