Lion Head Mesa thirty-eighth

LMAO

senmut found himself studying the neb as he spoke, wondering strangely, somehow, if he might be a match for none other than nazli herself.

she was a fellahin no longer; his very soul ached to think of her turned to another's love. but senmut belonged to the queen, and therefore his boyish thoughts of marrying nazli must be interred for now, until such a time as their regent had chosen her pharaoh.

why should nazli wait for love?

"i suppose not," the prince at last conceded, offering naberius a conciliatory curve of lips. "her line prizes purity. akashingo opens its gates to princes simply because the queen has no existent brother."

this, the nobleman would understand, such pairings preserving the very essence of the gods themselves, the ancient drops of blood handed down from on high.