The snippet from near the beginning of the novel. Pebatma, whose noble family has fallen on hard times, has grown sad and distressed and a kindly priestess has invited her to sit and rest:
Feeling as if she’d lost control of the situation, Pebatma allowed herself to be drawn through a narrow door she’d never noticed before and walked into a cool, green garden. A fountain played lazily in the center and the overflow ran in a burbling stream until it disappeared from sight. The smell of the blue lotus was pleasant on the air and Pebatma found her chest loosening with each breath. Birds sang a merry tune. The well-designed garden and the granite bench carved in the shape of a reclining cow, with the seat projecting from the beast’s stone side reminded her vaguely of her family’s estate, before they’d fallen from favor of course.
“Will you have a bite to eat? These are from the temple’s inner sanctum,” the priestess said with a wink. “Blessed but safe for human consumption.”
Unsure if she could avail herself of the offer, Pebatma heard her stomach rumble embarrassingly and she selected a fragrant sesame roll glazed with honey. “You’re very kind.”
If she hoped to receive a name from the woman, she was disappointed. As Pebatma nibbled the roll, the priestess said, “You’ve been a devoted servant to the Great One, through all your own travails. Not a word of reproach have you offered to her for what your family has suffered. Diligent in your daily prayers, offering what you can, when you can. I’m sorry you never became one of the sacred order yourself, but Shai the God of Fate had other plans. We must all bow to his will of course.”
Wondering how this person could know so much about her, when she’d never spoken a word to anyone at the temple since the day she and her mother were refused entry, Pebatma swallowed hard. “You’re remarkably well informed, my lady.”
With a vague gesture, the other dismissed the remark. “Temple walls have eyes and ears, or so it is said. Why not tell me yourself what troubles you today? What would you ask of Hathor were she standing here?”
Pebatma heard a cow moo in the distance and the faint sounds of a sistrum whirring. Goose bumps rose on her skin and she shivered, unable to take another bite of the roll. She became uneasy about where it was she truly sat right now and to whom she spoke.
Deposiphotos
The book blurb: 1550 BCE – Forced by a vengeful Pharaoh to flee for her life and hide in the poorest section of Thebes, Lady Pebatma has scraped and struggled to support her ailing mother and young brother for the past two years. Now, out of funds with the rent to pay and no possessions left to sell, she begs the goddess Hathor for help. With a new pharaoh taking the throne, surely something can be done…
A powerful general in command of the army and best friend to Pharaoh, Marnamaret has everything a nobleman in Egypt could desire…except for true love. He refuses to settle for less. On a whim, he prays to Hathor to send him the woman of his dreams.Will the goddess answer these heartfelt petitions? And if she does, will Shai the god of Fate allow the course of two lives to be changed by love? For none can deny Fate….
Author’s Note: This is a connected series. Heiress of the Nile can be read as a standalone. The story falls between Priestess and Warrior timewise and is set in the early days of this Pharaoh’s reign.
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