Amon stood leaning, with crossed arms against the railing of his ship, alive and furious, and staring right at me.

I stared back. Bird eyes burning with hate. If not for the wooden bars of my small cage I would peck his beautiful eyes out. I refused to believe my family were traitors. He planned this... I was certain.

I'd come to consciousness to the howling screeches of Anaka's monkey rattling its wooden cage beside me. I stared out, disoriented, at the view of a ship deck sailing away from my home. They had taken our warships. We had five, or so, in Helios as retainer vessels. The rest were stationed North, at a bay in the Mediterranean coast to guard against potential foreign invaders. Ironic that the real threat was from the South.

The sun was high as smoke snaked through the sky from the white dot of my palace still burning in the distance as the boats rowed south, towards Amon-Set's kingdom. The smell of death curdled in the air and I could almost taste the burnt flesh on my tongue with these heightened bird senses.. I squawked softly, unable to shed tears, or block the stench that strangled my senses and settled into my feathers. They had burned my people, denied them to walk the path of the dead to the afterlife.

Trailing with the smoke, a few boats followed in procession down the Nile, piled high with spoils; the food and treasures of my people, not to mention a few animals. Livestock mostly, goats, sheep, cattle and some ostrich. They had taken Zahara's Hawk, that damned monkey, and a few cats as well.

Several soldiers on deck were all celebrating, passing skins of wine and food around.

I heard shouting below me before seeing Amon emerge pacing back and forth on the back of the deck before he stilled, his eyes finally settling on the pile of spoils, where I was wedged between Anaka's monkey and a cat that kept pawing at my crate.

"Why-" Amon hissed, the vein on his neck bulging, "-did you take all this?" His head turned, addressing a soldier, who was tipping wine down his gullet.

The man wiped at the dribble of red on his chin before answering with a lazy grin. "Figured we could use it more than those traitors could in the afterlife." He laughed at his own joke. But it was cut short.

One moment, Amon was in front of me and then, in a blur, he was down the side of the ship, pulling the sword at the guard's hip, and running it straight through him. The man's eyes widened in shock, a garble of surprise on his lips before he tipped backward off the boat and into the Nile, where a hungry hippo or crocodile would pick up its next meal.

Hushed tension fell upon the ship.Not even the animals made noise as he stalked like an apex predator down the length of the ship, bloody sword in hand.

"Anyone want to join him?" he roared.

Silence answered, and all merriment died. The soldiers went about the rest of their duties quietly and Amon stomped back below deck. This was a version of Amon I hadn't seen. The version that lived up to the whispers of his bloodlust. The version he had carefully kept hidden from me. The killer.

Between the yowls and bays of the creatures not accustomed to the rocking of the river, I was to pick up whispers from two soldiers taking a break at the back.

"Did they find the Priestess?" A short man with hair braided tight to his head asked the large bald headed man beside him. Both were ripping at pieces of bread leaning over the back of the boat.

I recognized the larger one as the soldier who clipped my wings and I committed his sweaty bald head, short stubble beard, and dark eyes to memory. He had an ugly jagged scar down his right bicep and-gods willing-when I returned to my human body again, he would be one of the first to die, along with Amon and Sarena.

...If I return to being human. I tried not to dwell on that thought.

"No, bet a crocodile got her. That's what happened to her sister." The bald head man answered around a mouthful of bread, washing it down with a swig of wine before passing the skin off to the shorter man.

"Which sister? Not the young Pharaoh. Zahara, was it?" The short man asked, surprise lacing his voice.

"Yeah, I should have seen it. What a shot! Senak got her with his spear, but the body was tangled in the reins. She got dragged further down and by the time we stopped the damn horses her body was gone. We searched the bank and found blood and crocodile prints."

"Shame. She was great with the blade." The shorter man grabbed a swing from the skin.

"Easy on the eyes, too. Would have liked to have a roll with that one." The bald man wiggled his eyebrows and my stomach curdled with disgust.

"Damn traitors," the short man gargled his wine, spitting it over the boat before walking away. "Bet it was those greedy Priests' ideas."

"Maybe, but that king's been doing trades with Greece behind our backs I heard." The bald man added, following behind. "You kill any high priests?"

"No, bastards got away, their god's blessing's too strong." They moved behind several large crates, out of view now.

"Stronger than our Pharaoh's?" I heard the bald man ask my neck craning to follow the sound of their voices.

"Not even close." The voice of the short man's laughter faded with the creaking of the ship as their steps and voices traveled below deck and out of earshot.

A lone hawk circled high in the sky, crying out as my heart cried with it for revenge.

~☾~

Somewhere in the waning hours of the afternoon, I had drifted off to the steading rhythm of the ores as they drove a brisk pace down the Nile. The stars were high in the sky by the time I woke to the hushed whispers of Sarena and Amon huddled at the back of the ship.

"Please Amon, don't abandon me. Please..." Sarena's voice came out in a cracked whisper, her tears illuminated by the glow of the moon. She reached for him as he backed away, snagging her wrists with his hands to stop her movements before letting them go.

"Enough!" His golden eyes glowed like fire, voice laced with venom. "How can I ever trust you again? You-" he swallowed hard. "You knew how I felt and still you did it."

"I don't know what came over me! I was so angry. They tried to kill you!" Her lips quivered, blue eyes sorrowful and repentant-I wasn't buying it. "I am always loyal to you."

He signed, sounding flustered. "I don't question your loyalty. I question your sanity! This is not how we solve things."

"Blood should be repaid with blood," she rasped, lifting her chin in defiance. "Is that not why you started this war?"

Amon's hand shot out, grabbing her by the throat with a wild look in his eye. "If not for your talents, and help with my father, I would kill you right here."

"Pl-lease..." He squeezed tighter on her throat, lifting her off the ground, and her eyes bulged wide with fear. "She could still be alive..."

"She went in the river! She can't swim! You said yourself they scoured till the morning!" He released her, eyes filled with grief, defeat. "You didn't even bury them properly." Amon gripped the side of the railing like he was steadying himself.

That's when it hit me. He was talking about me. My family and he was upset. Why? Wasn't this his order? His plan?

There was a stiff silence between them, and I wished Amon had strangled her.

"Captain Kuimet stayed behind with the chariots and a few men to take care of it. The fires spread too fast to salvage their corpses, but he and a few priests will perform the rights over the area and the ashes. They will ride to join us at the palace, when they've finished and assured control over Helios."

He gripped the railing tighter, and I heard the splinter of wood, the railing warped with an imprint of his hands when he backed away.

"I don't want to see your face for the rest of this trip."

"But-"

"One more word, and you can burn right alongside the Northerners." He stalked off into the darkness as Sarena sank to her knees, an angry mark on her throat as she pressed her palms into her eyes and sobbed.

I felt only mild joy at her suffering. Truly, I wished she'd toss herself overboard into the river. All I saw was blood where her tears fell, and the look on Anaka's face when she slit her throat. I hated her with every fiber of my being. My feathers ruffled and my body shook with rage, and I hated him too. I hated Amon for coming back, for bringing his soldiers, for bringing her. For sparking doubt in my heart and setting fire to my life, my happiness.

As I watched her sob, rocking herself, I imagined all the ways I would get revenge. I would pluck her eyes out and swallow them whole. I would peck at her flesh till she was nothing but bone. I would damn them all to wander the dark lands of the afterlife, never knowing peace. I had never had vile wicked thoughts like these before. I had kept my heart and mind as pure as I could for my duties as priestess, but it was like a dam had broken and waves of hatred consumed me.

Eventually Sarena picked herself up and slithered like the snake she was back to the hull of the ship, but I sat there staring at the white round eye of Nut. Cursing them, cursing the gods and anyone that would hear the silent screams of my heart.

The beat of wings caught my attention, I craned my long white neck to look, but it was only a hawk, perched on the back rail of the boat where Amon's hands had left their mark. The bird cocked its head, letting out a small coo like a greeting.

I turned my long neck away, burning my beak in the back of my feathers. I didn't understand bird speech, and it felt silly to even try and converse with one. I could feel another animal's intentions, like an instinct if they were nervous or excited, but the meaning of their screeches and squawks were lost on me.

"I see your desire, dear priestess. I see your hate," a voice whispered in my mind.

My head shot up, swiveling, but I could see no soldiers, only the eyes of the hawk staring at me.

Maybe I can understand birds?

"I'm not a bird," the thought echoed in my brain, a bubbling sound tickling my skull, like laughter.

An abrupt wind ruffled my feathers, a torrent swirling around the hawk like a desert storm, and in its place stood a man.

His eyes, as blue as the cloudless sky, bore into mine, as if seeing past my feathered form. His head was shrouded in a blue cowl, but I could see the dark brown stubble of his beard against light tan skin. He drew closer, crouching in front of my cage, my little bird heart pounding so fiercely I thought it would leap out of my body and fly without me. He had an exotic face, high cheekbones and sharp features. He wore no collar or jewelry, only a simple brown tunic that covered his chest down to his knees, cinched with a wide black belt.

As if sensing my question, his lips twitched into a smile. "I have been watching you for a while, little priestess. I am the God Horus and I'm here to help you get your revenge my poor, sweet Nefari."