RebeccaOh readers! I am not sure that I can bring the full excitement of this weeks read to our blog! The ending of this book will keep you hooked. It is so hard to believe that we are wrapping up this book, and getting ready to dive into a new book. This month has flown by faster than I could have thought possible. However, first we must finish this one, and what a finish it will be! Hang on! The winds blowing through Egypt just might push you out of the chair….
Mutnodjmet and her husband are careful to keep their heads down in Thebes and not to incur the wrath from the pharaoh. While she is thankful to be away from the palace and the life in Amarna. While they are building their life and settling into a new routine, there are always those who are coming and going from the house. Soldiers have not forgotten their brave general, and while he no longer has the title, he will always remain so to them. He refuses to entertain any thoughts that would endanger his wife, and her family. Ipu and her husband are due to return, and when they do, Ipu is heavily pregnant. While the women get reacquainted, news arrives from the palace. Nefertiti is pregnant again, and demands her sister to come to her. It seems as though the banishment that was handed down to Mutnodjmet has been forgotten when she is needed again.
Nakhtmin and Mutnodjmet are awaiting the arrival of the barge that is being sent to bring them to Amarna. While they await the arrival of Ipu’s child as well, the thoughts return to having a child of their own, and the hope that one day one will arrive. While time can be cruel, it also serves as a teacher. As the couple arrives in Amarna, the changes that have come about in the months that she has been away are shocking. More and more images of Akhenaton and Nefertiti are present, and there seems to be an air of suspicion hanging in the air. She finds her sister in the birthing chamber, reclining and relaxing. There is talk that the queen is carrying twins, and the fear is the survival of both the mother and babies. Nefertiti though does things her own way, and she gives birth to two more princesses of Egypt. Upset that neither one of them are boys, the girls are immediately taken in by their father, who could care less whether they are girls or boys.
Nefertiti however, is still solidifying her grip on power. She has a trick up her sleeve that will leave Panahesi and Kiya completely removed from the future of Egypt. During the huge festival that is being held in Amarna, Akhenaton names Nefertiti as pharaoh and co-regent as Egypt. The crowds cheer the couple on, their lovely queen and king. There is more lurking behind the scenes of the festival than just dancing and feasting. While panic begins to ensue in the street, danger is alerted in the palace. Will they survive, or will death stalk them through the palace in the darkness…
This week we are reading Chapters 25-32
Questions:
- Nefertiti and Mutnodjmet have a very complex relationship. What would have happened if their roles had been reversed?
- Akhenaton has made some very bad decisions in his reign. Could Nefertiti have pushed him in another direction had she wanted to?
- Kiya entrusts her son to Mutnodjmet as she lays dying. Why would she trust the sister of her enemy?
- Did you enjoy the book?
