The Pharaoh’s Favorite novel Chapter 12

Back in my chambers, my hands trembled as I changed into the clothes Amen had arranged.

The garments are plain—linen dyed in soft ochre and faded blue, nothing like the luxurious silks and gold-threaded robes of the harem.

“Where did these come from?” I ask, lifting the tunic, noting how it lacks the insignia of nobility.

“I had them prepared,” he says simply, already stripping away his own layers of finery.

I turn quickly, heat rising to my cheeks, but not before catching the sight of bare skin as his robe slips from his shoulders.

Goddesses.

I force my hands to steady as I remove my own dress, letting the light material pool at my feet. The simpler tunic feels foreign against my skin, as though with it, I am shedding something more than just clothing.

“Perfect,” Amen said from behind me. I turned to find him transformed as well, his royal regalia replaced by the clothes of a common merchant.

“You look…” He pauses, a smirk playing at his lips. “Very different without the silks and jewels.”

I lift my chin. “As do you, Pharaoh.”

His smirk deepens, but he says nothing.

“How often do you do this?” I asked, watching him adjust his shawl to partially cover his face. “Slip away from being Pharaoh?”

His smile held a touch of sadness. “Not as often as I’d like. The crown is heavy, Neferet. Sometimes I need to remember what it feels like to be just… me.”

Then he moves toward the window, unlatching the shutters with a practiced hand.

Cool night air rushes in, carrying the scent of the city—the spice of incense, the distant laughter of merchants still finishing their work, the ever-present whisper of the Nile.

I step forward, hesitating only once before accepting the hand he offers.

And then we are gone, slipping into the night like figures from a dream.

The night air hit my face like freedom as we emerged into the city. Thebes was different after dark – mysterious and alive in ways I’d never noticed before.

“Where are we going?” I whispered as Amen led me through the winding streets.

“First,” he said, his eyes glinting with something between mischief and reverence, “I thought you might want to visit an old friend.”

My breath caught as we rounded a corner and the Temple of Isis rose before us, silver in the moonlight. But instead of using the main entrance, Amen guided me to a small side door I’d never noticed in all my years of service.

“How did you-”

“I know every temple in Thebes,” he said softly. “Every secret way in and out. It’s part of being Pharaoh – though some passages I discovered long before taking the crown.”