Chapter 5: Not Giving Up

Elise’s expression turned serious. “Perhaps you can start explaining some of this stuff now. I never once believed in magic, and now I’m hip-deep in it.”

Neferu took Elise’s hand and turned to face her. “Listen well, you are-”

The front door burst open, interrupting their conversation. “Elise!” Chloe locked the door behind her and ran to their living room. “There you are.” She sat on Elise’s other side and pulled her close, away from Neferu. “Honey, are you okay?”

Elise smiled. “I’m fine, just a bit confused. Too much magic stuff in one night, ya know?”

Chloe spun her around and gave her a deep, possessive kiss, then she pushed Elise back against the couch and stared daggers at Neferu. “What the hell did you do to my girlfriend?!”

Neferu glared at her in return. “I did not do anything, and she is my beloved. Ahneith has been my personal guard and friend since childhood, when she saved me from kidnappers at the cost of her eye. My father restored her eye and welcomed her to our home as a reward for her bravery.”

Elise sat up, stunned. “My dream was about her,” Elise breathed.

Chloe pushed her back down and growled. “It just sounds like you abducted some girl out of convenience.”

Neferu huffed with indignation. ”Ahneith was an orphan, dirty and starving on the roads of Siwa. My father saw the potential that rested within her, and gave her a new life that any would pray to the gods to receive.”

Elise sat back up again. “Okay, let’s get back on track. What happened, exactly? You were in a tablet, and apparently, I’m a reincarnated royal guard.”

“I was just about to explain that, dear.” Neferu and Chloe glared at one another again. “Ptahmose is my uncle and the head priest. He desired the pharaoh’s throne and so orchestrated an attack on Thebes by hiring a roving band of mercenaries and bandits after he sent his own guards to attack them under my father’s name.”

Neferu looked away as the scenes replayed in her mind. “My father, the great Pharaoh Kheperkare, repelled them with his own forces. This is when Ptahmose and his forces attacked us from within Thebes.” She looked to Elise. “He sought my life force to gain power. I am blessed with the blood of Ra and the magic of Isis. With my essence, he could shroud Egypt in an age of darkness.”

A smile stretches across her lips. “You fought so hard against his men, my love. You stood with my father to defend me. However, the tide was turning. Ptahmose summoned demons from the Duat itself. It was then that my father decided on a plan to protect me should Ptahmose push through his defenses. He would seal me in the sacred tablet, and you would unseal me once the battle has ended.” A look of sadness crossed her face. “He also told me that I would be the new pharaoh when I awaken.”

“What happened to me? Er, Ahneith?”

“I don’t know. The last time I saw you, you swore to awaken me. For you, that may have been four thousand years ago, but to me, it was only a short while ago. Not a single moment passed between my father sealing me away and you releasing me.” Elise and Chloe were taken aback, though it made sense to them. They couldn’t imagine what it would be like to go to sleep in one world and wake up in another. “I’m afraid only you know what happened during the battle, and those memories are buried beneath the sands of lifetimes.”

Chloe sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose. “Right, this is too much for me to handle. I need to call this in. We have Ancient Egyptian priests and their statues running amok in modern-day Boston.”

“Could you at least leave Neferu and me out of your report? At least until we figure this out,” Elise pleaded.

Chloe could never win against her puppy dog eyes. “Fine, I’ll just tell him about this Pahmos and whatever that chick’s name was.”

“Ptahmose and Setesh,” Neferu corrected her. “Setesh was a royal guard trainee once. She betrayed us and helped Ptahmose’s forces invade the palace.”

“Right. Ptahmose and Setesh. Thank you.” Chloe sent a text to her superior with new information. A quick reply thanked her for the update.

“Inform us when your men find them. Only we can defeat them once and for all,” Neferu instructed her.

Chloe looked from her to Elise, then back again. “I’ll think about it.” She set her phone aside and pushed Elise back onto the sofa so she could lean closer to Neferu, her gaze sharp enough to slice through steel. “You can stay here for now, but Elise is my girlfriend, and that’s not changing. Got it?”

Neferu crossed her arms beneath her chest and took on a dignified air. “I do not wish to disturb Ahneith’s new life-”

“Elise! Get it right.”

“Elise, then. I do not wish to disturb her new life. I will be content as her Great Royal Wife and permit you to stand as her concubine.”

“Concubine?!” Chloe’s temper flared. “Hey, I would be the wife, and you can be the third wheel we just deal with,” she argued. “No, I am going to be the wife.”

“I met her first, four thousand years before you were ever born,” Neferu argued.

“So? Our lives are way less complicated. We’re even living together. Our lives are practically a rom-com right now,” Chloe countered.

Neferu grinned. “I saw that ‘rom-com’ already, and those women were already concubines to another. Accept your place as her mistress and me as the wife. I will be charitable and let you share our bed.”

“Why you-!” Chloe began.

Elise tried to ignore how hot her cheeks felt as she grabbed both girls and pushed them back against the couch. “Okay, that’s enough of that, thank you very much.” She stood up and walked away. “I’m going to sleep. It’s pretty late, and I’m pretty bruised and exhausted from my magic sword fight. Chloe, show Neferu how the bathroom works, and let her borrow some clothes until we can go shopping for her.”

Despite her cool tone of voice, Elise’s mind raced with various thoughts. She realized that she had two girlfriends, one from each life, and they were arguing over her. Not only that, Chloe declared that she would marry Elise. That was a proposal without the fancy dinner or shiny ring. She didn’t know how to handle it, so she went to her room, carefully changed into her comfortable sleepwear, and tucked herself into bed. It didn’t take long for her to doze off, unconcerned about bad dreams.

Elise awoke a short while later. She felt warmer than usual, and oddly cramped. Her attempts to reach her phone on the nightstand were thwarted. Rather than the cool plastic of her reliable phone, she found the soft warmth of Chloe’s chest.

“Getting frisky, are we?” Chloe teased her.

Elise fully woke up and realized that she was pinned between Neferu and Chloe. “This isn’t going to work,” she stated. “I know, it’s everyone’s dream to be caught between two hot girls in bed, but my bed isn’t big enough for…whatever this is.”

“Hey, blame the princess over there. She started it,” Chloe accused.

“Whatever. The point is, there’s not enough room.”

Neferu lightly chuckled as she invoked her magic to make the bed larger in size without breaking anything in its path. “There. We have plenty of room for…whatever this is.” She held Elise from behind and sighed in bliss. Chloe moved closer to Elise and locked eyes with Neferu. Her arm brushed against Neferu’s when she tried to lay her arm on Elise’s waist, making her even more annoyed.

Elise was conflicted. On the one hand, it was everyone’s dream to be with two girls at once. On the other hand, she was caught between two magic warriors. “Yeah, we need a long-term plan,” she decided. “We’ll die in the summer, even with the A.C. we don’t turn on until June because it drives up the electric bill.”

“What is an A.C.?” Neferu inquired.

“An invaluable device that makes the room colder when it’s too hot outside. It’s just expensive to use long-term, especially for two part-time workers like us.”

Neferu merely giggled. “Is that all? Please be at ease, beloved. I know of numerous spells to chill the air around us.”

“Don’t go casting spells in our apartment without asking us first,” Chloe demanded.

Elise sighed and closed her eyes. “Just please go to sleep now.”