"Asharat," I said again, louder this time.
A slow smile curled over his lips. "It took you long enough."
The sound of his voice sent something sharp through my chest—memory, recognition, disbelief. The last time I saw him, we stood on the edge of war. Vaelora's war. He had been my right hand, my brother in arms, my second in command, my best friend. And then, I had been put to sleep.
He should be dead, like the rest of them.
But he wasn't. I could only think of one reason he was still alive: Vaelora.
I took a slow step forward, watching him through narrowed eyes. "You should be dust and bone by now."
Asharat chuckled. "So should you. But our goddess is not so merciful, is she?"
Something cold crawled down my spine. I glanced at Roweena, but she was already looking at him with sharp curiosity, her fingers twitching as if memorizing everything about him.
Asharat's dark gaze flicked to her, then back to me. "She told me you would return. That I would know you when I saw you." His eyes trailed over me. "You look the same."
I clenched my jaw. "So do you."
"You mean I should have aged?" He laughed, stepping further into the chamber. "Vaelora made sure I wouldn't. She needed me awake while you were sleeping."
The weight of his words pressed against my ribs. "Why?"
His expression darkened, and his lips pressed together before he answered. "Because she is the goddess of balance and vengeance. Because she wanted to punish me as much as you."
Guilt rushed through me, guilt for what I had asked of him to do. The death sentence I had put on him with my request. A request he had accepted without hesitation.
"She had a plan, Vardor. A long one. She was never going to wait for fate to move things into place. She did it herself," Asharat continued.
Roweena stepped closer, her voice quiet but steady. "What plan?"
Asharat looked at her as if he already knew exactly who she was.
"To be reborn as mortal," he said simply. "To set the pieces in motion. And to bring you back here, to this place, so you could finish what she started."
Roweena's breath caught, and for the first time, I saw a flicker of uncertainty in her eyes. She was Vaelora, even if she didn't feel like her. But this was bigger than even she had imagined. And somehow, I already knew there was more.
I turned back to Asharat. "The pyramids," I said. "If they were not meant for men, then what are they?"
A slow smile curved his lips. "A beacon."
His words woke dread inside me.
"A beacon for what?" Roweena asked cautiously.
Asharat's gaze focused fully on her. "For you," he said. "For you to find your way back here."
"What did she do to you?" I asked him.
"Vaelora had no intention of losing both of us. You, she sealed away. Me? She gave eternity."
A smile tugged at the corners of my lips. That sounded like my vengeful goddess. She left me in darkness. But Asharat? Hehad remained awake for ten thousand years. I probably should have felt anger. But all I felt was the weight of something inevitable coming for us.
"You've been waiting here all this time?"
Asharat nodded. "Since she left to be reborn. She tasked me with waiting for you. To bring you back to her."
I frowned. "Back to her?"
