The boat rocked gently on the water as Karem and I checked the hold. Barrels and sacks were filled with weapons, jars of oil, and grain. Among them we found several scrolls with names written down. Panefer, several governors from the south, and merchants who controlled the ports. Everything pointed to an uprising in preparation.
"So it's true," Karem said after reading the names again. "The south is preparing for war."
"Yes," I replied. "And if these supplies reach the right hands, it will be a serious problem for the Pharaoh."
I was about to say more when the ship suddenly shook. Someone on deck had knocked over a barrel. Then we heard footsteps. We rushed up, and four men stood before us. Their faces were covered with cloth, short swords in their hands.
"So they followed us after all," Karem muttered, tightening his grip on his spear.
I had nothing. I stood still and waited. The first man rushed straight at Karem. His blade clashed against Karem's spear with a sharp ring. A second attacker came right at me. I stepped back, but he was faster. His blade cut into my shoulder. Sharp pain shot through me, but I didn't fall. Instinctively I slammed my elbow into his chest and kicked him in the groin. He staggered and fell onto the deck. Quickly, I grabbed a piece of rope and flung it over his face. He thrashed, but at least he was out of the fight for a moment.
A third attacker swung at me from the side, but Karem intercepted him, striking with his spear and sending him crashing down. "Watch yourself!" he shouted, but had no time to say more—the fourth man was already standing right in front of me.
There was nowhere to retreat. The blade drove straight into my stomach. I collapsed to the floor, gasping as blood spread over my clothes. Karem shouted and threw himself at the attacker. The clash of their weapons echoed while I fought for breath.
But death didn't come. My body began to close itself. The bleeding stopped, the flesh knit together. I opened my eyes and slowly sat up. The wound was gone. Only the bloodstain on my clothes remained.
Karem stood frozen, his face pale. "That's impossible," he breathed. "I saw it. He stabbed you through. You should be dead."
I got to my feet, though my legs were still unsteady. "I'm not like the others," I said quietly.
"What does that mean?" he snapped. "Are you a god?"
"No. I'm not a god," I answered. "I am a man, but the gods took the life I could have had and gave me another. I cannot die."
Karem took a step back. His eyes showed fear, but also anger. "And what did it cost you?"
I was silent for a moment before I said, "Everything."
For a while there was nothing but the sound of the river. Two men lay dead on the deck, one was tangled in rope, and the last floated in the water where Karem had struck him down. The boat rocked slowly in the night.
Karem sank onto a wooden bench and held his head. "That's why you're always so careful. That's why you never speak of yourself. That's why you're different."
"Yes," I said simply. "That's the reason."
He looked up at me. The fear in his eyes was fading, replaced with resolve. "So what now?"
I lifted one of the bloodstained scrolls and handed it to him. "Now we take these names to the Pharaoh. She must know who stands against her."
Karem nodded. "And we won't tell anyone what I saw tonight."
I looked at him, surprised. "Why?"
"Because they would stop trusting you," he replied without hesitation. "But I know you're still a man. And you are my friend."
I didn't answer. I only sat beside him. In the darkness, we listened to the splash of the water against the hull and waited for the horizon to turn gray with dawn.
We sat by the fire, far from the city. Karem's arm was wrapped in a bandage I had just tied tightly. He was exhausted after the fight, but alive.
"You're insane," he growled, though relief flickered in his eyes. "I could've died because of you. And you… you just stood there like you were made of stone. Then you got back up, even after they stabbed you. A normal man wouldn't have risen again."
I drew a breath. This secret could no longer stay mine alone. "I'm not ordinary," I said. "Not completely."
Karem looked at me, expecting a joke. When none came, he fell silent.
"Tell me," he pressed.
And so I told him. Not every last detail, but enough for him to understand. That I wasn't born in this time. That the gods had sent me back to protect Egypt. That I had once been a slave, a eunuch, a man with no future. And that they gave me immortality — both gift and curse.
Karem listened without interrupting. He only nodded now and then, as if it all made sense to him.
"That's why you're different," he finally said. "That's why you know more than the rest. Why you can heal and build. But…" he leaned closer, "that's also why you talk about love like someone tore it straight out of you."
I stared into the fire. "The gods took it from me. They said it was the only way I could carry my burden. I still have the memories, but the feelings are gone."
For a while, silence hung between us. Then Karem said, "Maybe you don't believe it, but when you speak… there's still something there. Maybe you think you feel nothing. But your voice betrays you. Somewhere inside, it's still alive."
I didn't know what to say. I just gave a short, bitter laugh. "Maybe. But whether it ever wakes again — that's no longer up to me."
Karem smiled and clapped my shoulder. "Either way, now I know I won't leave your side. If the gods sent you, they don't mean for you to walk alone. And I won't let you."
I looked at him. In his eyes, there was no pity, no fear. Only honesty. And for the first time in a long while, I felt that the burden I carried was no longer mine alone.
"So that's why…" he finally said. He turned to me, his face showing understanding. "That's why you turned Neseret away. I thought you were mad. That something was wrong with you. But now I understand."
I drew a deep breath and nodded. "It's not because she isn't beautiful, or because I don't want her. It's because I no longer know what love is. The gods took it from me. I remember what it was to love… I remember how it felt, but I can't feel it anymore. Not now."
Karem ran a hand through his hair and gave a laugh, but there was no joy in it. "You know, if anyone else had told me this, I'd laugh in their face. But from you… after what I've seen… I believe it."
We sat in silence for a while, only the crackling of the fire and the distant sound of night insects between us. Then he leaned closer to me. "Still, I'll tell you this, friend. Maybe you can't feel what you once did, but that doesn't mean you'll never feel again. Just because they took it, doesn't mean you can't find it anew. You're a man, not just their tool."
I shook my head. "Maybe. But Neseret deserves more than an empty man. I can help her, I can protect her. But I can't give her what she's looking for."
Karem sighed, leaned back, and looked up at the stars. "At least now I understand. And I promise you, I won't tell a soul. It's your secret. Your burden."
"Thank you," I said quietly.
Karem smiled and slapped me on the shoulder. "Still, you're a fool. You have a woman before you who would give her life for you, and you tell her no."
I smiled too, but without joy. "Better one 'no' now than a lifetime of pain for her."
Karem only nodded. He didn't push anymore. He understood.
Karem looked into the fire again and stayed silent for a long time. Then he sighed and nodded, as if deciding he had to say one more thing.
"But you know what the biggest irony of all this is?" he turned to me. "You think that by refusing her, you're protecting her. That this way, everything ends. But you're wrong, my friend."
I frowned. "What do you mean?"
Karem smirked, but it wasn't mocking. More sorrowful. "I've watched her. I see how she looks at you, even when you think you've turned away. I see how she finds excuses to be near you. Neseret has already decided. And a woman like that… she won't give up. You can tell her 'no' a thousand times, but she'll still never stop trying."
His words hung between us, heavy and true.
I didn't answer. Because deep down, I knew he was right.