Excerpt of Magic of the Nile by Veronica Scott

“I’ve never ridden in a chariot,” she confided as he handed her up into the vehicle. She clutched the side as he stepped into the driver’s position and the chariot rocked a bit on the axle.

“A war chariot is hardly the normal mode of transport for a lady,” he agreed. Raising the reins, he set the horses into motion. Wheels rumbling, the chariot rolled faster and faster down the broad dirt road. The horses tossed their heads, making the feathers on their harness dance. At first the team trotted but as they reached the main road to the village, Sahure glanced at her for permission. Seeing her nod, he set the team into a gallop and the chariot shot forward as the powerful animals responded to his command.

Hair flying, Tyema laughed in sheer pleasure. “This is wonderful! Oh to be able to move so fast through the world!” She reveled in the ride, knowing all too soon they’d be at their destination. Deciding this was a night for daring, working up her courage, she said, “May I drive?”

“In the twilight, on an unknown road? Hardly the place for me to teach you to handle a high spirited team,” he demurred.

“When will I ever have such a chance again? You must be one of Pharaoh’s best charioteers, surely? Who better to learn from?”

Glancing at her face, which must have shown her disappointment despite her wheedling tone, he laughed, drawing the horses to a halt in a cloud of dust. “I can’t resist such a charmingly worded request. All right, as a compromise, you can hold the reins with me, if you’d like.”

He stood back as she sidled to a position in front of him and he folded the leather reins into her hands, never actually releasing them himself. “You wanted to drive, lift the reins and click your tongue so they know to run.”

Tyema was exhilarated as they flew along the road in the moonlight. Fear was the farthest emotion from her heart right now, which was a blessed relief. Keeping her balance with difficulty, she yelled, “We’re moving so fast, like gods!” Only the sense of invulnerability that swept over her at the height of conducting a major ceremony for Sobek rivaled this feeling of rushing through the world like a goddess. So much sheer power harnessed to do her bidding! If I had a chariot and a team, I could experience this joy, this freedom from daily fear and boredom whenever I wished. And I don’t need anyone else to participate, only the horses. Although Sahure standing so warm and close behind her was also a pleasant sensation, her body tingling where they touched as he supervised her driving. She wished the trip could last forever but moments later the captain was extricating the reins from her grasp, pulling the team into a slower gait as they approached the town gates.

Trying to smooth her hair into some semblance of order as the chariot rolled past the guards, Tyema laughed from sheer pleasure. “Thank you, handling the reins was wonderful! I might have to get one of these myself.”

He looked at her askance. “A chariot? For a temple?”

“Why not?” She’d tasted the glory of traveling with the speed of the wind and she craved more, enthralled by the idea of escaping the confines of her normal life any time she pleased, going so fast no one in the nome could ever catch her.

“Keep in mind you’ll need a groom, a proper stable—horses are expensive to feed.” Sahure waved his hand at Nahkti and Senbi, now walking docilely down the crowded road. “They’re beautiful but they eat their heads off. Your head priestess might not like the idea much.”

Tyema laughed. “Oh there’s no problem there, I assure you.”