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Kheru slept little the night he arrived at his father's palace. The corridors in which he had so often played tag or hunting or war with his brothers now seemed silent and empty to him. For hours he stared at the ceiling, tracing each crevice with his eyes until the images of the hawks and the heroic legends depicted in hieroglyphs lost all meaning. Every thought circled around Bakari and his family, like vultures around a dead animal in the desert. His heart sank at this comparison. He rolled over on his side. A lump formed in his throat, and he felt his lower lip tremble. The starry sky, its soft light falling through the open window, blurred before him. Three moons had waxed and waned since he had last seen Bakari. Three moons, and all he could do was pray to the gods that he was still alive.

Nubia screamed. At least she thought she did. Her throat burned like fire, and tears took away her vision, but all she heard was a painful high-pitched whistling and the roar of her own pulse in her skull. She pressed her paw harder on the wound gaping in her father's chest. His eyes were glazed over, and she had to use all her strength to hold his convulsing body. He was still alive, for she could feel the irregular heartbeat, but there was nothing more she could do. A stone's throw away from them, Ruhak stood frozen, his eyes wide as he stared at the scene before them. Amris was there in the midst of the sandstorm that had swept over every inch of the palace. The wind tugged at his fur. It seemed as if at any moment it might lift him off his feet and carry him away. But he remained standing, his bony hand raised to the sky. His face was sunken, the eyeless sockets staring madly into the darkness. Like a child seeing the Nile flood for the first time, he gazed upwards. Above him, just beyond the black clouds, emerged the outline of an enormous serpent.

Ruhak found his way back from the shock just in time. He ducked to the side, and seconds later the ground he had been standing on was gone. Set's power pulsed through his veins. Like fire, it ran through his body, and for a moment the storm between the two foxes died down. Without hesitation, he threw himself forward. The head of the spear slid through Amris without resistance. There was a sound as if paper had been cut. The former advisor's sunken face grinned sardonically. "I should have known," the prince growled. "That night you went out into the desert. I should have known." With surprising strength, the gray hand closed around the spear. The creature that had once been a fox drew itself forward over the blade. "You should have, servant of Set. But hatred took your sight." A searing pain shot across Ruhak's face. He let go of the spear and stumbled backward. With his backhand he wiped away the blood and tried to open his eyes. But the darkness did not recede. The wind came back, carrying Amris's laughter to him. "Two brothers, separated by their views. One full of hate, the other an advocate for love. And both so busy that they did not see what was happening before their eyes." He heard the spear fall to the ground. Without hesitation, he dropped to all fours and began to feel for it.

A dull blow to the head threw him to the side. Bright red spots danced in the darkness. He lost his bearings, the world felt like it was upside down. From somewhere he heard an angry yell and once more the sound of tearing paper. Someone pulled him to his feet, and the next thing he remembered was the pain shooting through his back as he was pushed violently against a wall. "I hope you're proud of yourself, brother," Nubia yelled at him. He searched for her arms. Wetness dripped from his face. He didn't know if it was tears or drops of blood. Slowly, she let him sit down. "I trusted Amris. I thought it was the right thing to do." His claws dug into the palms of his hands. "Why would he bring this over us." Deep inside his head, Set writhed with pain and rage, blazing with anger at the betrayal." "Us?" Barked Nubia. "US? It was you, after all, who started all this. Your senseless hatred of the dragons led us to this point. Father died because of your ignorance!" A second voice sounded from the darkness. Only now did Ruhak realize that it had quieted down around them. Had they made it to safety? "Your words may be true sister, but Amris has taken advantage of this hatred. For now, our common enemy is Apophis." Bakari sounded calm, almost controlled.

Nubia lowered her fist. "I know." A quick glance outside was enough to see what she needed to see. The three siblings had taken refuge in the secret tunnel in the wall just in time. Around Amris, the ground glowed golden. Sparks flew through the air where the snake's body struck against the spell. She breathed a sigh of relief. The other daughters of Bastet had made it in time. From the small group now standing in a semicircle around the one who had once been Amris, a vixen broke away and ran toward them. She peered through a hole in the wall into the passage. When she spotted Nubia she called out, "Tamun and your youngest brother are safe. We will hold off the beast for a few minutes. You take the injured to our temple and we will meet you there." "Have thanks Eshe. Bast net neryah." Her comrade-in-arms returned the greeting, turned on the spot, and ran back into the circle, keeping the spell going as long as she could.

The city was In pure chaos. Along the streets down to the harbor people crowded so closely together that there was barely room to breathe. No one paid any attention to the three foxes running through the crowd to an inconspicuous house on the steps up to the palace. It was quite damaged, the tiles were on the ground and the door was torn off its hinges. Without hesitation, Nubia climbed over it, kicked the carpet aside, and revealed a hole just wide enough for a single fox with a simple ladder leading down into it. At the bottom, a large room welcomed them, with tunnels going in all directions. She grabbed Ruhak by the paw and led him deeper into the Temple of Bast, their network of passages and rooms through which they could move freely through in the city.

It took them until the new moon to pull themselves together. None of the Daughters of Bastet had been seriously injured, and Phior and Tamun were hidden far from the city on a farm from which they regularly wrote letters. The palace had fallen, and sunlight had become a rare sight. Day by day, more of the city disappeared. Where Apophis' body touched the earth, nothing was spared. Stone crumbled, wood rotted, bodies turned to dust. The paths and stairs broke apart, and those who walked along the streets were always on the lookout for the serpent's shadow. Ruhak's eyes were healing. Even if he would never see again, it was a miracle that he had survived the fever and the slow recovery. He spoke little these days, and it was fine with Nubia. If she had had to talk to him, her heart would not have known how to handle it. She was angry, of course she was incredibly angry at her stupid brother, but at the same time she felt pity for him. Like all of them, he was a victim of Amris' plan.

But with each passing day, the inescapable truth drew closer. The royal city had fallen, and the few who still lived here spent most of their time underground in the narrow tunnels or hidden rooms. The rest had either been devoured or had fled. They realized that if they stayed any longer, they would face the same fate. It was Nubia who voiced it first. "We have to get away from here," she said, "anywhere, just away." Eventually, they decided to flee to the kingdom of dragons, and to everyone's surprise, it was Ruhak who suggested it. "Even if they stand against Apophis, they are the only life he has ever created. He will destroy them last," he speculated. Their ship sailed that same night.

When the sun finally rose, Kheru asked his father for an audience. He told him everything that had happened. Bakari, the Eye of Osiris, Ruhak's betrayal and his return. The pharaoh listened patiently and waited until his son had finished speaking. "Our army is still prepared for battle. Once again we will send them to the land of the foxes. Who would have thought this would happen to help them." "I will join them." Determination burned in Kheru's eyes. But only seconds later, that fire went out. His father shook his head. "If it really is Apophis, I will not send my son to his death." "My life is worth no more than that of a soldier," Kheru objected. "Yes it is!" The Pharaoh rose from the throne "To me it is. More than that, when the serpent has risen again, no living creature, neither dragon nor fox nor anyone else will be able to oppose it. Only the gods are able to do so. A part of the Eye of Osiris is in your possession, is it not? Then it is your task to complete it." Kheru lowered his gaze, for as much as he disliked it, he knew his father was right.

In the coming nights, the Prince of Dragons often looked up at the moon. Every evening he closed his eyes and tried to imagine Bakari by his side. Sometimes it was as if he felt his fur, or the touch of his paw against his cheek. Each time he prayed that one day he would feel the real touch again.

The days after his return blurred into one another. He slept a lot, hardly ate, and kept away from his duties as a member of Pharaoh's family. Some nights he found himself in the corridors of his childhood, searching for something he didn't even know where to look for. As exhausted as his body was, as restless was his mind.

On that day, however, it was different. He had slept well for the first time in a long while, even though he woke up in the late afternoon. He almost wondered a little about it, but he didn't have much time to dwell on the thought. A messenger rushed into his room, and his message was like ambrosia in his veins: Refugees from the Kingdom of Sand had arrived at the port. Never before had he run so fast, out of the palace, through the city, through the gates, out into the fields, down to the Nile. His eyes checked every ship, every barge that had just docked or was coming in. A little further down the pier he spotted them.

Without much words of greeting Bakari fell around his neck. He pressed the fox against him, tight enough to never have to let him go again. His fur was shaggy and he could feel the bones under his skin. By the gods, he looked as bad as Kheru had felt. Bakari closed his eyes. Resting his head against his scaled chest, he listened to the dull beat of the dragon's heart. For the first time in an eternity, he felt his body relax. His shoulders slumped, his teeth stopped clenching, and heaviness shot through his limbs. He could have stood like that forever, his head against the cool skin, broad arms enclosing him entirely. But his legs gave way. He felt the dragon kneel beside him. One hand went to his shoulder, the other under his knees, and the ground slowly tilted away. Before he knew it, he was in his arms.

Nubia also got out of the boat. She was supporting, he could hardly believe it, Ruhak, whose eyes were covered by bandages. "Did you capture him?" Bakari's sister shook her head. "After Amris achieved his goal, he threw him away. He no longer poses a threat." Truly, the once-proud prince looked even worse than his siblings. All of their fur was shaggy and dirty, but his body was covered in bald patches, and although Nubia and Bakari had obviously suffered from hunger, he was downright emaciated in comparison. Kheru almost felt sorry for him.

The former prince swayed his head around searchingly. "Prince Kheru, is that you?" His voice sounded raspy and coarse. "By the gods, I was wrong. Forgive my stupidity, I beg of you." He winced as Kheru spoke. "We shall speak of all this later, Ruhak. For now, we will take you to the palace, where you can rest and regain your strength."

Although she had to be just as exhausted as her brothers, Nubia summed up everything that had happened for him. He, in turn, informed her that soldiers were already on their way to rescue any survivors and oppose Amris. She did not answer, but he could see from her face that soldiers would not be enough. She informed him that another ship of refugees would arrive tonight, survivors and members of the Daughter of Bastet. He assured her that they would be taken care of, and finally she seemed to allow exhaustion to set in.

When they arrived at the palace, she and Ruhak were immediately given rooms. Kheru took care of Bakari himself. The fox prince stood unsteadily, but his legs did not give in. Kheru accompanied him to the bath, helped him out of his clothes and got into the warm water with him. The fox leaned his back against the dragon prince's chest with a sigh. "This reminds me of our beginning," he murmured with a smile. Kheru brushed his hair out of his face and kissed his forehead. He helped him untangle the knots from his fur and washed dust and dirt from his back. They sat together until the water got cold.

He was able to convince Bakari to eat a bite before he finally dropped onto the bed and fell asleep almost Instantly. For a while, Kheru just stood there, watching his chest slowly rise and fall, his eyes moving in dream, his tail gently swaying up and down. As so often lately, the night blurred before his eyes, but this time it was not worry, nor was it sadness that laid the moonlight in streaks.

Carefully, he settled down beside Bakari. He stroked his cheek, and with a contented sound the fox snuggled up to him. Kheru put his arm around his body, and for the first time in a long while, he felt as if everything was going to be all right.