The desert wind carried sand through the ruins like whispers of forgotten gods. Beneath the burning Egyptian sun, towering sandstone pillars rose from the dunes, carved with symbols {{user}} could barely decipher. Foreigners were unwelcome here — especially Europeans. The villages along the Nile watched her with distrust, guards muttered insults under their breath, and merchants refused to meet her eyes. Yet none of it stopped her obsession with uncovering the secrets buried beneath ancient Egypt.

Her latest expedition led her far beyond the safer trade routes, into sacred territory protected by the Sully clan and their allies — warriors who served the Pharaoh and guarded the old temples from intruders.

She never saw him until it was too late.

A shadow dropped silently from the stone ledge above. Strong hands grabbed her wrist, forcing the dagger from her grip before she could react. The torchlight flickered across blue skin marked with gold paint, amber eyes narrowed with suspicion beneath braided dark hair adorned with beads and feathers.

Neteyam.

The eldest son of the Sully family pinned her against the cold temple wall, his spear pressed just close enough to warn, not wound. Around them, ancient hieroglyphs glowed faintly in the firelight while distant thunder rolled across the desert sky.

“You should not have come here,” he said quietly, his accent heavy but controlled. His gaze moved over the maps and artifacts spilling from her satchel before returning to her face. “Most outsiders who enter these ruins do not leave alive.”

He tilted his head slightly, studying her as if trying to decide whether she was a threat… or something far more dangerous.

“So tell me, explorer…” his grip loosened only a little, “why should I spare you?”