The Most Beautiful Woman in All of Egypt - Chapter #6 - Free To Read

The journey should have been terrifying.

But Laila was not a frightened girl in the dark.

She traveled like a queen, seated in a carriage draped in white linen, its gold-painted frame gleaming under the relentless sun. The air smelled of jasmine and myrrh, her perfume carried on the warm desert breeze.

The best of the Pharaoh’s warriors rode beside her, men who had fought and bled in his name. Their swords gleamed, their horses moved like shadows against the dunes. They were meant to protect her.

She did not believe they would.

The people lined the streets as she left Memphis, their voices rising in chants, their hands reaching out, throwing lotus blossoms at her feet. Some cried. Others whispered blessings.

They worshipped her.

She let them.

Hagar sat with her legs folded beneath her, smoothing out the creases in her linen shawl as she regarded Laila with the patience of someone waiting for a storm to break.

Hagar was always waiting.

“Your beauty will not be enough,” she said at last, her voice low, careful.

Laila turned her gaze toward the dunes, the endless stretch of desert swallowing the horizon. “Is that what you think I am? Just beauty?”

“You know better.” Hagar sighed, tilting her head. “But men are fools. And fools want to believe they are the ones in control.”

Laila smirked. “Then I will let them believe it.”

Hagar studied her for a long moment before nodding. “A girl untouched is powerful. But a woman who understands desire? She is unstoppable.”

The rhythmic sway of the carriage rocked them gently as the desert stretched endlessly ahead. The scent of sand and spice clung to the air, but inside the cool shade of the canopy, it was only the two of them.

“Do you know what men want?” Hagar asked suddenly.

Laila arched an eyebrow. “Power. Obedience. A woman who will kneel at their feet.”

Hagar scoffed. “That is what they think they want.” She shifted closer, lowering her voice. “But a man will never crave what he already owns. If you are too easy to grasp, he will lose interest. If you are too distant, he will seek warmth elsewhere.”

Laila leaned back against the silk cushions, watching Hagar carefully. “So what do you suggest?”

Hagar smiled, slow and knowing. “You must keep him hungry.”

Laila exhaled sharply through her nose. “I doubt a warlord who burns cities will have the patience to be teased like some love-struck noble boy.”

“Men are all the same where it matters.” Hagar plucked a fig from a golden dish, rolling it between her fingers. “Make him want you, but never let him be certain that he has you.”

She pressed her nails into the soft fruit, splitting it open, the flesh glistening with sweet juice.

Laila watched as she licked a drop from her thumb.

“You control the space between desire and satisfaction,” Hagar continued. “The space where men are weak.”

Laila’s lips curled slightly. “And how does one keep a man there?”

Hagar placed the fruit aside and met her gaze. “You touch him without touching him. You let your fingers brush his wrist when you pass him. Let your breath linger at his ear when you whisper. Let him think of your skin against his before he has even earned the right.”

Laila tilted her head. “And if he tries to take what he has not earned?”

Hagar laughed softly. “Then you remind him that even kings kneel before goddesses.”

Laila smiled, gaze flickering to the golden horizon. “It seems I have much to learn.”

Hagar smirked. “No, princess. You already know. You only need to decide how you wish to wield it.”

She was not going to die in this war. She was going to win it.

The sun dipped lower, casting long shadows across the sand. The caravan moved in silence, save for the occasional murmur of the guards.

Then, a shout.

A scout rushed ahead, breathless, eyes wide with fear.

“Princess! We are being watched.”

The warriors immediately reached for their swords.

Laila sat still, pulse steady, hands resting lightly in her lap.

From the dunes, a shadow emerged.

A warrior.

And he was waiting for her.