Louhan walked through the gardens feeling much more at home. The lands around the palace where he lived were lush and green nearly all year round. The palace itself had several gardens where the Prince spent much of his free time. They were his personal retreats when he felt overwhelmed or lonely. Being in this beautifully familiar garden caused him; for a moment, forgot where he was in this place and even allowed himself to smile fully; much to Amun-Khet’s delight. 

   The Jackal Prince was walking on the opposite side of the walkway that snaked through the garden, but he kept perfectly in stride with the smiling Prince, soaking in the sight of such a rare and beautiful smile. Louhan turned to face one particular flower that was nearly the size of his face, sprinkled with gold and orange flecks on its large petals. As he bent down to smell it, his eyes looked up and noticed Amun-Khet leaning against the crystal pyramid structure. He was smiling in a way that said many things and yet hid much of his true intentions. Prince Louhan stood up slowly and turned his blushing face away.

   “Do you like it?” Amun-Khet asked, signaling to the garden.

   “It’s very beautiful” Louhan responded softly.

   “I have always preferred living things to stone and gold” Amun-Khet said. “This is my favorite place in the entire palace. There is an even larger garden at Abu Simbel. Maybe I could take you while you are here? It has a handmade river running through it. You can sit on a small boat all day, floating under the reeds and hanging vines and forget anything you want to forget.”

   “I wonder what things you have forgotten there?” Louhan said as he touched a pure white bloom.

   “I don’t remember” Amun-Khet teased, “I’ve forgotten them.”

   Louhan turned his vision in an exhausted manner and artfully hid the small smile that threatened to touch his face. He would never admit it but Amun-Khet’s charm was the kind that seeped through the cracks of his perfectly crafted facade of control. It aggravated and intrigued him.

   “Come with me” Amun-Khet said, “I want to show you the best part of the garden.”

   Louhan turned as Amun-Khet flicked his head, calling him to follow. Louhan followed the Jackal Prince as he strode around the large crystal structure until they arrived at a curtained narrow door leading inside. Amun-Khet pulled the heavy double curtains back and turned to Louhan. He silently signaled Louhan to step inside, with that same mischievous smile on his face. Louhan stood up tall and moved to the door. As he passed the Jackal Prince, he became intoxicated by the Prince’s smell. The sweetness of honey and vanilla brushed against his senses first, followed by the warm caress of Frankincense and Cedar. His pulse quickened as he moved in close to the taller man. Amun-Khet leaned in to Louhan as he passed and whispered closely to his ear:

   “Prepare yourself” he said in a low near growl.

   Louhan stepped to the side slightly and tried to keep himself from making a sound of shock.

   “You’re about to step into a completely different world” Amun-Khet continued. “Are you ready?”

   “It’s a building Prince Amun-Khet” Louhan said, trying to sound calm and unmoved. “Save your musings.” 

   He stepped through the curtains and entered the crystal structure. As soon as he passed completely inside, his breath left him. The building was truly pure crystal with no sign of where the four walls ended and moved into each other. The moonlight was creating the most spectacular display of light and ever moving patterns through the very air. Amun-Khet slid past Louhan and stood further into the room. He lifted his arms out to the side and allowed the patterns to dance across his dark skin. Louhan found himself watching the patterns as they danced like stars across the galaxy of Amun-Khet’s form. Before he knew fully what he was doing, he was looking at every inch of the Prince’s body. He flushed and turned his vision to the ground when his eyes passed over the man’s stomach and groin. Amun-Khet was quite pleased with himself.

   “Why…” Louhan said feeling quite uncomfortable, “Why is the floor a…”

   “A Bed?” Amun-Khet said finishing the question. “This was built as a place where the royal family members could come and recline at night. It’s just an innocent space used to dream under the stars. Here” he said offering his hand, “Come further in.”

   Louhan glanced at Amun-Khet’s hand and stepped further into the space without taking it. Amun-Khet lowered his hand as Louhan stepped closer and lifted his arm, watching the light paint his pure white robe. He was having to try very hard not to follow the lights as they moved from him onto Amun-Khet’s exposed skin. 

   “You can look” Amun-Khet said, raising his arm up to Louhan’s line of sight. “I don’t mind.”

   “It is disrespectful” Louhan said, turning to another direction.

   “What is? To look at someone else?”

   “To look on someone else’s…body is…”

   “I don’t know if you’ve noticed Prince Louhan” Amun-Khet said, stepping in front of the Prince again, raising his arms out, “But we are much more comfortable with our flesh here. The heat doesn’t help, hence our choice of fashion. Speaking of, aren’t you burning up in all those layers? I know a little bit about Chinese fashion and I believe you are wearing a simple tunic under that heavy robe. Why don’t you remove it and get more comfortable? I could help you” he said, stepping closer.

   Louhan stepped back nervously but his foot caught in the heavy fabric they were standing on. He began to lose balance so Amun-Khet reached out and wrapped an arm around the Prince’ lower back, steadying him. He pulled the Prince back up straight, carrying him much closer to himself than he actually needed to. Louhan instinctively threw a hand forward halting the other man by his chest. They froze there for a second, neither knowing how to break away. Truth be told a deep part of them didn’t want to. It was like finally touching a star that you have dreamed of reaching your entire life. Amun-Khet traced the fabric of Louhan’s robe with his fingers that held his back and Louhan very slowly spread his fingers across Amun-Khet’s chest. His skin was hot and smooth as silk. He could feel the slightly raised skin where he was tattooed. Their eyes unblinking, unmoving from the others. Louhan suddenly became aware that his hips were pressed into the larger mans hips and his…he came back to his senses at once trying to pull away but Amun-Khet strengthened his hold around the smaller man’s lower back. Louhan gasped slightly and looked up at Amun-Khet with frustration in his eyes.

   “Why do I want to touch you?” Amun-Khet said lowly. “I have never met you before today. So why does touching you feel like home?”

   Louhan once again tried to pull away but this time Amun-Khet pulled him back in with his second hand so there was no way to escape. Louhan’s mind panicked but his heart screamed at him to stay. His joints tried to melt although his muscled all tensed. He grabbed Amun-Khet’s arms to hold him in place and keep him from pulling him any closer. It was the only defense he could muster. Amun-Khet’s smell was all consuming at this distance. 

   “Amun-Khet” he finally uttered weakly. “Release me.”

   “I will” Amun-Khet said teasingly. “But you have to tell me what you felt when you first looked in my eyes in the throne room.” Louhan averted his eyes even further from Amun-Khet’s face. “Even now you try not to look into my eyes. You have tried all night. What are you afraid of?”

   “Nothing. You just make me uncomfortable.”

   “Liar.”

   “How dare you” Louhan said looking directly into Amun-Khet’s eyes, with fire in his own. “How dare you call me a liar. I am the son of the Emperor.”

   “And I am the son of the Pharaoh” Amun-Khet said with a raised eyebrow. 

   “Release me this instant” Louhan protested.

   “Answer my question. You felt what I felt didn’t you?”

   “I don’t know what you are speaking of. I felt nothing. I feel nothing now.”

   “Is that so?” Amun-Khet said with a smile, flicking his eyes down to both of their tightly pressed groins. “Very well then.”

   Amun-Khet slowly released his grip on Louhan and lowered his hands. Louhan removed his hands from Amun-Khet’s arms and stepped away. His mind told him to leave that place and run back to his room and hide…so why wasn’t he?

   “Desire is not an evil thing” Amun-Khet said. “You can act like you didn’t feel it then and that you don’t feel it now”-Amun-Khet turned to Louhan and tilted his head-“But I felt your body pressed against mine just now. Your desire is as clear to me as mine is to you now. Fabric can only hide so much” he said with a curled smile.

   “How dare you speak so deviantly!” Louhan protested.

   “It’s your body dear Prince” Amun-Khet said. “I’m just stating what I felt. Why be ashamed of it? I have no issue saying that my body has made its intentions clear.”

   “How can you speak so freely? Do you have no honor or self respect?”

   “Is it dishonorable to have physical desire’s? I can’t imagine your father the Emperor hasn’t had them. If not, you would not be alive, correct?”

   “That is not…”

   “Not what?” Amun-Khet interrupted. “Stop acting high and mighty Prince Louhan. Something happened when the two of us locked eyes. I can’t stop thinking about you and I know you feel the same. That’s why you try not to look at me. That’s why you looked down in shame when you realized you were looking at my body when the lights hit me. I can’t understand it but something seems to be pulling us together. Be it fate or the gods or some spirits cruel intervention. Are we not but mortals? Who are we to fight the whims of fate?”

   “I do not know you” Louhan protested.

   “Nor I you. It is the perfect affair is it not? Two souls brought together for a short time, likely to never see each other again once your task here is done. Why not give in? You seem like the kind of person who never gives in to selfish desires. This could be good for you.”

   “You would lay with a man?” 

   “I would lay with you” Amun-Khet said quickly. Louhan was shocked at such a confident and to the point response. “I live by passion Prince Louhan” he said moving closer to the jade eyed man, “You should try it.”

   “Do not come any closer to me” Louhan said, throwing a hand forward in warning.

   “Or what? If you want to stop me, then stop me. I will not stop of my own choosing. I cannot. Not while my heart desires you as it does. I am lost now to this feeling. I will not give up until I have you so you might as well run me through with your sword.”

   With lightning speed, Louhan unsheathed the blade hanging from his hip and held the tip mere centimeter’s from Amun-Khet’s chest. In a flash, both men were tossed into a vision of the dreams that had been plaguing both of them for the past three months. Amun-Khet stood facing a flaming bird poised to attack with it’s long thin beak. Its jade eyes flashed in the billowing flames all around them. In Louhan’s vision, he was standing facing a tall Jackal which stood with its teeth bared, growling lowly. The beasts amber eyes reflected the flames around them making its eyes look like pools of golden magma swirling and tossing.

   Unlike the dreams of before, this time neither Prince was filled with fear of the creature before them. Now they were filled with a sense of knowing. They knew the creatures and knew them well. The threat of danger and the unknown was now mixed with desire and passion. They wanted to dive deeply into the unknown that danced within the eyes of the firebird and jackal. 

   Amun-Khet threw himself forward, reaching deep into the flaming body of the creature before him. His hands found Louhan through the vision. One hand wrapped the Prince’s waist and the other scooped round his neck and pulled him forward. Their lips crashed together in a violent kiss. Louhan was ripped from his vision as the jackal swallowed him whole and he was back within the crystal pyramid cradled in the arms of the Jackal Prince, trapped by his lips. His whole body was tense as he realized what was happening. Amun-Khet pulled him by the waist until their hips pressed tightly together. Louhan went limp in Amun-Khet’s strong embrace and his lips parted absentmindedly. Amun-Khet took his chance and pressed deeper into the kiss, cradling Louhan’s soft upper lip between his own. Louhan let loose a high whimper and grasped Amun-Khet’s arm as his other hand gripped for his face with unsure movements. Eventually their lips parted for a breath and Louhan lowered his chin in retreat.

   “I ca…we can’t…” he said in breathless protest.

   “Yes we can. You can. Please don’t ask me to stop” Amun-Khet said as he began kissing Louhan’s jaw and down to his neck. More sounds of pleasure escaped Louhan’s lungs as his vision blurred in dizzied pleasure. 

   “I don’t understand”

   “I do” Amun-Khet said kissing Louhan’s chin. He rested his lips there for a moment, then he tilted Louhan’s head so their eyes were perfectly even. “I have desired you since my very first breath of life. Now I finally have a face and name to put to the desire.”

   Louhan’s eyes softened and began to tear as the Jackal Prince’s words struck a deep resounding chord within him. Amun-Khet’s eyes then went wild and his mouth twisted into a truly wicked grin.

   “This is your last chance to tell me no” he said with a growl. “I will not stop after this moment. Your body and soul will be mine.”

   “We can be seen here” Louhan said, grasping for some kind of protest. His eyes darting around the room of clear crystal.

   “Actually this pyramid is built so that you cannot see within it. The servants and guards know that when those curtains are drawn, to not come within. It is only you and I. Last chance little prince. Give in to me, or tell me no.”

   Louhan looked deep into Amun-Khet’s eyes and held his breath. The Jackal Prince moved his head from side to side in slow sensual sweeps, like a wild animal waiting to attack its prey. I have lost my mind, Louhan thought to himself. What would his father say right now? What would be said of him if this were ever discovered? Did he truly care what his father thought? His father hadn’t given much thought thus far in his sons life. Still, he was a Prince and had standards and rules to follow. Say no, he told himself. Say no. Say no.

   “Please…” he uttered.