---
"I am glad you are alright," she said. "Earlier I ordered you to bathe. If you were offended, then I am sorry. I know you are not a child anymore."
Sekhmet's throat tightened slightly at the sincerity. In Null, apologies were not common. Power made people lazy, and pride made them cruel. Elena was neither lazy nor cruel.
Sekhmet stood and bowed his head slightly, not as a noble to a servant, but as a person to family.
"Do not say that, Auntie Elena," he said. "You raised me. Father always said to treat you as family. You have been with him since he was young. You raised me from a baby. You are like a mother to me. You are the headmaid of the house. I respect you."
Elena's eyes glistened for a fraction, but she blinked it away with practiced control, like a soldier swallowing emotion.
