The next two weeks were chaos; in addition to the paper Vanessa needed to finish, there were endless interviews and questions about the tomb of Amanirenas that Vanessa was obligated to deal with for the sake of the future of the dig.

Public interest fueled this kind of thing far better than academic value ever could. Not that there wasn’t plenty of the latter as well, considering the size of the tomb, the magnitude of the discovery, and the implications for the ancient world it created. She was mobbed by historians as much as she was by journalists, all wanting the firsthand account. It was exhausting, especially when all she wanted to do was work.

She’d taken to hiding in the university library, where campus security kept the journalists at bay and, if she hid far enough back in the stacks, she could avoid most of the undergraduates as well. Vanessa stumbled back to her hidden table one afternoon, more exhausted than she’d felt climbing out of that tomb, and slumped into her chair. The sun streamed through a high window in dusty bars, illuminating the warm-colored hardback covers of the old reference texts that filled the oak shelves around her.

Vanessa, long red hair a frizzy mess, dark circles under her eyes, breathed in the scent of old paper and ink. It was soothing to her, and she needed any calming influence she could get.

“You look like you’ve been in the trenches, girl.”

She looked up as Abraham limped out from between the shelves. He’d taken to using a cane since their time in the tomb, still recovering from his injuries. The look rather suited him. He leaned on its pewter, falcon-shaped head as he smiled at her in amusement.

“I have been,” she said, rubbing at her eyes. “I just turned in my thesis. At the very last minute, of course. Honestly, it’s a miracle I didn’t have to ask for an extension with all the interviews and board meetings getting in the way.”

“The board is still hounding you to turn the dig over to them, I take it?” Abraham asked with a chuckle, easing himself down into a comfortable chair.

“Of course,” she said, rolling her eyes. “I’m too inexperienced, too emotionally involved, too ‘delicate.’ Take your pick. And it has absolutely nothing to do with them wanting all the valuable artifacts and prestige for themselves, of course.”

“So, you’re sticking with your decision to donate it to the museum of Ksatta-Galan?” Abraham asked, settling back into the chair with a groan.

“The tomb is on their land,” Vanessa pointed out. “It’s only right they should keep it. Not to mention, keeping the artifacts near the dig site itself will be better for research. I don’t want all the evidence of Amanirenas scattered across the world out of context from where it came from. That’s how the kind of misinterpretation Peterson specializes in happens.”

“Have you seen the latest on him?” Abraham asked.

She shook her head. “I’ve been too busy.”

“He’s come out of his catatonic state,” Abraham reported. “But his father’s lawyers are still saying he’s unfit to stand trial. They’re going to make sure to drag this out for years, but I doubt he’ll manage to avoid jail time even still.”

“Even if he doesn’t, nobody is ever going to take his work seriously again,” Vanessa said. “Really, that’s all I could ask for.”

“I’m fairly certain you could ask for a lot more than that,” Abraham said with a chuckle. He nodded to the bag she’d dropped on the table when she’d arrived, out of which were spilling two dozen envelopes which she’d just retrieved from her campus mailbox. “More job offers?”

“Most of them,” Vanessa said tiredly. “The first handful were exciting. Now, it’s just exhausting. There are too many options. And they just keep coming.”

“It’s a good problem to have,” Abraham reminded her. “Not so long ago, you were lamenting over finding a position at all after you graduated. But I suppose it does all seem a bit superfluous when there’s only one position you want.”

The invitation from the University of Ksatta-Galan had arrived only a few days after her plane had landed. It was currently tucked into her coat, a little wrinkled, where she’d been carrying it around since it arrived. She put her hand over it with a small smile.

Working had been difficult enough with all the distractions. But on top of that, she’d hardly stopped thinking about Ramin since she’d stepped off the plane. It had only been two weeks of the month or two she’d expected to be gone, but already she knew there was no place she wanted to be more.

She wanted to continue the excavation of Amanirenas’s tomb and she wanted to immerse herself in the culture and history of Ksatta-Galan. But, most of all, she imagined being in Ramin’s arms again, researching with him, traveling with him, finding new adventures. She sighed thinking about it. The only worry was if, during this separation, he had remained as interested in her as she was in him.

They had called each other a few times during the interim, but they were both prohibitively busy with the circus surrounding the discovery of Amanirenas’s tomb. She hadn’t spoken to him in days, and it was hard to say how he was feeling. She simply didn’t know.

She began sorting through the envelopes, setting aside the offers from particularly prestigious institutes. Whether she accepted them or not, she wanted to save them just for bragging rights. And if things didn’t work out with Ramin, it would be good to have a backup plan, even if she hated to think about it.

As she set aside another envelope, she grimaced, realizing the next one was from Columbia.

“Did the board decide to formally beg you to stay?” Abraham inquired, as Vanessa, rolling her eyes, began opening the envelope.

“Oh, they already did that in person,” she replied, removing the letter from its envelope and beginning to scan over it. “They actually wanted to give me the spot they were holding for Peterson. This is about my student loans.”

“Ah, the old dragon,” Abraham said with a knowing frown. “Even after such an achievement, the bills still need to be paid, I suppose.”

Vanessa’s eyes widened abruptly and, stunned, she dropped the letter, sitting back in her chair, staring.

“Is it that bad?” Abraham asked, reaching over the table to take the letter. He pulled his reading glasses from his jacket, scanning over the document with a frown that evaporated into shock as he saw the total.

“But…this says your loans are paid off! Your balance is zero! You don’t think the Sheikh…?”

Vanessa lurched to her feet and began stuffing things into her bag, seemingly at random.

“I need to get on a plane,” she said, then stopped. “No, wait. I have to do something else first. Abraham! I need you to help me pack.”

Abraham limped after Vanessa as she rushed out in a whirling dervish of papers.

“Vanessa,” he cried after. “You can’t be thinking of going back right now!”

“Not just going,” Vanessa said, grinning wildly as she marched through the library shelves. “Moving.”

Abraham looked stunned, but he kept hurrying after her. “Vanessa, you can’t just upend your life like this! Not just because he paid off your loans!”

“It isn’t about the loans,” Vanessa said, turning on her heel to catch Abraham by the shoulders. “Don’t you understand? He’s spent years hounded by gold diggers, ending any relationship with anyone who even hinted at being after his money. But he did this for me. I didn’t ask for it, he didn’t even ask if I wanted it, he just gave it, no questions asked or strings attached. Do you have any idea what that means?”

“Not the faintest,” Abraham confessed, wide-eyed.

“It means he loves me,” Vanessa said with a dazzling, delighted smile.

And with that, she was off and running again.

“I’ll call you when my plane lands!” she shouted back at him, and Abraham gave up running after her, raising his hands in surrender. There was no stopping her now.

* * *

Getting on the plane that day turned out to have been rather over-optimistic of her. It took Vanessa about a week to arrange everything and pack all her belongings. But it was still a week early when she finally left, much to the distress of Columbia University who were still desperate for her to stay.

Ramin was surprised when she told him she was on her way, but he was waiting when she landed. She ran from the terminal to throw her arms around him. He caught her, laughing, and spun her around as she kissed him with all the passion of three weeks missing him.

“You came back,” he breathed, holding her tightly while the airport revolved around them, as though he hadn’t thought it was possible.

“And I’m never leaving again,” she promised.

When they’d recovered enough to do more than laugh and kiss one another silly, they left in his town car.

“You’re just in time,” he said as they drove. “Tonight is the opening of the first exhibit at the Ksatta-Galan History Museum. It’s all early artifacts from the tomb.”

“I can’t wait to see it,” Vanessa said, grinning.

“You can more than see it,” Ramin said with a laugh. “I want you to help me with the opening. It’s your discovery, after all.”

They stopped only briefly at Ramin’s expansive penthouse to drop off Vanessa’s things and give her time to change into a nice dress for the night. Though the time between when they pulled off the clothes she’d arrived in and when she put on the dress was significant, it was very well spent.

Before sunset, they stood on the steps of the same museum where they’d met, holding a pair of oversized golden scissors behind a scarlet ribbon.

“Nothing can overstate the magnitude of this discovery,” Ramin said to the assembled crowd, one arm around Vanessa. “Words cannot express how it will change not just the history of our country, but its future, and how everyone looks at the history of this part of the ancient world forever.”

As the crowd cheered, Ramin looked to Vanessa with a warm smile. The news in his country had been going wild with speculation about their relationship since they’d first escaped the tomb together. There was no point in hiding the way they felt about each another now.

“And the credit for all of this falls to the beautiful Miss Hawkins,” Ramin said proudly. “She dedicated her life to the discovery of this tomb, working ceaselessly and making revolutionary advances in the study of this part of the world and its languages in the process. She is one the brightest minds of her age, and I, for one, am immeasurably grateful to her for the decision to keep the artifacts in their home country, and incredibly proud to stand beside her.”

Vanessa felt her face turn red as she looked up at him, love radiating from his eyes. At his cue, she cut the ribbon and let the celebration sweep her inside to where the trophies of her accomplishments lined the walls. But she couldn’t take her eyes from him.

They spent the night lost among the relics of ancient Nubia, answering questions from the wealthy and influential guests, making polite conversation. Vanessa could only think about when the party would end and when she would be alone with Ramin again.

“So, what comes after this?” one of the guests asked, a baron of some sort, judging by his sash, which was intimidating enough even without his incisive questions. “Will you continue your research?”

“Of course,” Vanessa said with a smile. “It’ll likely be a few years before the excavation of Amanirenas’s tomb is anywhere near a stage when I could move on to something else. It’ll be decades before everything it has to teach us is properly documented. I’ll be working on this for a very long time. After that, I may find another project to tackle, but honestly, there’s enough here to keep me busy for the rest of my life.”

“Is that enough for you?” the baron’s wife asked, sipping her champagne and looking at Vanessa curiously. “After running through tombs with a prince like that, fighting mercenaries and all, will simple academic work really satisfy you?”

Vanessa laughed a little, embarrassed.

“You make it sound like I’m some kind of adventurer,” she said. “I’m just an archeologist. I’ll be happy to get back to my studies.”

“And if she decides she wants to go adventuring again,” Ramin added with a wink, “I’m sure I can find something to catch her interest.”

The guests laughed, and Vanessa blushed, pleased.

“And what about you and the Sheikh?” the baroness asked. “Is that just a one-off adventure as well?”

Vanessa glanced at her man, bashful but pleased.

“Well,” she said. “Sheikh Ramin is a very complex man. Like the tomb, I think I could easily spend the rest of my life studying him, and never run out of new things to learn.”

That caused a flurry of interested questions from the guests. Vanessa struggled to steer the topic back towards more academic matters, but she could see Ramin smiling at her, and that made it all worth it.

The night wore on, the conversation endless and exhausting.

“I feel like I’m going to suffocate,” she whispered to him at one point, the eyes and expectations of the guests almost a physical weight.

“I’d rather be back in the burning tomb,” he replied under his breath, and she laughed quietly. But she knew the feeling. It was time for a break.

She scanned the room for a way out and smiled as she saw the doors at the other end of the room opening.

“Look!” she said loudly. “They’re bringing out the cake!”

Everyone turned and, taking Ramin’s hand, Vanessa pulled him away down one of the museum corridors, away from the crush of people. He followed eagerly, his hand warm in hers. They hurried through the dimly lit halls, lined with the glittering treasures of a lost world, until the ambient chatter of the crowd dimmed to silence behind them.

They didn’t stop until they’d reached the red velvet rope isolating the part of the exhibit where Amanirenas and Teriteqas’s sarcophagi were displayed. The two massive coffins lay in the center of a large room, lights shining down on their newly cleaned and restored surfaces, which gleamed with gold and turquoise and inlaid gems.

The treasure Amanirenas had been laid to rest with was spread out around them, safely preserved for her journey to the afterlife with her husband.

This part of the exhibit wasn’t open yet, so they could linger here safely, unafraid of being bothered.

Vanessa paused, staring up at Amanirenas with a warm contentment in her heart. She’d been working towards this for so long that she almost felt a little lost now that it was found.

The baroness’s question lingered on her mind. Yes, there was still plenty to do. Decades’ worth of work, in fact. But none of it was quite the same as the hunt for Amanirenas, now over. She’d need to find something new to devote her life to. Ramin put his arms around her from behind.

“You know they’ll want us to be there to cut that cake,” he murmured.

“They can wait a little while,” she replied, still looking at the sarcophagus. “I just needed a minute to breathe.”

“I’m not complaining,” Ramin said with a small laugh.

Vanessa took a deep breath, closing her eyes, enjoying the peace and being close to him for a moment.

“You might have to get used to things like this,” Ramin told her. “They tend to be a rather regular thing for me.”

“I’ll survive,” Vanessa said with a smile. “Or I’ll learn to schedule lots of well-timed trips out of the country.”

“I might have to accompany you on those.”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Above the two sarcophagi hung a plaque, a reproduction of the stele in the tomb, complete with Vanessa’s translation.

“For love beyond life,” Ramin read, holding her close, his breath warm against her ear. “For love that could conquer armies.”

“For love,” Vanessa finished, “and nothing more.”

He kissed the back of her neck and Vanessa felt a thrill run through her.

“I have something I need to tell you,” she said, and turned to face him as he looked up. “I’ve accepted the offer from the University of Ksatta-Galan. I’m starting in the fall.”

“That’s amazing!” Ramin said, his eyes lighting up.

“I’m not done,” Vanessa said before he could say any more. “I also intend to keep working on the tomb. So, it only made sense, I figured, to just bring everything when I came here.”

She held her breath as he looked at her, at first confused, and then in understanding.

“I don’t have to move in with you…” she said immediately. “I’m not trying to rush you or move too fast. I was thinking about taking Professor Van Rees’s apartment actually, now that he’s moved back to the States. I want to be here regardless, not just because of you, so—”

He put a hand against her lips to stop her, then replaced it with a soft kiss.

“I want you to move in with me,” he said. “If you want to. Honestly, I don’t want to spend another morning without you. I love you, Vanessa Hawkins.”

Vanessa felt her heart soaring, threatening to fly right out of her chest with delight. She kissed him again, passionate and excited.

“I love you, too,” she said as they separated. “I really do.”

He pulled her close and, laughing, they danced through the exhibit, temporarily forgetting the crowd that waited for them a room away, the work that needed to be done, even the riches of the ancient world that surrounded them, glittering in the low museum lights.

All that mattered was there in their arms, their hearts in sync, ready to do anything. For love, and nothing more.