I admit to having somehow expected someone like the queen portrayed by Aaliyah in Queen of the Damned: a threatening, vengeful dark force. But the queen of Ankhsis was a petite woman who looked deceivingly young, a permanent smile lighting her face. She somehow reminded me of ancient Egyptian paintings of Nefertiti, if you took out the excessive make up and the typical clothes and accessories. Ihsis wore a simple white cotton dress, perfect for the hot weather we were having. She looked graceful in it, but it looked more like a casual, coffee-with-friends attire, than an official-Ankhsis-business dress.
“Welcome, everyone,” she said in a deep, warm voice, her eyes roaming over the crowd. If I hadn’t know any better, I would have thought she’d made eye contact with every one of them. She w
