“All of them?”
“Except you, of course.” Meryamun laughed. “Don’t look so terrified, Sabni. It brings out the goat in you.”
“But…but why?”
Meryamun’s lip curled. “Because no one likes a traitor.”
The vizier nodded and wiped the perspiration from his brow. His lips moved soundlessly, committing the king’s message to memory.
“Anything else for the scribes?” he then asked.
“Yes. You will also mention the dangers the kingdom faces from outside forces: our enemies to the west and the Tashans to the south. The decline of our military over these past seventeen years has allowed those kingdoms to go unchecked, and they no longer respect our sovereignty. Even now, they are making plans to invade our borders and threaten the Khetaran way of life. Which is why we need the people’s cooperation to save our kingdom from ruin.”
Sabni’s brow furrowed. “Is it true that the Tashans are on a war footing? I had thought our recent meeting with their delegation was fruitful.”
Meryamun chuckled. “Oh, Sabni—soon you will understand the nature of my relationship with the truth. She is my mistress and becomes whatever I need her to be.”
“It will be done, my king,” Sabni said. “Within days, all Khetara will hear of this news.”
The vizier bowed his head and began to back out of the throne room. He’d made it halfway before he stopped. “Apologies, my king. What of the tax?”
The young king tapped his lips with a long, gold-ringed finger. “Wait two weeks. Then raise it.”
With a final bow, Sabni turned and exited.
As soon as he was gone, Meryamun slumped in his throne and glanced over at Neff. “You see, little priestess? From under the ground it comes… No more meetings until this afternoon. Wine!” He shouted the last in the direction of the open door, then turned back to her. “I’ve been meaning to ask, have you received any divine insight about my dear sister?”
“There’s still no word of Sitamun?” Neff said, tempering thecuriosity in her voice. She didn’t want Meryamun to think her too interested in the princess’s fate. He had no knowledge of the Oracle of the Lamb, nor of Sitamun’s involvement in it, and Neff wanted to keep it that way. The oracle placed her and the errant princess on the same side of a coming battle, which surely meant that Meryamun was destined to be on the other.
“She’s proven herself to be surprisingly difficult to find,” Meryamun replied with a hard smile. “Though perhaps my surprise is unwarranted. Sita was always more clever than she let on.”
Neff shook her head. “I am sorry, my king. I have prayed, but the gods have been silent.”
“Hm,” Meryamun mused. He reached forward and adjusted the strap of her dress, his fingers lingering on her collarbone. Neff forced herself not to recoil. “Perhaps there’s something we can do to…encouragethem to speak. Yes?”
Neff didn’t like the sound of that. But before he could continue, he seemed to remember his refreshments hadn’t arrived.
“I saidwine!” he shouted.
An instant later, a young woman dashed into the room, nearly upsetting the tray of fruit, cheese, and fresh bread she balanced on one hand. In the other, she carried an alabaster wine jar that sloshed dangerously with each step. Several attendants carrying fans hurried in after her.
“Apologies, my king,” the maidservant said breathlessly. “We were preparing the midday meal. We came as quickly as we could.” She set the tray on the small table next to the throne and raised the wine jar to fill Meryamun’s cup. Her hands shook.
“Ach!” Meryamun leaped to his feet. “You’ve spilled it on me, you stupid girl!” He brushed at the drops soaking into his clothes.
The maidservant stepped back, her eyes round with fear.
“Guard!” Meryamun growled.
One of the guards strode past the cowering young woman to the dais where Neff and the king sat beneath a blue canopy.
“Take this useless creature and beat the pretty off her.”
“Yes, my king.”
Neff’s pulse began to race. It wasn’t the first time she’d witnessed how quickly Meryamun’s temper could flare, nor how devastating the consequences could be for anyone in its path.Do something, she told herself.
Taking a deep breath, Neff laid a hand on the king’s arm.
