The blood began to pound in Sita’s veins. “I’m not getting in the damned bath, Mery.”
Mery’s expression didn’t change. “Oh yes, you are.” He snapped his fingers and two of the guards reentered the room, marched straight over to Sitamun, and seized her by the arms.
Sita cried out in disbelief. “Release me at once!” She wrenched her body away from the two men. They didn’t react to her struggles. They dragged her to the bathtub, lifted her by her arms and legs, and lowered her into the water.
“Now, are you going to behave?” Mery asked.
Sita roiled with impotent fury. It was clear Mery wanted to punish her, shame her, and if she tried to fight back, he’d only make it last longer. “Yes,” she said, her lip curling.
Mery dismissed the two guards with a wave of his hand.
Sita’s white kalasiris clung to her body in the bath, making her feel heavy. The water was warm and sweet-smelling, and the room around her glinted with gold in the soft lamplight. When Mery stood over her, his handsome face was bisected by shadow.
“There you are,” he said. “Isn’t that better?”
Sita said nothing.
Mery reached out and threaded his fingers through the damp tresses of her hair. “My beautiful, sweet sister. Do you know, there wasn’t a moment that went by that I didn’t think of you while you were gone? That I didn’t long for the day that you’d stand by my side as queen?”
The blue lotus petals clung to Sita’s skin, exuding a heady, dizzying scent. “That’s never going to happen,” she said, recoiling from his touch. “It’s wrong, Mery. I’d die first.”
Mery clucked his tongue. “Those are ugly words for such apretty mouth. Tell me, Sitamun, did you not spare a thought for your dear brother while you were away? Or were you too busy enjoying yourself with your new friend?”
Sita froze.
“Oh, yes. I know you were not alone. Not only because a girl like you couldn’t have survived beyond these walls without help, but because I cansmell him on you.”
His fingers tightened in her hair.
Sita gasped in pain. She tried to call on the serpent staff, still coiled around her ear, but her mind had grown fuzzy at the edges and would not respond.
“You reek of his touch, sweet sister,” Mery snarled, dragging her up until her ear was at his lips. “And it’s going to take a long time to wash it out.” With that, he plunged her head under the water.
A wave of terror jolted Sita’s body as she screamed into the bathwater. She flailed, tearing at the hand that held her down, to no avail. Water sloshed over the edges of the tub as she thrashed, and her lungs burned hotter and hotter as they begged for air.
Just as she thought her chest would burst, Mery dragged her head above the surface.
Sita coughed up a gout of sweet-smelling water, then retched. She gasped in tortured, ragged breaths. She wanted to scream for help, but she knew the guards wouldn’t respond.
Mery watched her struggle with obvious pleasure. “Lucky for you,” he said when her breathing began to stabilize, “I can do this all night.”
And he plunged her beneath the water again.
***
Sometime later, Sita lay on the stone floor of Mery’s chambers, soaked and shivering in her thin, ruined dress. She wanted tomove, but she couldn’t. Her mind floated on a river somewhere out of reach, too afraid to return to her body. Even in her state, though, she understood why her brother had chosen that specific punishment. Unlike a lash, a fist, a rope, or a blade, the water would not leave a mark.
At least, not on the outside.
Dimly, she saw Mery cross the room to the door and draw the curtain aside. A demon stood on the other side, or what looked like one in the murk of midnight.
“Herihor,” Mery greeted the man with a ram’s face. “The princess has proved to be intractable, as I feared. Proceed with the plan. I’ve gathered the necessary items.” He handed over what looked like a bloodstained cloth and a lock of black hair. “You can do it tonight?”
The demon nodded and melted back into the shadows without a word.
Mery let the curtain fall and returned to where Sita lay. She stared silently at his golden sandals, the water from her body pooling beneath her.
“Tomorrow, Sitamun,” he said. “Tomorrow is the big day. Tomorrow everything changes.”
