She was so deep in her sorrow that it barely registered when Mery spoke.
“Do not grieve for him, sister,” he said. “I’ve given him what he’s always longed for: A journey west. Our brother has been fixated on death since the moment he was born.”
“How could you do this?” Sita whispered, not looking at Mery.
“I can feel it already,” Mery went on. “The blood magic doing its work, draining the strength from my enemies and siphoning it into me. Kenna’s life wasn’t worth much, but his death is priceless.”
Sita gently laid Kenna’s body on the floor and brushed the blood-drenched locks from his face. Trembling, she stood to confront the king.
“I’m going to kill you, Mery.”
There was silence, then Mery laughed with delight. “Oh, Sitamun,” he said, his smile dazzling. “You don’t have it in you.”
Sita flinched. They’d dispatched Mery’s guards, and the priest Herihor looked like he was on the verge of flight. There was no one to protect her brother, but could she really do it? For all her fury at the horrible things Mery had done, could she really take his life with her own hands?
Suddenly, a deep sense of calm filled her.
“You’re right,” she said evenly.
Mery’s brows furrowed. This was a move he wasn’t expecting.
Sita went on. “I am a betrayer, and a coward, and a fool. But I’m not a killer. Not like you.” The serpent staff glowed faintly. “You don’t need to die for me to ensure you never hurt anyone else, ever again.”
Mery scoffed. “Don’t be silly. As long as I’m alive, I will find you and I will break you, that’s a promise.”
Another figure moved out of the shadows, looking almost like a shadow herself, the amethyst-studded wings of her favorite vulture collar sparkling in the pale light.
Made to honor the goddess Nekhbet, Sita thought.
Mother of Mothers.
Mother Night.
Mery noticed the new direction of Sita’s gaze and turned to Queen Bintanath.
“Mother? What are you doing here?” Mery asked with an almost imperceptible note of alarm.
Queen Bintanath said nothing, her attention on the body of her youngest son. “You killed him, Mery,” she said, her tone and expression unreadable.
The bloody mace still hung loosely from Mery’s right hand. “He betrayed me, Mother. He and the little priestess. Sita too. They all betrayed me.” There was a hint of childishness in his voice. “They’re all trying to prevent me from what I was born to do: return Khetara to glory!”
The queen did not respond.
“You understand, don’t you, Mother? You know what it takes to rule. I watched you grit your teeth while Father let the kingdom fall to ruin, watched you hold your tongue a thousand times when all the while it was you who put him on the throne in the first place, you who were the clever one, the one with an ear to the ground, the one who knew everybody’s secrets. You always told me that I would put things right. That one day, a thousand years from now, our descendants would tell stories about a great prosperity, about how Khetara’s finest days were those under my reign.”
Still, Queen Bintanath was silent.
“I did what needed to be done!”Mery suddenly raged. “There are traitors behind every door! Don’t you see that? In Tash, in Sakesh,in my own house! The gods placed a serpent upon my brow and divine power in my blood. Why would they give me such gifts if they didn’t mean for me to use them?”
The queen looked at Mery with a sorrow that did not sit comfortably upon her severe, imperious face. Walking up behind Mery, she wrapped one arm around his chest and held him close, her chin resting on his shoulder.
“My boy,” she said softly. “My beautiful, brilliant boy.”
Mery relaxed in her arms.
“The gods didn’t give you that crown. You took it when you killed your father.”
The king’s eyes widened.
