She rushed out of Queen Anet’s tomb into the dark tunnel, which grew darker the moment she entered it. Puzzled, she turned back. The burning braziers in the tomb had gone out. There was no fire, no heat. Even the potent, acrid smell of smoke that had filled the chamber was gone. The only light shone from the serpent staff, which glowed faintly in the gloom. Full of wonder, Sita ran her fingers along the spine of the black cobra, and could have sworn she felt it breathe.
I believed in stories once, she remembered telling Karim long ago, perhaps in another lifetime.
“I’m sorry I lost faith,” she whispered, reveling in the way her hand fit perfectly into the twists of the wooden staff. She gripped it tightly. “It won’t happen again.”
She rushed back to the pit, and she was waiting there when Karim’s agitated face appeared high above.
“Sena!” he exclaimed when he saw her peering up at him. “Zev and I have come to rescue you!”
“Zev?” Sita said, surprised.
“He says he is the strongest man in the tribe and would have taken offense if I had brought anyone else!”
“Didn’t you think he might take this opportunity to kill us both?”
There was a pause. “I did not consider that, no!”
Zev’s head popped over the edge next to Karim’s. “I can hear you, you know,” he grumbled. “And I’m not going to kill you, though you deserve it for all the trouble you’ve caused. Still, Elyas would be…displeased.”
“Well, that’s comforting,” Sita replied. “Now will you pleaselower the rope? I’d like to get out of here.”
Karim looked surprised, but he tossed the rope down to her. “What about your ankle, sena? I assumed one of us would have to come down and carry you out.”
“No need,” Sita said. She lifted the staff over her head and secured it into the back of her belt before grabbing hold of the rope. “I’m stronger than I thought.”
***
“What is this accursed place?” Zev asked as they trekked to the main hall.
Karim’s eyebrows raised when he saw the serpent staff Sita carried, but he was wise enough not to ask questions in front of Zev. The staff’s light had vanished once she climbed out of the pit, as if it knew it was no longer needed.Later, Sita had mouthed, and Karim nodded in assent.
“It’s a temple for the dead,” Sita answered. “An underground necropolis built by the people who lived in this city a thousand years ago.”
Zev eyed her with his usual suspicion. “First you mend a broken leg, and now this. You know too much to be some simple Khetaran commoner. You may have the whole tribe fooled, but not me. You’ve been lying to us since the moment you arrived.”
Sita nodded, unbothered by the accusation. “You’re right, Zev. We have.”
Karim stopped short. “Sita!”
She put a hand on his shoulder. “We cannot remain here any longer, Karim. We’ve learned all that we can from this place. We must tell the Hudjefa who we really are and demand our immediate release. No more waiting. No more lies.” She turned to the other man. “I apologize for our deception, Zev, but it was notwithout cause. You did try to kill us. It didn’t seem wise to reveal my true identity.”
Zev’s hand went to the dagger at his belt. “Who are you?”
Sita drew herself up. “I am Sitamun, Daughter of Amunmose, Princess of Khetara. And if you value the lives of your people, you will not stand in my way.”
Zev’s hand dropped back to his side. “A princess…” he murmured in disbelief. “But why—?”
Sita pushed past him and strode toward the steps leading up to the surface. “There’s no time to explain. Already too much has been wasted.”
Karim hurried forward as they began to ascend the stone stairs. “What happened to you down there, sena?” he whispered. “You seem…different.”
“Not different,” Sita replied. “I am finally myself.”
Karim nodded. He clearly wanted to know more, but he didn’t press her. “Why the sudden urgency?”
Sita recalled the ruined wall painting inside the tomb, the stone fragment bearing the image of the lamb. She was no seer, but she knew an ill portent when she saw one.
She was about to answer him when a scream came from the surface.
