Rae bit back a hundred angry responses, a thousand cursesupon his wicked house, and instead replied with another truth. “I would give them whatever they asked to ensure the safe return of my mistress. No prisoner, no conquest, is worth the life of my beloved.”
King Meryamun raised his eyebrows and tilted his head appreciatively. “Beautifully put. Particularly for a commoner such as yourself. The heart of a lion and the soul of a poet, quite a combination. Little Herit must thoroughly enjoy her revels with you—in fact, Iknowshe does.” He traced a long finger across his bottom lip, his eyes knowing.
Rae’s cheeks reddened. She wanted to rake her nails across his face and tear the flesh from it.
Beneath her feet, the ground seemed to tremble.
Rae dug her fingernails into her palms, forcing herself to focus. She couldn’t afford to lose control. Especially when there was a chance that she could convince the king to release her father and the others. She tilted her head in a bow.
“It is a sweet sentiment,” Meryamun went on. “But it’s also very wrong.”
Rae went rigid.
“You see, when you love someone, as I love Nefermaat, you do not express that love through submission. You do not show your devotion by groveling before cowards and malefactors, begging for her freedom like some common peasant. No. A lion does not submit to jackals, dear Ahura. You of all people should know this. What does a lion do?”
Meryamun smiled, and his handsome, striking face was transformed. Despite herself, despite everything, Rae could feel the pull of his spell. His radiance was as fierce as the sun.
“He roars,” Meryamun said with relish. “He roars and shows them tooth and claw, the likes of which they have never seen nor felt. And thus, the jackals will discover they’ve been dead sincethe moment they decided to touch her.”
Rae’s heart dropped.
With sudden, painful clarity, Rae recognized that they had underestimated the young king. Catastrophically underestimated him.
“Guard, send a message to the battalion we shipped down to Sakesh to support the tax collections,” the king said. “Brief them about the situation here, and let them know that for every day the priestess is not returned to me, they are to take a hundred hands. One for each enemy slain in the name of my dear Nefermaat. Let it be known throughout the land that every hour of her confinement is awash in Sakeshi blood.”
The head guard bowed. “It shall be done.”
Rae could not mask her horror, and Meryamun laughed.
“Worry not, sweet lioness. I do not blame you for your soft heart, nor will you be punished for your honesty. Honesty is rare within these walls. The last thing I want is to snuff it out.”
Rae struggled to reply. She had not been worried about her own life, but the others… “Thank you, my king,” she managed. She hoped Meryamun wouldn’t notice the hate in her voice.
He didn’t. He’d already moved on.
“Ah! Sabni. Just who I wanted to see,” Meryamun said to the little man who’d come skittering into the throne room after the head guard left with his commands. “Tell me, is there any word from the delegation we sent to Tash? I’m curious to hear their thoughts on my proposals. Harsi has his own ideas about how their queen will respond, but honestly, what wouldn’t a mother do for her beloved son?”
“I’m afraid we lost contact with the delegation,” the man called Sabni replied as the remaining guard led Rae from the chamber. “We expected a message from them yesterday, but so far, nothing. I’m concerned something may have happened…”
The throne room doors closed behind them, cutting off his response. Away from the king, Rae’s breath quickened.
I must speak with Omari, she thought.
The situation was bad before, but they’d just made it much, much worse.
***
It was midafternoon by the time Rae was able to get away from her duties and return to the riverside camp. She burst through the reeds without announcement and found Omari, Buto, and Kay roasting fish over a fire and tearing into some loaves of bread from the market.
“Well?” Omari asked.
At the sight of his face, Rae’s fear and anger found a target. “Itold youthis was a bad idea, Omari.I told you!”
With exaggerated control, Omari handed his skewer of fish to Kay, brushed the grit from his hands, and stood. “Tell me what’s happened.”
Cursing, Rae kicked at a rock and sent it sailing into the river. She wanted to scream.
Omari grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her. “For the love of Ra, will you get ahold of yourself? You’re going to bring the entire palace guard down on our heads if you keep carrying on like that!” Squeezing her hard enough to cause pain, he leaned in so his face was nearly touching hers. “Now,” he said in a low voice, “tell mewhat’s happened.”
