“Kenna…” Neff said as the prince got up to wash his arm in a basin of clean water. “What is that?”
Kenna inspected the growths, his expression shifting from interest to suspicion.
“Let me see,” he said, and brought the bowl over to the other three lined up on the table.
He examined each one in turn, growing more agitated with every passing second. Taking up his blade, he sliced the curved organ open and poured its contents onto a shallow dish. What came out was a grayish-brown mash.
The smell of it nearly made Neff swoon, but she gripped the edge of the table and forced herself to focus.
Kenna sniffed the gray pulp gingerly, and then set it down. His expression thoughtful, he put both palms flat on the table, leaned forward, and cursed.
Neff stood next to him, her earlier dread growing stronger. “What is it?”
Kenna took a deep breath. “About a year ago, a man was brought in for embalming after it was revealed that his wife had poisoned him. She’d taken her time about it, adding a little bit of the stuff to his dinner each night until he’d sickened and died. She almost got away with it, but had been betrayed by a neighbor who’d overheard her discussing her plans with her lover. The woman had hoped to run away with him after her husband’s death.
“Once she was confronted with the truth, the wife confessed and was executed, and after that, her husband’s family paid for a proper embalming. It was one of the first rituals I performed myself, so I remember it very well.
“During the extraction, I noticed curious things about the man’s viscera. His liver, for example”—here, Kenna indicated the heavy dark organ—“was swollen and much larger than normal. Much like my father’s.”
Neff became very still.No, she thought.Please, don’t let it be true.
Next, Kenna pointed to the spongy organs. “I also noticed that the man’s lungs were spotted with decaying growths, much like these here. And the food inside his stomach had an odd smell that didn’t match what he’d eaten that day.” He indicated the gray mash—the contents of the king’s belly. His last meal.
“That is the half-digested remains of a honey cake,” Kenna said. “But the smell is more like garlic. It’s not right, Nefermaat. None of this is right.”
Neff stumbled back. “Amun forgive me,” she whispered.
Kenna did not seem to hear her. His long fingers, the nails still encrusted with blood, curled into fists. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I don’t think my father died from some plague or curse. I think he was murdered.”
Neff closed her eyes, the sick feeling in her stomach intensifying as the words she hadn’t said came tumbling from her lips. “‘He is betrayed by those closest to him. He will die at the hand of one, while the other bears silent witness.’”
Kenna whirled on her. “What did you say?”
Neff felt a sudden surge of fear, but knew she had to tell him the truth. “When your father called me to the palace to interpret his dream, that was the message I received. But I was too afraid to tell him what I saw, so I told him something else. I didn’t knowthis would happen. I didn’t think anything I said would matter.”
Neff sniffed, her eyes suddenly suffused with tears. “I’m so sorry.”
Kenna’s face went slack. “‘Betrayed by those closest to him… silent witness…’” He stared at the ground; then his mournful expression turned to anger as a single word slid from his lips, as sharp as the obsidian blade.
“Mery.”
He banged his fist against the table, causing the tools to rattle. Kenna moved to straighten them, his breath coming in short bursts. Neff could feel the fury radiating off him, and it frightened her.
He’ll hate you for what you’ve done.You’ll be thrown out of the temple. You’ll be a disgrace to your family. You’re a liar and a coward and you’ve ruined everything.
She suddenly recalled the conversation she’d had with Prince Meryamun that day at the palace. She’d told him about her vision! She’d promised him to keep it to herself!
I’ll make sure that the king is taken care of, he’d said.
And he had.
I’m so stupid, Neff thought.
She started to cry. “I’m sorry,” she said again, her head in her hands. “I’m so sorry.”
Kenna touched her shoulder. She winced, but his hand was gentle.
“Dry your tears, little sister,” Kenna said, his voice calm once again. “None of this is your fault. If anything, it’s mine.”
