“And you of all people should know we stopped following that doctrine a thousand years ago. It’s barbaric.”
“Only those with weak hearts and feeble minds mistake strength for barbarism,” Mery shot back. “Mark my words, if the pharaohs of old could see the kingdom today, they’d opt to wipe it from the face of the earth rather than allow it to fall further into impotence.” He leaned in closer. “The blood of a few is a small price to pay to restore the glory of the kingdom.”
“A small price?” Kenna spat. “You’ve paid with your immortal soul.”
Mery shook his head. “Take a look at yourself, Kenna, then look at me.”
Neff glanced between them. Next to Mery—strong, lithe, golden—Kenna looked like a pale specter.
“My heart is light. How about yours?” Mery taunted.
Kenna’s face twisted with anger. “How can you say that, after you… you…”
“After I what, Brother?” Mery’s eyes flashed.
Neff willed Kenna to speak.Accuse him! Say it now, so that everyone will know he murdered the king!
Kenna’s gaze dropped. “Forget it.”
Mery shrugged. “As ever, Brother, you have the tenacity of a boiled onion. But! As much as I enjoy it, I didn’t come here to argue with you. I’ve come to collect the little priestess.”
Both their faces turned to Neff. Her mind whirled.
He’s come for me?
“What? No,” Kenna seemed stunned by the abrupt shift in conversation. “You can’t just take her.”
“I can, actually,” Mery said. “Don’t worry, she will be quite safe.”
“But she belongs here!” Kenna exclaimed.
“Not anymore. The girl is wasted at the temple, poring over scrolls in caves. She belongs in the light, with me.”
“But what will Montuhotep say? She is his ward!”
“Montuhotep will say nothing, as it is no longer his concern. I’ve already spoken to him.” Mery turned to face her. “You have proven precious to me, Nefermaat. Your prophecy saved my life out on the marshes.”
Neff was surprised. She remembered her vision of the crocodile god. “Your dream. About Sobek.”
The prince nodded. “If I hadn’t knelt before his image on that hunt, I wouldn’t be standing here now. You’re not like these other pretenders, I know that now. The voice of the divine is in yourear. That’s why you belong by my side.”
He paused, considering. “Still, my brother has a point. I cannot force you to share your gifts. I want a companion—not a slave. So it’s your choice, Nefermaat. Stay here with my brother or join me at the palace. If you join me, you will want for nothing. I will robe you in riches befitting a child of the gods. I give you my word.”
She glanced from one brother to the other, uncertain.
“Neff, what is there to think about?” Kenna whispered after a long silent moment had passed. “He’s giving you a choice—tell him you want to stay here!”
She closed her eyes.
Do not fight the currents that carry you toward your fate.
Neff wanted to stay. She was actually starting to feel comfortable with her life as a priestess. The idea of being whisked away to yet another place—the palace, no less!—filled her with fear. But at the same time, she knew she couldn’t ignore the prince’s proposal. He wasn’t merely offering her a seat by his side, he was offering her his trust.
Ever since that day on the streets of Bubas, she’d tried to understand her role in the goddess’s plan. She was young, invisible. Was it possible that those attributes were strengths, rather than weaknesses? Could it be that it was those very qualities, along with her gift of prophecy, that earned her the prince’s faith? For who would suspect a simple merchant girl of manipulation or political subterfuge?
If I choose Meryamun, my word could bend the will of a king.
It would be dangerous. She’d have to observe, learn, and act against him while still maintaining his trust. If he ever found out she was undermining him…
