Next to him, the woman made a quiet, infuriated noise—but kept her head bowed.
“Come along, old girl,” he said to her. “Time to go home.”
“Good luck with that!” said another guard.
This time, when Karim guided the woman by the arm, she came willingly.
Behind them, Karim heard one of the guards issue a command to his companions.
“You two double back and check every woman you see. I’ll finish searching this end of the market. The princess must be around here somewhere.”
Karim’s stomach dropped.The princess?
He shot the woman a sidelong glance. The image of Sitamun’s face in the Temple of Khnum appeared in his mind.Marked with a black cobra, holding a heart in her hands.
It had been merely a painting, but much like his own likeness, the image had looked very similar to the woman in black.
Karim cursed under his breath. It seemed that no matter where he went, the oracle followed.First Raetawy, then Nefermaat, and now this.Events seemed to be drawing them together—but for what purpose, he still had no idea. He felt like a pawn in someone else’s game, and wondered what move he should make next.
Did it even matter?
Had the gods of this accursed kingdom already decided his fate?
The two of them walked in silence until they reached the outer edges of the marketplace, where the crowd thinned. Karim pulled her out of the flow of people and under the shade of a palm, then released her arm.
He had just opened his mouth to speak, when she slapped him. Hard.
“Ow!” Karim cried, cupping a hand to his jaw.
“That’s for putting your filthy hands on me!” the woman snapped. In her haste, she’d allowed the hood to fall away from her face. She was radiant with fury. Rivulets of thick shining hair, as black as a raven’s wing, tumbled out from her robes.
“And that’s for slapping me, and for calling me ‘old girl.’ I amnotan old girl and certainly notyourold girl…” She seemed to run out of steam. “And, well… I suppose I should thank you.”
Karim raised his eyebrows. “I suppose you should.”
“I just… I thought you were making a move on me. How was I to know you were trying to help me get away from those guards? If you’dexplainedyourself—”
“I tried to.”
“No, you offered me ahot meal.” She raised an eyebrow, as if such an offer was obviously obscene.
Karim scoffed. Twice.
“And then you slapped me.”
“That’s a very reductive way of viewing the situation, sena,” Karim replied.
“Is it?”
They stared at each other, each sporting a reddened cheek.
“You enjoyed that, didn’t you?” Karim said.
“What? Slapping you? No.” The woman frowned. “Maybe.”
“Do you want to do it again?”
Her other cheek reddened to match the first. She crossed her arms. “No! Who are you, anyway? How did you know those guards were looking for me?”
