Decorum went by the wayside, however, once Karim handed her the food. The princess fell upon the duck and lentils with zeal, devouring everything she’d been given in minutes, and then doing the same with the second serving he offered. He watched withamusement as she sucked all the grease from her fingers, one by one. When she caught him looking, she dropped her hands to her lap and sat up very straight.
“Good?” he asked.
“Yes,” she replied primly. “Thank you.”
Karim stuck the last onion in his mouth, letting its burnt greens hang out the side, and munched on it while he tossed the last of the meat to Behkai.
“There’s fruit too,” he said, pulling out the grapes and the round pink thing. “Not sure what this is, but I thought I’d give it a try.” He was about to take a bite out of it, but the princess snatched it out of his hand.
“It’s a pomegranate, you fool. You don’t bite into it. You have to cut it open.” She produced a fine dagger from inside her robes and made four long slits around the stem of the fruit before opening it like a flower. She handed it back to him, the insides gleaming with jewellike red clusters.
“Look at that, hey?” Karim said, amazed at the fruit’s surprising beauty. “Like a bunch of little rubies.” He took an experimental bite. The little clusters burst inside his mouth, filling it with a magnificent sweetness. “It’s good!”
Sitamun watched him with interest. “Where are you from, Karim? Your accent… I don’t recognize it.”
Karim licked the crimson juice from his lips. He’d been prepared to tell her his name, but everything else? Not yet.
“I’m a traveler,” he replied vaguely. “No one of consequence, unlike yourself. Speaking of which,” he went on, “why is a princess on the run from the royal guard? Isn’t your brother about to take the throne? I’d have thought you’d be needed at the palace.”
The princess narrowed her eyes. She’d noted the deliberate change of subject—and Karim had the feeling that she wasn’t going to let the matter go.
“Well, Karim the mysterious traveler. It’s a long story, and not one I’m likely tell someone I just met. No matter how charming their company might be.”
Karim flushed.
Sitamun tilted her head to Behkai, who sat worshipfully at her feet. “I meant the dog.”
Karim crossed his arms.This woman is really something else.
Seeing him, Sitamun relented. “Let’s simply say I wasn’t safe there, all right?” Her gaze drifted over Karim’s shoulder, to the river. “And I’m not safe here either.”
Following her gaze, Karim turned to see a fine ship coming down the river toward them, sporting a black and red ram’s head on its sail. A host of guards, dressed similarly to the ones in the marketplace, stood on the deck, scanning the riverbank as they went. They were distracted by some women washing clothes a little farther up, but the ship had only to come a little closer before they’d notice Karim and Sitamun sitting by the skiff.
The princess leaped to her feet, pulling the hood back over her head. “Thank you for everything you’ve done,” she said, “But I must go.”
Karim shook his head. “I don’t understand. Your brother is going to be king—who could you possibly be running from?”
The princess’s face crumpled with sudden anguish. “Him. I’m running away fromhim.”
Shocked, Karim thought of the image of Meryamun in the oracle—a handsome young man with bronze skin and a red cobra over his head. What had he done to send his own sister running for her life?
Run from the palace and straight into my path.
“Where are you planning to go?” he asked.
“I thought I’d travel south to Bubas. It’s the closest village large enough to hide in. I’ll have to go by foot, though. The guards are searching every vessel that leaves Thonis.”
Karim scoffed. “A woman like you, all alone, onfoot?You’d never make it, sena! Between the heat, the lions, the wandering brigands…”
“I appreciate the encouragement,” Sitamun replied drily, and started to walk away.
“Hey now, wait a minute!” Karim went after her, Behkai trotting at his heels. He glanced back at the approaching boat, his thoughts racing.
I’d have to abandon the skiff, and I barely have enough food for the dog and me, no less a ravenous woman with no survival skills. And if the prince’s men find me with her, they’ll probably slit my throat on the spot.
If I was smart, I’d let her go, he reasoned.I’ve already got one stray to take care of. I don’t need another.
Djet’s puppy-dog face appeared in his mind, his eyes full of admiration.
