Tam’s hand found hers and squeezed it.
“I–I still don’t understand,” Rae stammered. “Why have you all come?”
“It’s never been clearer that the Horizon must endure,” Menk replied. “What had once been a group with ideas has become a group of action, and Sakesh needs action now more than ever.” He paused. “It’s what Asim would have wanted.”
The lump returned to Rae’s throat at his name.
I would be proud to have a daughter like you, he’d said.
But now he was gone, and her own father too. Would Asimstill be proud, if he knew what she’d done? Would Ankhu?
Menk said, “I brought these people because I wanted you to see that despite the blow to our number, there are still many who wish to dedicate their lives to the cause.”
“Wantedmeto see?” Rae echoed. Her gaze flicked to Omari. An inscrutable expression passed over his face, one she couldn’t identify.
“Yes, you,” Menk insisted. “Now that Asim is gone, we need a new leader. He believed in you, Rae. You were the catalyst that helped him start this fight. And with any luck, you’ll be the one to end it.” He tipped his chin to the stone weapon in her hand. “Besides, you carry the Sekhem scepter.”
Rae hefted the weapon. “I stole it from the Medjay. It’s not really mine.”
“It wasn’t really theirs either,” Menk told her. “The lion goddess works in mysterious ways. She made sure it got into the right hands.”
Rae felt a prickle at the back of her neck as she touched the Sekhmet amulet hanging from her neck, the one she’d chosen from the Jackal’s bag of treasures.Maybe it wasn’t so random after all.
“So?” Menk asked. “What do you say?”
The crowd turned to her, expectant.
Rae felt her stomach twist. “But Menk,” she whispered, pulling him close and turning her back to the others. “I’m no soldier. I know how to cultivate wheat, tend cattle, and wrestle for some extra income. How could I possibly lead a rebellion?”
Menk shook his head. “Raetawy, what we need is someone who can help us grow in number, shepherd us to greener pastures, and have courage in the face of adversity. Think about it, about what you just said. You can do all those things. Whatever you don’t know, you will learn on the way.” He put a thick hand on her shoulder. “No one is ever ready to lead, Rae. They only need to be willing. Are you willing?”
Rae scoffed.This is madness, she thought. She should refuse Menk’s offer and tell him to lead, or someone else—someone older and more experienced. After all, the rebellion’s survival didn’t depend on her leadership.
She scanned the shadowy faces around her, all of them waiting to hear what she would say.
She had a sudden jarring sense that everything she’d done, every choice she’d made, had led her to that moment. The choice to defend Baki against the nomarch. The choice to ask Omari to take her to that first Horizon meeting. The choice to speak up. The choice to fight back. If she had done any one of those things differently, nothing would have turned out the same way.
She looked down at the four sides of the golden ring—the snake, the feather, the eye, and the scarab—and remembered once more what the Jackal had said about the inexorable pull of fate, how it carried you to your destiny. Rae wondered if it was true. Was her fate drawn in the stars long before she was even born? Or did she truly have agency over her own path?
Perhaps it was a bit of both.
Maybe the gods offer us opportunities to choose our fate, she thought,but it’s ultimately up to us whether or not we take them.
The river’s current tugged at her, willing her to speak.
“Well?” Menk asked, nudging her with his elbow.
Rae closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and let the current take her.
Turning to the gathered flock, she said, “If you’ll have me, I promise to do my best.”
Menk clapped her on the back and many others followed suit. Some of the men still looked uncertain, but Rae had eyes for only one person. Tam stood in the center of the throng, her hands clasped at her breast, her eyes glittering with pride.
“So we fight!” Omari said. “We bring the battle to the Medjay and show them we will not submit!”
The men began to murmur their agreement when Rae spoke up.
“No!”
