I’m moving up in the world, she thought, recalling her father’s words,and I need to look the part. If I want people to respect me, I must command respect!
The first step in her plan was complete. She’d hidden herself and her true intentions beneath a cover of jewels and kohl and featherlight gowns. That was the easy part. The next step was to use the position Meryamun had offered her in his court to influence him in the days to come. Her lifesaving prophecy had proved to the prince that she was an important asset, and at least for now, he trusted her. But his belief wasn’t enough. The whole palace needed to accept her if she was going to exert influence over anything. To do that, she needed to believe in the product. She needed to believe in herself.
Neff stood up straighter, squared her shoulders, and tried on a few confident expressions for size while running through her father’s list of rules for success.
Always look the customer in the eye, so they know you mean business.
Tell them what they want to hear.
Speak clearly, and don’t overexplain.
Don’t take no for an answer.
It was almost as if she could hear Pepi’s voice in her ear, like a mischievous god imparting wisdom of his own. She missed him and her mother more than ever, maybe because they’d never felt so far away. She thought of how simple her life had been, spending her days selling spell scrolls at the Bubas market, and wondered what her father would think of the kind of magic she’d witnessed. She’d never forget the sight of the serpent staff in the Heka priest’s hand, changing from wood to flesh before her eyes. Forbidden powers, accessible only to a choice few people in all the kingdom, those most trusted by the pharaoh.
Neff gasped as an idea struck her.
No, I couldn’t, she murmured.
The mouth says no, her father’s voice whispered,but the heart shouts yes!
Well, she thought,why not?
Setting the hand mirror down on the table among the cosmetic palettes, hairbrushes, and bottles of oil, Neff slipped into the sandals the attendants had left for her. After a lifetime of woven reed sandals that blistered her feet, the fine leather shoes felt like a comforting embrace. With one final look at her white dress from the temple, discarded in the corner like an old snakeskin, she left the room, making her way through the palace toward the royal chambers.
The halls were crowded with servants and courtiers preparing themselves for the coronation ceremony, which was set to begin in two hours’ time. She wound around them, relieved to go unnoticed. There was an air of excitement among the crowd, but Neff sensed tension too. Some of the smiles seemed forced, and conversations muted. Neff strained to overhear them as she passed by.
“I called out for Tadia when I woke this morning,” one middle-aged woman said to another. “She wasn’t there… or the other wives either. And Ineni! The king’s favorite. And so young! I can’t wrap my mind around it, Nebet. The prince says they all chose to join their king in the Duat, to serve him in the afterlife, but Ispoketo Tadia before she left that night. She didn’t say anything out of the ordinary. She didn’t even say goodbye…”
The other woman reached for her friend’s hand and squeezed it. “You must keep these thoughts to yourself, do you hear? Lest they be used as weapons against you. Come on, we shouldn’t linger here.” And with that, she pulled her friend away.
Neff watched them go, a fresh chill crawling up her spine. She’d already known about the slaughter of the king’s court, but hearing it again was a stark reminder of to whom she’d sworn allegiance.
A cold-blooded killer.
She shivered.If Meryamun ever finds out what I’m doing, if he ever realizes that I’ve lied to him, he’ll kill me.
All right, then, she told herself.Then make sure he doesn’t find out.
She raised her chin at an imperious angle, as if her importance should be obvious to everyone, and kept walking.
She moved past a host of guards into an empty corridor, sumptuously arrayed with green tiled floors and walls painted in black and gold. Two braziers burned on either side of a portal covered by a sheer curtain. She tried her best to walk with purpose, as if she belonged there.
Sure enough, no one stopped her, nor asked her a single question. They simply nodded at her as she passed. The prince, it seemed, had made it clear that she was under his protection, and was free to move about as she pleased.
She stopped at the sheer curtain, hearing voices beyond.
“The ships from Sakesh are due back any time now,” a gruff voice said. “If all has gone to plan, they’ll be carrying some high-value Low Khetaran prisoners who may offer information about the insurgency.”
The prince’s voice was impatient. “Never mind about that. Where is she?”
“I’m sorry, my prince?” The man sounded flustered.
“My sister, you ass!Where is she?” There was a bang, like a fist crashing upon a table.
“I-I sent my best men after her, I swear it. They’ve scoured every fingerbreadth of Thonis. The princess may have had help getting out of the city, I’m afraid.”
Meryamun growled with irritation. “How about that guard—Femi? Has he told you anything?”
