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Unfortunately, she was the proud Ankharian child that the Pharaoh had always wanted. Khan was a male, but he had been raised for most of his life in Atrahasis. Khan may have been the heir, but it was well known that Hasina was their father's favorite. His indulgence of her made Hasina untouchable to the court and someone to get favor with.
"Do I have to go?" Khan asked, knowing the answer. Kemes flicked him on the nose in reply. Khan batted her hand away. "You know, one day someone will witness your impertinence, and then what will happen?"
"I'll slit their throat so they can't tell on me," Kemes said with a shrug. Kashmet chuckled from the couch. They were just as bad as each other.
"Go on, make yourself pretty for the party," he called.
"Fuck you, Kash," Khan replied, climbing off the cushion he had been sitting on and heading for the bathing chamber. He hated feasts, especially those hosted by Hasina, but his cousins were right. For the next few years, he had no choice but to obey the Pharaoh.
The steam from the bathing pool clung to the copper surface of his mirror, distorting his lean, bearded face. With a sigh, Khan sketched the strange sigil into the fog on the polished copper surface of his mirror. Solving his mystery would have to wait.
Four
Fen had never seen so much wealth in her life, and they were still in the servant's quarters' kitchen. Brass objects hung on hooks, and piles of gold plates and cups were being polished. Food was being prepared; fruit and vegetables she didn't recognize were piled in mounds, and large clay tubs full of golden wheat and barley stood near benches of women making small cakes.
There was so much of it that Fen wondered if they were feeding an army.
After the woman, Azra, had told them they would be on display at a feast that night, Fen had been taken by another servant to have her hair brushed and braided and paint put around her golden eyes. She had tried to ask the servant what was going on and where she was but hadn't received any answers.
Fen and a few other male slaves had then been escorted out of the arena grounds to a house with large columns of purple stone and gold decorationseverywhere.If Fen had a raiding party of a hundred men, it still wouldn't have been enough to carry it all away.
"Do you know how to pour wine without spilling it?" Azra demanded, bringing her back to her opulent surroundings.
"Yes?" Fen replied.
"Good, you will help with serving tonight. You will look no one in the eye. You will touch nothing and no one. You will not eat food even if a guest offers it to you," Azra instructed. "If you try and run, you will be flogged by the guards and fed to a chimera. Do you understand?"
"Yes, mistress," Fen replied, not knowing if that was her title or not. She had a collar like Fen's, but she didn't act like she was a slave. Whatever she had done, she was trusted by Nektos enough to roam freely about and command other slaves.
"Good. Don't embarrass Nektos tonight either, or you will regret it. If a guest asks to fuck you, you will tell Nektos, who will decide what to do," Azra continued.
Fen smiled, nodded, and thought about how she would kill anyone who tried to buy her for the night.
It might not be a bad idea to get someone alone. Easier to escape when you only have to kill one person,she thought.
The idea had merit. She could handle fucking a stranger; it certainly wouldn't be the first time, especially if it gave her a chance to escape. She might not know much about the new world she had found herself in, but she was a fast learner and would rather die having at least tried to change her awful fate. Her grief had hollowed out part of her chest. She hadn't deserved this.
Fuck you, All-Father, she thought for the hundredth time since crossing through the Sky Bridge. Grief was no use to her, so she grabbed onto anger and hung on.
Fen was getting more instructions on how to pour from the glass amphora when Nektos appeared.
"I had wondered where this one was," he said, looking Fen over.
"I thought she could be useful and help with the serving, my lord," Azra said with a slight bow of her head.
"A wise idea, as always. They are ready for us, so come along, woman," Nektos gestured at Fen. His tone made her want to rip his tongue out, but she followed. Fen was nothing if not patient. She just had to keep her head down until she figured out how to escape.
If Fen had thought that the parts of the house she'd already seen were opulent, nothing compared to the rest. The luxury of it all made her feel lightheaded. Not even the wealthiest jarls she had served could've imagined such treasure.
Fen had to keep her eyes on Nektos's back to stop them from wandering to the golden statues, lavishly painted walls, the soft carpets under her feet, and the sheen of dark polished woods and silks hanging over open windows. Even the brass lamps that hung on the walls were surrounded by an incandescent glow.
The sound of voices and music got louder, and Nektos opened a set of cedar wood doors to a feast hall—no, not a hall. Fen looked up at the bright stars above her, confused as to why it had no roof.
The open-air atrium was filled with people lounging on silk couches and sitting on wide plush cushions around low tables piled with food. Gold and jewels, beautiful clothing of a hundred different shades, and men and women laughing and drinking, all bombarded Fen's senses like the opium pipes some of the guests were smoking.
A group of men dressed in fine robes and decorative masks was eyeing up the biggest of the slaves standing in one corner of the room. They were arguing and placing bets for fights that would happen the next day. Fen held the glass wine amphora in her hands tighter to stop them from shaking. She didn't want to gaze like a dullard, but she couldn't help it.
"Ah, dear Nektos, I wondered where you had gone," a woman called out and began to walk towards them. She was the most stunningly beautiful woman Fen had ever seen. Her dress was made out of red and black silk and embroidered with gold. Gold and jewels hung around her throat and on her wrists. Her shining black hair was held up in elaborate braids, embellished with even more gems. It would've been obscene if it didn't suit her so well.
