AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Sargon insisted they all sit down together for the evening meal before telling them the news, and with every passing minute, Khan's insides twisted tighter together.
Mushuri arrived home not long after him and had kissed Khan's forehead in welcome. Unlike his aunt and cousins, Mushuri was a quiet man who excelled at calming a room down just with his presence. He looked like an older, leaner version of Kashmet and was the only person his cousins listened to.
Fen charmed him within moments, asking him about his work at the temple of Ea and accepting his invitation for a tour.
It should have been an evening to enjoy, except that damn bronze cylinder in Sargon's pocket felt like an ax hanging above Khan's head.
Under the table, Fen's finger traced his forearm, and her warm power rushed over him. It curled around him, and instantly his anxiety gentled.
"What was that? Are you putting spells on me, my seiðr?" he whispered in her ear.
"Would I do that?" Fen's mouth twitched. "Don't worry, it's only a little something to relax you. Your energy is so tense it was making me jumpy."
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to." Khan stroked her hand, enjoying the feeling of her soft skin. "Thank you for easing it."
"You are welcome, my prince."
"I don't know if you should call me that anymore," he said, shaking his head.
"A prince with no kingdom is still a prince." Fen's fingers tangled against his. "Unless there is something else you want me to call you?"
Khan couldn't hold in his smile. "There are a few things I'd…"
"Khan! Stop flirting with Fenrys for a moment and pay attention. We have things to discuss," Sargon interrupted them.
"I swear they are all in this together," he muttered.
Fen laughed softly, a husky sound that made Khan's bones tingle. When he took her hand, she twisted their fingers together and held on.
Sargon pulled out the dreaded cylinder and placed it on the table before him. Khan didn't reach for it, only his wine goblet.
"This came from one of my spies. Ankhara is in uproar, which we all suspected," Sargon began. He looked at Khan. "Hasina has told the people that you killed the pharaoh and then yourself. The heads of the other houses are scared to contradict that story because she has her soldiers on patrols, and they know about the slaughter of the Medjai. What remains of the Sobeki are following her because only a third of them remain."
Khan swayed, his whole body going cold. "Athird? How can she hide that kind of massacre from the people?"
"She's not hiding it. She simply doesn't care," Sargon replied, expression grim. "The working classes fall under the authority of the House of Osiris, and their head is following her. She leaves them be as long as they keep working the fields and river. There is a lot of unrest in the city, but everyone is too scared to have an open rebellion."
"Did they say anything about the Thothi? Their temple wasn't attacked, or anything like Sobeki was?" Kemes asked, her voice small.
Sargon frowned. "I don't know. I don't think Hasina would have any cause to attack them. They are magicians and scholars. She won't see them as a threat as long their solar sails keep her palace powered."
"She might push them to open the Sky Bridge for more slaves, though," Fen said through her teeth. "She will want to have the arena open to celebrate her becoming Pharaoh."
"You're probably right there, Fenrys. The coronation is to be in a few weeks." Sargon reached into his robe and tossed a papyrus scroll stamped with a golden ankh and a silver Sekhmet head onto the table. "I received that too. Another invitation because I ignored the first. She's having a massive celebration to honor her ascent to the throne."
"Why wait? Why not just take the crown?" Fen asked.
"Ameny, the high priest of Anubis, would be insisting that the last Pharaoh be buried properly beforehand," Khan replied, his mouth too dry. "There are rites that must be observed, and not even Hasina stamping her foot would influence the House of Anubis."
Sargon nodded. "That is my guess as well. Nothing is being said about your funeral, Khan, and anyone who has asked has been silenced."
"You can't give funeral rites to a traitor," Khan added for Fen's benefit.
"And everyone is just going to accept that you're dead? Without seeing a body or…or anything?" she demanded angrily.
"The gate we went through would have blown up once we were through it, so no one could follow. It would be easy for Hasina to say there was no body to be found."
"But you are alive, Khan," Sargon said, his dark eyes serious. "So the real question we need to ask is: As the rightful pharaoh, what are you going to do about this?"
