Chapter 12 The King’s Mistake
The King’s Mistake
Zahra hugged her legs, moonlight from the window above her illuminating her toes. The prison was halfway in the ground. The entrance was in the tiny room above them and filled with medjay. It was somewhere between three and four Atum, and there had been no news from the King or the Pharaoh Queen.
Zahra took a deep breath, letting the cool air soothe her tight chest. Namir would speak to the Pharaoh Queen. He would make her understand. All would be well.
“If only he didn’t also remember,” Omar said from his spot on the floor. “You could try again tomorrow.”
“He will help us.” The words hung in the air, but Zahra believed them. She had to. She couldn’t give up hope.
“I planned to steal something.” His gaze met hers. His eyes were tired, swollen from tears. “That alone is worthy of execution in the Pharaoh Queen’s eyes.”
Zahra shook her head. “I trust the King.”
Omar sighed and sat beside her. “Poulaki mou.” He hesitated. “If I die tonight—”
“You will not.” She almost said we, but she remembered what she had told him. As long as Namir was on their side, her father would never find out the truth.
“If,” he repeated. “My debt will be gone, and you will be free, but I want you to stay with Darius and Bahiti.”
Zahra leaned away from him. “What?”
“They will take care of you. Bahiti is a kind master; she and her husband have done much for us since we arrived in Aur.”
You know nothing of what kind of master she is, Zahra almost told him, but she turned away instead. “I want to leave her, Patér. Don’t you understand?”
“It’s not wise.” Omar put a hand on her shoulder. “She will use your skills. You will be happy there. And Kanefer is there.”
Zahra gritted her teeth. “Remember why we stopped speaking, Patér?”
“You were best friends as children. He is good for you, if only you would give him another chance.” Omar leaned back against the wall. “Please, Zahra. I don’t want to die with this rift between us.”
Zahra hugged herself, ache eating away at her jaw as she clenched it.
“Please,” Omar begged after a few moments. “Promise me you will stay with her.”
Zahra let out a trembling sigh. “I can’t promise that, Patér.”
The door swung open, and two medjay walked in. “The Pharaoh Queen demands your presence.”
Zahra and Omar glanced at each other.
Zahra took a deep breath, lowering her voice. “All will be well, Patér.”
The medjay bound their hands with rope and carried them to the pr-aa on horseback.
Zahra looked around in awe as they approached the throne room. The doors were large and covered in jewels and intricate carvings. Medjay pulled them open from the other side, letting the prisoners in.
Vibrant pillars led to wide, open skylights.
One showed the moon. Lamps on poles lined the walkway.
The walls depicted the Pharaohs of old and the river they were given.
Fabrics embroidered with gold draped over the walls, guiding the eye to two large thrones at the end of the room.
Each throne was adorned with a sculpture of Re’s hawk head.
The throne on the right was empty, but the one on the left held a woman.
She wore a long white gown, and a long, braided wig sprinkled with gold sat atop her head.
On top of that was a tall, fabric crown decorated with jewels and symbols of Re.
The medjay shoved Zahra and Omar to the floor, forcing them to their knees. The medjay stepped away, leaving the prisoners bowing to the Pharaoh Queen.
Zahra looked up through her curls. Medjay surrounded them. Namir stood closest to the Pharaoh Queen. Beside him stood Vizier Nubia, and beside her stood Waaiz, the Great Overseer of the Army.
For a moment, the Vizier’s gaze crossed paths with Zahra’s. Nubia turned away, her expression impartial and awkward.
“Thieves, what have you done with our most sacred gift?” The Pharaoh Queen’s alto voice rang through the room, echoing as if she surrounded the prisoners on all sides.
“I did not take it,” Omar said. His voice rang hollow in the large room. “I was in the pr-aa by the King’s orders at the time it was stolen.”
“There are other ways of stealing than with your own hands,” the Pharaoh Queen countered. “Who are your accomplices?”
“I have none,” he stated. “I was framed by an unknown person who threatened to kill my daughter. They asked me to steal the Thoth, but I did not.”
“You were planning to steal it.” She gestured to Namir. “You have confessed this to your King.”
“I—I did.” He glanced at Zahra, then bowed to the Pharaoh Queen. “I planned to steal it, but only because my daughter’s life was threatened. She knew nothing of my plans. I did not steal anything.”
“Lies.” The Pharaoh Queen’s voice rebounded off the walls. Zahra shut her eyes as the sound vibrated against her eardrums.
Omar shook his head. “My Pharaoh, I have served in the temple as a priest of Re for over a decade. I love this kingdom more than anything.”
“You stole from us,” the Pharaoh Queen declared. She turned toward Zahra. “And you.”
Zahra gulped, raising her gaze to the Pharaoh Queen’s.
The Pharaoh Queen held her head high. “You worked with assassins to kill my son—your King. These acts of treason cannot be excused.”
Namir stepped forward. “Great Pharaoh, what of what I told you? She was helping me find the assassins. She was not behind their threat.”
“And yet the assassins were not where she said they would be. It was only a distraction to get information from you, my son. Nothing more.”
“She remembered wrong,” Namir said, “but she is not our enemy. She was the one who warned me of the assassins’ threat last night. She died saving my life!”
The Pharaoh Queen’s head snapped toward him, and Omar turned to Zahra with a horrified expression. The Pharaoh Queen’s eyes narrowed. “What?”
“She was captured by the assassins yesterday,” Namir stuttered. “She escaped and warned me of their threat.”
“How does she remember where the assassins are if this occurred yesterday?”
The medjay glanced at each other, confused.
Omar turned to Zahra. “You told me you were safe.”
Zahra avoided his gaze. “I…”
“She remembers as I do,” Namir claimed.
The Pharaoh Queen went silent. “You chose an Ionian as your bride?”
Zahra winced.
“No.” He hesitated. “In truth, I chose my bride many days ago, but I cannot find her again. She is missing. This Ionian remembers, though I do not know why.”
The Pharaoh Queen’s gaze burned into Zahra, and Zahra’s body tensed with fear.
Namir hastened his words. “She has been helping me search for my bride. She—”
“Bring her here.”
Zahra yelped as rough hands grabbed her and pulled her forward. Omar yelled as they dragged her across the floor. She was tossed at the Pharaoh Queen’s feet, her knees, shoulders, and face crashing into the limestone tile.
“Mwt—” Namir cried out.
The Pharaoh Queen interrupted him. “Kneel.”
Zahra struggled to lift herself, her hands bound tightly behind her. Her knees groaned as she bowed deeply to the Pharaoh Queen.
The Pharaoh Queen stood from her throne, coming to a stop in front of Zahra. She grasped Zahra’s chin, wrenching Zahra’s neck upward. Zahra cried out as pain raced to her skull, but she promptly closed her mouth as the Pharaoh Queen looked down at her.
Wisps of gray hair slipped out from beneath the Pharaoh Queen’s wig as she studied Zahra’s face, turning Zahra’s head to analyze every part of it.
After a moment, she pulled Zahra closer and stared into her eyes.
The Pharaoh Queen’s eyes were dark like Namir’s, but Zahra did not see stars within them.
Instead, she saw fire—the power of the sun came from within the Pharaoh Queen’s eyes.
Heat from the sun’s flames licked at Zahra’s cheeks, and Zahra whimpered under the Pharaoh Queen’s touch, which burned like hot iron.
Her frame trembled, the might of the sun overwhelming.
This was a woman to be feared—a ruler without her other half and with the magic of the sun netjer at her disposal.
The Pharaoh Queen threw Zahra away from her. “Sorceress.”
Gasps filled the space as Zahra collided with the ground and let out a pained cry. She looked up at the Pharaoh Queen.
“She carries the mark of a foreign netjer within her,” the Pharaoh Queen announced. “She will be executed for her crimes, and the other will be branded and banished as an example.”
“No!” Omar moved to stand, but medjay were on him in seconds. “Please, kill me instead!”
“I am not a sorceress,” Zahra cried. “I don’t know why I remember, but I did not work with the assassins, nor did we take the Thoth!”
The Pharaoh Queen’s jaw ticked, and she turned on Namir. “You told her?”
“I—I had to.” Doubt flashed in his eyes as he glanced at Zahra. “I thought it necessary.”
The Pharaoh Queen threw her arms out. “Now our most precious gift is gone, and they have the secrets to use it against us.”
“I do not think they are the ones behind the assassins.” Namir shook his head, his brow furrowed. “It does not make sense. Why would they kill her if—”
“Do not question their madness.” The Pharaoh Queen turned on Zahra. “Where are the assassins? Where have you hidden them?”
“I don’t know!” Zahra choked down a sob. “My King, please—”
“Silence!” The Pharaoh Queen nodded to Waaiz. “End her.”
Waaiz stepped forward, unsheathing his khopesh. Omar yelled, struggling against the medjay.
“Mwt,” Namir cautioned, stepping forward. “Please, I do not think—”
“Silence, Menes!” The Pharaoh Queen walked back to her throne. “You have done enough. Let me handle this.”
Namir shrank back, looking over at Zahra with sorrow in his eyes. She caught his gaze, and he turned away.
Nubia stepped up and rubbed Namir’s back. “It is alright, brother.”
“Namir,” Zahra screamed. “Do something. Please, do something!”
“Enough,” Waaiz growled. He raised his blade.
Zahra fell on her back, trying to escape. “Please. No. No!”
Omar broke free of the medjay, and he ran toward them. Zahra screamed as Waaiz brought the blade down on her.