4. Eshe #3
“They found out that I was a woman… And, well, you know the rest,” I explained for her sanity.
“I—I’ve never met a woman that was a—” She looked for the word.
“Fighter?” I finished for her. I chuckled, shrugging. “Me neither.”
She laughed with me. Baked bread and spices wafted through the warm air, and my stomach responded.
“I’m Seda.”
I was glad she dropped the subject. Even more glad that she didn’t judge me as harshly as I expected her to.
“I’m Mara. How long have you been delivering food to the arena?”
“A few months now.” There was a painful strain in Seda’s voice, and she swallowed. “They buy most of the food we make. I’m grateful for them. Without them, I’m not sure what we would do.”
She calmed me. I liked her. I needed to be around people like her more.
“Surely, you’d find other buyers, no?” I questioned.
We continued our way through the cool breeze of the streets. The crowds dispersed as the merchants packed their supplies and belongings. A few continued to press their products on curious buyers.
“Not as many as we need. And at home, my mother and I have quite a few mouths to feed,” she explained.
Now, I was the one with many questions in mind. “Do you have a husband or a father to help?”
“No husband, and my father… He—” She bowed her head. “He died.”
Seda’s soft brown eyes peered up, and she slowly shook her head. “I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone like you before. I would be careful. Those men out there… They are not to be tested. I would not push the grace they clearly showed to you.”
I winced. “I’m not sure if I can promise that. My body sings in chaos.”
In a way, this encouraged me to hold my reins a little longer, continue as planned, and not get distracted by temporary revenge.
“How did Ezra Navon become Qahl? I didn’t realize his father had died.”
“He hasn’t yet. He gave his Qahlship to Ezra this year, actually, due to his sickness. It slowly took him over the years, and it saddens the entire city to see it.”
Serves them right for what they did to my family.
“To be honest, I was hoping to catch a glimpse of Ezra Navon. I’ve heard so much about him. I wanted to see for myself if all those”—I swallowed a gag—“glorious accomplishments really outshine his godlike looks.”
She blinked.
“Well,” she said slowly, “tourists typically find Ezra when he makes appearances traveling in and out of Urnaz, and, of course, the arena is where he likes to spend time when he’s not in the palace.”
“The palace…” I wondered aloud. “Yes, I can imagine he likes to spend most of his time there with his harem.”
Seda let out a laugh. “I had a friend one time tell me what it was like when she was invited to enter the Selection. Even multiple Priestels who were there to dance for the Selection in honor of him were brought in as options.”
“For Ezrah’s harem?” I asked.
“No, for Prince Casimir’s. His Selection happens every six months, but Qahl Ezra’s is private and closed.”
I refrained from rolling my eyes because only Ezra would want to do something against the grain. A lot of harems were filled with Priestels. “You know, I haven’t seen a Priestel here yet.”
“You haven’t seen Priestels yet because the main Priestelhood is in the upper part of Urnaz called Khraus. They don’t make an appearance often because they’re solely dancers for the palace or for large events that can afford them.”
“Khraus. That sounds expensive…and exotic.”
Seda bobbed her head. “Oh, yes. They pay the Priestels well, too.”
“Really?”
“They’re quite the treasure. It’s almost impossible to find a job at the Khraus. You have to know someone who knows someone, who knows the Head Priestel, or be willing to pay more than reasonable for training to be a dancer.” Seda shrugged gently. “It’s politics.”
We finally reached a somber building that had in writing “Folendra” above the doorstep.
I had never spent the night at a Folendra, as it was mostly designed for widows, and these women took care of each other.
They were protected by hired eunuchs, but the price to stay each night there was high, especially for a traveling woman.
“Thank you for taking me here. I appreciate it more than you know,” I said, and was surprised that I meant it.
Seda smiled. “It was really no trouble. It was nice meeting you, Mara.” She gave a wave and continued through the streets.
As soon as I entered the Folendra and paid them with a gold bracelet, far more than the cost of staying here for a night, but enough to keep their mouths shut, I was taken to a tiny chamber with a comfortable cot.
My jaw was throbbing from the fight, but I loved it. Every pulse of pain deepened my desire to find him again.
I walked to the nearby water basin. Crimson flooded the water bowl as I washed my face, neck, and arms. I didn’t realize I had lost so much blood.
The thought of Ezra caused me to clench my hands so hard that I nearly punctured my skin.
Relax. I dropped my shoulders.
Wiping my face dry with a clean towel, even I couldn’t lie to myself—I was exhausted. But this was all worth it. Soon, it would all be worth it.