Chapter 23
Neff
Between that morning’s ordeal and the heat inside the little tent, Neff could only hold off sleep for so long. The bread and water that Rae had brought her had satiated the worst of her hunger and thirst, and eventually she nodded off.
The next thing she knew, something was poking her in the shoulder. She snorted and woke, stiff from the awkward way she was bound. When she opened her eyes, though, she was alone in the tent.
Then she saw the little footprints in the sand.
Neff managed to shake the loosened gag from her mouth. “Medjed!” she whispered. “You’re here!” She pushed a piece of loose cloth toward him with her toe. “Look—I managed to keep hold of your shroud when they packed away the rest of the laundry.”
A moment later, the cloth rose up from the ground with Medjed’s diminutive form beneath.
“Your eyes are on backward.”
After some shifting, the painted eyes rotated to face her.
“That’s better. You knew I needed to be with her, didn’t you? Rae? That’s why you didn’t try to stop her from taking me.”
Medjed nodded.
“Part of me really wants you to help me escape, because I’m scared, but… I know I can’t leave yet. I need her to trust me. The oracle wants us to work together, I’m sure of it. Rae needs to believe that we’re on the same side.”
Neff thought about the young woman she’d known as Ahura, and how different she was after she’d dispensed with the pretense of being a servant.
It was as if she’d been making herself small to fit into palace life.
Away from there, she seemed to exhale, to expand—proving to be someone very powerful indeed.
Without warning, Medjed turned to face the tent flap and dropped out of sight. The little cloth had only just settled on the ground when someone bent low to enter.
It was the big man, the one Rae called Omari.
Of all the Low Khetaran rebels, he was the one who really frightened her. Neff quickly nuzzled her face back into the gag so Omari wouldn’t think anything was amiss.
When he stood, Omari’s head brushed the top of the tent. He glowered down at her. “So, what do you think, eh? Is your life worth a hundred of our people?”
Neff had overheard Rae telling him that Meryamun had ordered a hundred Sakeshi citizens slaughtered for each day she was missing. It was horrific, but not surprising. If they’d asked her, Neff could have told them their kidnapping scheme wouldn’t work. Meryamun didn’t negotiate. He destroyed.
Neff shook her head, the gag preventing her from saying more.
Omari scoffed. “Of course. You’d say anything to save yourself.
You may look young, but I’ve heard of your power.
You cannot trick me.” He bent, seizing her arm in his thick, calloused hand.
“I know what you’re trying to do with Rae.
Do you think I’m stupid? You’ve put a spell on her to make her think you’re her friend.
” He paused. “She and I were great friends once. I hardly know her anymore.” A look of anguish crossed his face.
“She was keeping secrets from me! All this time!”
His grip hurt her. Tears sprung to Neff’s eyes, but she made no sound.
“I thought she wanted… I thought we would…” He didn’t finish. He took her chin in his hand, forcing her to look up at him. “Your king wants to send a message to Sakesh, does he? Fine. Then Sakesh will send her own message.”
When he stormed through the flap, Neff curled into a ball, trying to calm herself. Did Rae know what darkness lay in her friend’s heart?
And what might happen before she found out?