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flower-wrapped pillars, I stood as much out of the lamplight as I could, yet still within earshot of Tekurah in case she beckoned. Gossip consumed her at the table, and she did not notice Akhum move from his seat.
    A year on a campaign to Canaan had defined his long muscles and darkened his golden-brown skin. He was even taller than I remembered. Befitting his rank, the kilt of the decorated battalion commanders wrapped his narrow hips in pristine white pleats edged with blue embroidery. Gold cuffs encircled his biceps and wrists, and a huge fly amulet hung around his neck—the Gold of Valor. Akhum had been decorated for bravery on the battlefront. My heart swelled with undeserved pride.
    Where was he going? He moved through the shadows around the periphery of the room, sliding behind the crowd of servants waiting to attend their masters. He had left behind a table of dazzling young maidens, hand-selected for sure by Tekurah to ensure his attention remained on that side of the room. She did not want him to notice me, but she wanted me to suffer, to look from afar on the life I should be enjoying and mourn.
    Akhum’s rich, exotic scent alerted me to his presence long before he spoke. He had secreted into the dark shadows behind me. His breath touched my hair and paralyzed me, with the exception of my trembling knees.
    â€œI did not know, Kiya.” His warm whisper caressed my ear. “Had I known I would have . . .”
    I dared not even twist my neck to look at him. “There is nothing you could have done,” I whispered back, willing my voice not to quaver.
    â€œNo, I won’t have this.” His low voice whipped out as sharply as a blade.
    I sighed. “I am indentured for life.”
    â€œI will think of something.”
    His silken hand brushed down the length of my hair. “You are still so beautiful. Somehow even more so without the jewels and gowns . . .”
    Silence took his place.
    I was glad I had not faced him. I could not have endured looking into his eyes. His nearness alone brought fresh grief crashing down on me again. Dizzy and afraid to breathe, I feared losing control of the knot forming in my throat.
    Did he mean what he said? Could I hope? Should I? Akhum rescued me from my misery each night in my dreams. Could the fantasy become reality? Was freedom within reach?
    Tekurah had noticed Akhum’s empty chair and signaled me.She watched his return out of the corner of her eye. She looked between the two of us, back and forth, but Akhum kept his gaze averted.
    She pinned me with a look meant to remind me of my place. “Fetch me different sandals. These pinch.”
    I backed away.
    For the rest of the evening, Tekurah kept me running to her chambers to retrieve different articles: her fan, a silver mirror inlaid with emeralds Shefu had bought in Thebes, the perfume purchased at the market yesterday. She ignored the servers and ordered me to bring different platters of food or keep her cup of wine replete.
    Evening stretched into night, and night lengthened into the early hours of the morning. My feet ached and my eyes stung from the smoke of the many dancing candles and the oil lamps bathing the room with light.
    Akhum moved from his assigned table to sit with his parents. Their backs were turned, but from the way they were gesturing, they must have been discussing my fate. There was no way to judge where I stood on the balances.
    My stomach flipping like a suffocating fish on a riverbank, I pleaded with the gods, as I had every day these past months. Please let his father honor the betrothal.
    From time to time, wealthy Egyptian men took a bride from among the serving class. Akhum could still honor the agreement made with my father a year ago, if he so chose. But if his father forbade the union, Akhum might endanger his position with his family and Pharaoh’s army. His father was a general, and without his blessing, I stood no chance.
    I tried to