Page 60 of A Thousand Nights Before Dawn
Namir’s brow creased, and he held her still, even as she pushed against his chest. “Zahra, please.”
“I told you not to come for me.”
Namir pulled her into an empty hall that led into the temple, pushing her into a corner. He loosened his grip on her arm, but he did not release her. “I only wish to speak with you.”
Zahra turned her head away from him. “I have nothing to say to you.”
Namir’s teeth gritted. “This is why I wrote to you. Did you not receive any of my letters?”
Letters?Zahra scoffed. “And if I did, why would I have read them?”
Namir clenched his jaw and turned away. “Have you not been curious about my progress?”
“No.” She clasped the edge of her dress with one hand, anger in her tone. “Our deal is off. Why would I concern myself with your affairs?”
“Because your life depends on it,” Namir reasoned, turning to her. “You need my help.”
“I do notwantyour help,” Zahra spat. “I thought I made that clear.”
Namir clenched his jaw. “You have not given me the chance to explain.”
“You had your chance, and all you gave me were excuses. If it was not clear to you that night, it should have been clear when you came to my master’s house.”
She remembered the morning clearly. She was washing clothes in the river when Namir and a small army ofmedjayappeared at her master’s doorstep. She ran into the city and hid, and she had run every day since. At some point, Namir had stopped looking for her. It had been months since she had seen him. Now here he was, meddling with her plans.
“I do not need the help of a King who does not have my best interests at heart,” Zahra seethed. “Now, release me so I may go to my father.”
Namir stared at her, grinding his teeth. He dropped his hand, stepping back toward the opening to the outside.
Zahra stepped forward, but it was clear he wouldn’t let her pass. She would have to go through the temple itself. Zahra turned around and began walking. She hoped she wouldn’t run into Zosar.
“I know what happened last night.” Namir’s voice echoed around her.
Zahra’s feet came to a stop.
Namir continued. “I saw your boat on the shore, broken and bloody. I saw your father. I saw you. Themedjaythat pulled youfrom the water said you were heading toward the Sea, trying to bypass the dock at Rhakotis.”
Zahra glanced back as Namir shook his head, his gaze focused on the ground, as if reliving the memory. “How much longer will this go on? How many more nights must you suffer? How many more nights must you die before you see sense?”
Hot tears welled in Zahra’s eyes, and she spun toward him, pointing a finger at him. “You knownothingof what I have suffered!”
“Then tell me,” Namir begged. “I do not ask for your forgiveness. I do not ask that we make amends.”
“What then?” Zahra demanded. “What do you want from me?”
“I wish for you to accept my help. That is all.”
“Lies!” Zahra stepped back. “If that were true, you would have told your guards to let my father and I pass. I know you have been following me. I saw you the night before last, chasing after our boat as we cast off. You knew where I would be last night. You ordered yourmedjayto kill us!”
“I ordered them not to harm either of you,” Namir defended, “but I also asked them to stop you. I don’t think they intended to hit your father. They did not intend to make you drown.”
His words brought back her memories of last night. An arrow had struck her father’s back. He clung desperately to the boat’s mast, struggling for breath as he had in the throne room. The arrow that struck her came fast, and the force plunged her into the water before she could react. Even from a distance, Zahra could identify the influence of thekeresin themedjaythat shot them.
Zahra stepped back, shaking the memories from her mind. “If you wish to help, then tell them to leave the dock altogether. Let us pass in peace.”
“And then what?” Namir asked. “Your boat will not survive in the Sea, and if you dock it anywhere outside of Aur, you will surely be attacked by the Naqada.”
“I would rather chance my fate with them than here in Aur with you,” Zahra snapped. “It’s because of you that my father and I are hunted by the Pharaoh Queen.”
