Page 10 of A Thousand Nights Before Dawn
“What day is it?” Zahra asked. “Has the Pa-sekhemty Feast happened yet?” Had her father stolen from the Pharaoh Queen?
Jala smiled sleepily. “The Feast is tonight, Zahra. Don’t worry. The young ladies have not gone without you.” She yawned and turned over in her hammock. “It was only a dream. Now, let me rest a moment longer.”
Zahra stepped back, glancing around the room. The rest of her roommates were still asleep. She opened her chest. Eshe’s dress was still hiding within. She had not yet delivered it.
Zahra shut the chest, breathless. “It was not a dream.”
The day was happening again.
3
The Commander
Zahra pulled on her dress as her roommates got ready for the day around her. They spoke quietly about their plans for the night of the eclipse. Zahra’s hands hesitated on the areas of her body where she had felt themedjay’sblade on her skin. She suppressed a shudder as she pulled her shawl over her head.
Memories of last night flew through her mind, and she kept thinking back to the man with the star-filled eyes. How did he know that the day would repeat? Why could she remember last night when no one else could? She had asked Jala and a few of her roommates, but everyone had told her the same thing: What she remembered was only a dream. If it had not been for him, she would have agreed with them. Even now, her memories of last night were faded and gray, except for the few moments she was by his side.
If the man knew that the day was repeating, then he must remember as well. She did not know who he was, but she wouldfind out. He would be at the Feast again tonight, and she would seek the answers to her questions.
Zahra’s roommates filed out of the room for their morning worship. She fetched a small piece of blue fabric and a string of beads from her chest and followed them. The other servants flocked together on one side of the downstairs, repeating chants and wishing Re a safe journey across the sky. In Auran culture, Re had many names. In their morning prayers, they called him “Khepri.” Every hour after sunrise, the obelisk would ring, and Khepri would rest a moment from his journey. At the sun’s highest point in the sky, his name changed to “Re.” When the sun set, he was called “Atum” until sunrise, when the sunnetjerwas born again as “Khepri.”
Zahra sat in a patch of light coming from one of the few windows in the basement. She took the blue fabric in her hands and set it on the ground. It was covered in embroidered designs of the crescent moon, torches, and a chariot pulled by a beautiful mare.
Zahra removed her necklace, placing it, along with the beads, in the center of the fabric. She bundled them together in her hands, bowed her head, and began to pray.
Since Ionia was conquered and her mother had died, Zahra had worshiped without her father. There were once other Ionians under Bahiti’s care, but they had all paid off their debts and left. For three years, Zahra had worshiped alone.
Zahra prayed in Ionic, a tongue that most Aurans couldn’t understand and some couldn’t bear to hear. She called upon hertheos—what her people called their gods—and asked for deliverance from the sorrows the day would bring. Even as a child, Zahra found Selene would answer in unexpected ways. She knew the eagle’s presence last night was not a mistake. It had guided her to safety, though she had still managed to run into danger.
Zahra concluded her prayer and then looked through the window. She hoped the eagle would fly past with its great wings, but the pink sky was empty.
Zahra sighed, standing. There were chores to be done before she would be permitted to eat, and she would need her strength to face what the day would bring.
After putting away her things and returning her necklace to her neck, Zahra collected the dirty laundry with a few other servants. The rising sun cast colors of pink and blue across the sky, illuminating the girls’ way as they walked to a small offshoot of the great river downhill from their master’s home.
The dewy grass tickled her toes, and she slipped her feet into the cold water. The small river was not deep, just reaching her knees. Zahra set to work, her mind occupied as the others chatted excitedly about the day ahead. If it were a usual morning, Zahra would have participated in the conversation, but such things were in the back of her mind now.
She had to find that man, but she also had to find out why her father was stealing. He had stolen it to protect her. Protect her from what?
Zahra peered past the dress she was washing. Her reflection was distorted in the cloudy river, but she could clearly see her amber eyes. Her eyes narrowed as her reflection changed—her skin became dark like the night, and her curls became braids with colorful beads, until she was looking at another girl completely.
As clearly as if it were her own reflection, Zahra saw a young Auran woman with a dress design that Zahra had never seen before. Zahra’s hand slipped from the dress she was washing, and her fingers caressed the reflection of the woman’s face. The woman’s brown eyes were filled with a grief and fear similar to her own.
“Zahra. Zahra!”
Zahra blinked and spun toward the voice. She slipped on a stone, and her foot went out from under her, sending her into the river.
The others snickered as she lifted herself out of the water and put the dress with the other clothes in her basket. Jala rolled her eyes at the other girls. “Are you finished? We wish to return.”
Zahra studied their baskets. Though they had only just started, the others had already washed their loads, while Zahra’s sat half finished. A piece of papyrus stuck out from between Jala’s hand and the basket. So shehadfound the invitation in Bahiti’s laundry.
Zahra glanced at her soaked dress and sighed. “I will catch up once I am finished.”
The girls started walking away, but Jala remained a few moments longer, as if debating whether to give Zahra the invitation then and there. Instead, she followed after the others.
Zahra glanced at the water with apprehension before grabbing the dress. After she had washed all of the clothes, she went to the back of the house to lay them on wooden bars to dry. The servants’ area was eerily quiet when she went inside, a stark contrast to yesterday’s hustle and bustle.
Zahra’s wet sandals squeaked as she found everyone by the stairs to the main house. They were all listening intently, whispering to and hushing one another.
