Kadesh pounded up beside us. “The fighting will go on for hours, and I won’t stand idly by.” His words had the edge of acute frustration. “So many times we’ve tried to deal a resounding blow and push them back, but they’re too experienced, too hardened.”
Several Edomites had just lost their lives from the expert archers, their beautiful Arabian horses wounded or roaming the desert.
I stole a glance at Asher, his face pale.
“You’ve done well with Asher,” Kadesh praised me, reaching out to grip my hand in his. “It’s after high sun.”
Hours had gone by already. My stomach was hollow with a peculiar pain. I jerked the reins of my horse, moving closer. “What is it, Kadesh?”
“Horeb’s numbers were up today, unfortunately. Some of his men must have recovered from their illness. My men are stressed to keep up. Although Basim’s group hasn’t had a single casualty yet. With thanks to you, my love.”
Kadesh pulled at the leather harness of my horse, bringing me closer. We were eye to eye, my leg locked tight against his.
I gave him an optimistic look despite my sweaty hair and blood-splattered cloak. “I hope my true character will remain noble in the future, dear sir.”
“Have no fear on that score.” He lowered his voice so that Asher couldn’t hear us. “Our marriage covenant as King and Queen of Sariba just became much more real.”
“We will keep the faith together,” I told him.
“I’m trying,” he said, but his eyes were devastated at Sariba’s losses.
“Kadesh,” I said, “I need you to stay strong. You have to. You can’t give up. Not only for me and my family but for those men out there fighting and dying. For your father and mother and King Ephrem.”
“You should have stayed at the palace,” he told me now.
“The battlefield is worse than I expected,” I admitted. “Which means, I will continue to fight with all of you,” I said. “So our soldiers don’t lose hope.”
Kadesh’s mouth tightened. “Stay close to Asher. Circle around to the northeast along the low-lying boulders and get a report from Basim about the fighting there. I’ll be here on the west with General Naham. Return here.”
I saluted him. “Yes, my king.”
All at once, he pulled me to him and kissed me. “Now go before I change my mind.”
After a gulp of water from my leather skin, Asher and I raced toward the foothills. Basim’s men were bloodied and fierce. The sight was unsettling.
“Come this way, my lady!” Asher shouted, beckoning me to follow him.
Even I could see that some of the marauders from Sa’ba were in trouble. Horeb had sent in fresh men, and we were losing this skirmish. After everything I had promised Basim, I couldn’t let him lose his men.
We raced forward and employed the same strategy as in the morning, working as a team to keep Horeb’s men at bay. Hot sun poured along my shoulders and sweat streamed down my face. With every stroke of my sword, I tasted grit in my mouth.
A Maachathite galloped toward me and I screamed for Asher, rising up on my horse to grip my sword with both fists. I swung and the clang reverberated so harshly I thought I’d broken my arm. My sword fell into the dirt, and, before I could steady myself, I was falling. The ground rushed up to meet me, and I landed with a cruel thud.
I lay still, trying to suck in air. My lungs seemed to have seized up. The sounds of battle disappeared with the roaring in my ears. I stared up at the sky, gulping against the pain in my lungs.
Sunset slipped along the valley floor of the Qara Mountains like sand through an hourglass. The man who had knocked me off my horse must have thought he’d killed me because he’d left me where I’d fallen.
I lifted my head cautiously. Basim’s men had drawn the enemy deeper into the center of the valley. My horse was placidly eating grass, but stood too far away. I dared not call to him or walk out to retrieve him while the falling light blinded me.
Groaning, I rolled over and tried to sit up to get my bearings. I needed to head for the boulders and caves and walk back to the city. And I needed to move before any Assyrians spotted me.
Getting to my knees, I tried to stand but my legs wobbled and I fell over again.
Taking a breath, I attempted to rise once more—just as two sets of arms grabbed me on either side and hauled me to my feet.
28
Two men from my old tribe gripped me so tight I swore their hands had turned into a vise. Words gurgled in my throat, but I coughed up more dust than coherent sentences.
“Prisoner of war.” They laughed while one of them picked up my sword and stuck it inside his waist belt.
“That sword is mine!” I protested, but they ignored me, dragging me along the ground as they took me in the opposite direction of Sariba.
The tents of Horeb’s armies loomed, becoming more distinct by the moment.
Soldiers moved about. Returning from the battle zone. Building fires, tending to their weapons, carrying water, grooming horses.
The stutter in my chest turned to such a painful pounding I feared I might have heart failure.
“Where are you taking me?” I demanded.
“To the King of the Nephish,” came the curt reply.
The thought of being in his presence terrified me more than fighting his foreign soldiers. I couldn’t believe I’d allowed myself to get captured. Where was Asher? I’d lost sight of him and worried that he’d fallen in battle. If he died, I’d never forgive myself.
The camp swam before my eyes, but the enemy territory had suddenly stilled. The clatter of dishes stopped. The tasks ceased.
The two soldiers handed me off to another pair, and these men hauled me so fast along the rocky path my shins scraped along the stones as I scrambled to stay on my feet.
“It’s a woman!” someone shouted. “Sariba is so weak their women are fighting!”
Jeers and rude language surrounded me. I shut my ears, praying that I would survive.
I was shaking by the time we came to the main tent. Horeb’s personal guards lined the perimeter, and one of them parted the doors, shouting, “Tell Horeb we have a gift for him!”
The next moment I was shoved inside. The interior was dark, and it took a moment for my eyes to adjust.
My arms hurt from being bandied about, and I rubbed at my shoulders, trying to rid myself of the lingering imprint of their touch.
“What gift is this?” Horeb was closer than I expected, his bulky shadow looming directly in front of me. There was a note of surprise in his voice, followed by a low chuckle. “A very nice gift to end my day of battle,” he added, reaching out to cup my elbow with his meaty hand, and then catching my fingers with his to pull me closer. “A day of battle in which I kill my enemy’s army and then sliced the King of Sariba into tiny pieces.”
I shuddered while he stared into my eyes, willing myself not to flinch.
Horeb had fully become a man over the past year. He was taller, wider, even more muscled than I remembered, his hair long and ragged and wild. The girls of my tribe used to swoon at a glimpse of him striding about the camp. He was as handsome as ever, but there was a calculating coldness in his eyes brought on by years of raids and ambition fueled by the belief that his father preferred his older brother Zenos. That belief drove Horeb’s every waking thought and action.
“What do I owe the pleasure of a visit from my betrothed? My Nephish princess.”
Horeb drew his sword. Circling me, he tugged at the clasp of my cloak, releasing the ties so that it dropped to the ground about my feet. “I hardly recognized you in your battle gear. You even wear body armor. I’m impressed. But I find it amusing that the King of Sariba has you fighting with him. A sign of weakness, indeed.”
The other men in the tent laughed, and I sucked in my breath, gripping my fists so tightly it hurt.
“You’ve changed, Jayden, my love.”
“Don’t call me that,” I said in a low, hard voice.
Hi
s eyebrow lifted as he spun around. “Ah, is that what the heathen dictator calls you?”
I stared at him coldly.
“So you got lost during battle,” he said, his lips pursing as he mused on my predicament.
“After I took down a few of your men.”
“You’re still a fighter. Remember our night by the pond?”
“Anybody will fight back when they’re attacked,” I countered.
“You risked death to fight so close to my camp and headquarters.”
“You trespass the kingdom of Sariba. Besides, I don’t think you’ll kill me. That’s not why you traveled thousands of leagues to get here.”
“Don’t be so sure.” He came closer, his breath on my face. “I do believe you’ve come to surrender to me. The question is, will you surrender to me in all things?” He smiled wickedly.
I ignored the insinuations. “I didn’t surrender at all. But you must stop this war if you don’t want your men to die.”
He clucked his tongue. “But Jayden, you know I will win. And then you can become my queen of Sariba.”
I tried to breathe and remain calm. “If I did agree, would you spare the lives of the city’s citizens? Will you spare the lives of the royal family?”
He had me exactly where he wanted me. His countenance filled with gloating. “My terms are these: You declare Sariba’s surrender. I ask for Kadesh’s head. You give it to me. I send my armies home with the bounty of this land. I stay as Sariba’s king and live in wealth and ease the rest of my days. See how easy that is?”
I pressed my lips together, uncomfortable with so many listening ears. “May we speak privately, King of the Nephish?”
Horeb grasped my arm and pulled me closer. I shuddered at his touch, and the smell of his skin brought back a rush of horrible memories. “It’s been a long time since we’ve seen each other, Jayden,” he said huskily, his tone softening for a moment. “You’re even more beautiful, and now you’re a warrior woman, too. I’ve always known you would make a formidable wife and queen for our tribe. And I was right.”
“You’re changing history now.” I tried to take a step backward, but caught my foot on a pile of coiled rope stacked along the edge of the tent and nearly tripped. I had to endure this—and find a way out of here. “Call off your guards,” I commanded. “You and I have known each other our entire lives. Where am I going to run? I’m surrounded. You carry all the power here.”
Horeb smiled and poured two goblets of red wine, handing one to me. I took one tiny sip, only enough to wet my dry throat.
“Now do you feel better?” he asked.
I tried to continue making eye contact without showing my terror. “You are king of a growing tribe. You have power and honor and riches, an army at your beck and call. Why do you sacrifice their lives? Why don’t you form an alliance with the Assyrian and Hittite nations and rule the northern deserts?”
He gulped down his drink. “Because I want the power King Hammurabi has. And I want you. Kadesh has to die because I need the wealth of the frankincense lands to accomplish my goal. We’ll be king and queen of the desert kingdoms. It’s a heady feeling. Quite a feat I’ve performed finding the secret frankincense lands, don’t you think?”
“Because Laban, the Edomite traitor, led you. And then you only had to follow our tracks from the land of Sheba.”
His brow pulled together, dark and angry while his arm lifted to throw the goblet across the room. I shuddered at the loud crash it made against the tent pole.
“Horeb,” I tried again. “Our fathers were brothers in every sense. They loved each other. Surely you don’t intend to kill Pharez. My sisters are here and vulnerable—”
“Your sister is High Priestess of Sariba. She has her Egyptian lover. Why would I care about her?”
“If you’ve aligned with Aliyah, and she wants to make you her king, why do you need me?”
“The northern tribes care about blood leadership and vows and covenants, Jayden. You know that, and that means you belong to me. We are the rightful heirs and kingship of our tribe. I’m only aligned with Aliyah because she can get me the obedience of Sariba—and now she can help get me the kingdom of Sa’ba.”
“Then you know that she killed her sister, the queen, last night?”
“It was all part of our plan. So why would I stop now? I have everything within my grasp. And then, like God’s miracle, you fall right into my camp. Offering yourself.”
“You’re delusional if you think I’m here to offer myself to you, and you greatly underestimate Aliyah. You are merely her means to rule as queen of all lands and kingdoms and the Frankincense Trail. You’re only a pawn in her game. The sacrificial scapegoat. A token. A fool.”
He laughed, however, I’d seen a flicker of uncertainty in his eyes before he turned away. “No woman will get the best of me.”
“Aliyah has the Egyptian magicians helping her. She’s using the power of the Goddess to control the people, to bend them to her will and obedience. How can you fight the power of that kind of magic?”
Horeb snorted, waving away my words. “If I have to annihilate every city between here and Babylon I will do it. You have only begun to see my power.”
“Listen to your own words. You are a man who would rather destroy the very country you desire rather than see it slip through your fingers.”
“Then so be it. I won’t be made a fool. I will win.”
“Horeb, my cousin,” I said, forcing my voice to mellow, “we have a history, you and I. Our families have known each other all our lives. Our fathers were loyal to each other until the end. I loved your mother, your sisters, Hakak and Falail and Timnath.” Tears filled my eyes with a sudden outpouring of memories.
“Tears, Jayden?” he said softly, grinning at me.
“I miss them. I wish I could meet their husbands, see their babies. I hate being so far from everyone I used to know and love. Even your mother, who cast me off after your father’s death, was like a second mother to me. When my mother died, Judith was the one that comforted me. Wept with me. I’m the one who knew you as an innocent boy, playing stick games and tending camels. Teasing me, outracing the other boys. And you did the same with your younger brother, Chezib.”
Horeb turned away, the muscles in his jaw twitching with emotions I couldn’t name. Was he merely remembering, or was I only making him angry?
“I believe that boy is still inside of you,” I said now. “A boy who longs for home. For peace, for a family. You won’t get any of that with Aliyah. She will cast you off as soon as your army is wiped out. Even now this fight is draining you, weakening you so she can go in for the kill.”
He whirled around, but didn’t raise his voice. “You’re wrong, Jayden. And if you want to stay alive, you will be my queen of Sariba. My men will kill Kadesh, it’s only a matter of battle days. God brought you here to me because your future is with me. I know it now.”
Before I could speak again, he snaked his arm around my waist and pulled me tight against his chest, bending over me to crush his mouth against mine. I couldn’t breathe. I pushed against him but his weight was like the stone columns towering along the temple hallways, heavy and immovable.
Tears dribbled from my eyes, and yet he stayed locked against me. “I—can’t—” I tried to speak to catch my breath.
His rough hand brushed my cheek. “There’s no need to cry. We’re going to have a magnificent life together, exactly as our parents planned so long ago. This is why you’re here. Because you know it in your heart.”
“Horeb,” I said softly. “I didn’t come to you willingly, and you never had my heart.”
I was still locked in his arms while he brandished his dagger, laying the blade between my breasts and curving the handle so that the point of the knife pricked at my tunic. “I could cut your heart right out of your chest, and then it would belong to me forever.”
Before I could respond, he took a length of rope and knotted my wrists together. Thinking
quickly, I held them in a position so that the knots wouldn’t be too tight, but he wasn’t worried about me actually escaping. His men were everywhere. Horeb held all the advantage.
Posting two men at the door to the tent, he left, saying, “I’ll return after I speak with my captains. If she tries to escape, knock her out and come find me.”
I didn’t have much time. Under cover of the dim light of the tent, I fought back my panic and worked to get out of my bonds. The rope gave only slightly, but I was able to lift my elbows and move my hands higher. Grunting, I slipped a finger into my waistband and retrieved the piece of linen I’d tucked inside.
It was a painful process, but I managed to use my fingernail to punch a hole at the corners of the linen fabric and insert the narrow strips of leather I’d also hidden in my waist sash. I tied the ends into knots, sweating, my fingers slipping with nerves.
Finally, I slithered one of the small stones hidden inside the crudely fashioned linen pad, tightening the strings in preparation for throwing the stone. Horeb’s guards had taken the sling tied around my waist and out in the open for anyone to see, but they hadn’t thought to search me for hidden leather straps and stones.
Now I waited for his return.
29
My wrists were chaffed by the time I finished preparing the makeshift sling.
I went through the motions of using the sling in my mind. A single swing and then the quick, hard throw to propel the stone at my target—Horeb’s guards. Over and over I pictured it so I was ready, just like Asher had taught me out on the desert during our long journey. The only problem I had to overcome was how to get out of the rope binding. Somehow, I’d get the guards to loosen the tie and then use the sling on them before they realized I had it.
The sounds of dinner preparation continued outside. Pots clanging, the crackle of fires. The candles on Horeb’s desk dripped wax, mimicking the drops of sweat dribbling down my neck.
All at once, a series of war trumpets sounded, and I jumped in my chair. What did that mean? The end of the battle? But surely it had long been over.
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