Entering the Great Temple of Ptah was far more difficult than they had anticipated. Kanefer had likely gotten wind of Mereneith's existence and had thus stepped up surveillance around the temple grounds, hoping to be able to catch his missing younger brother.

Mereneith and Kha had been monitoring the temple's various entrances for several hours, yet they still could not find a suitable gap for them to slip inside without being noticed.

"Must we really get inside the temple?" Kha asked. "Could you not try to make a new version of that thing?"

"With what?" Mereneith plucked a splinter off a stray wooden pole and tossed it in the prince's face. "This?" She looked back towards the temple's north gate, just in time to see two guards switch shifts. "We need to get our hands on a few more crystals too. I can't conjure those out of thin air," she said.

Slipping down the dark alley, she led the way to a different entrance, hoping for better luck.

"Kanefer must suspect that one of the priests is working with us. Look at the way they're checking all of them," Mereneith murmured.

Priests of the temple were still allowed to enter and leave to go about their daily business, but were being subjected to stringent and sometimes downright aggressive checks by Kanefer's guards. A couple of times Mereneith flinched when she saw how the guards were trying to pry the faces off the priests as if they were wearing masks to hide their true identities.

"Do you think he's caught on to Tjethy?"

She shrugged. "No idea. But I think he's taking no chances."

The temple still seemed to be running as usual, which suggested that the high priest was temporarily off the hook. If he had been incarcerated, temple activities would have shut down immediately. Tjethy would have to be extremely careful with each step though, in order to continue evading detection.

"Look—it's him!" Kha pointed at a scrawny figure leaving the temple.

It was Sef, looking cowed and petrified while being questioned by the guards who towered almost two heads above him. They watched him answer all their questions with a bout of trembles, then hurriedly walk away from the temple gates to go about his task.

"Where's he going?"

"Let's follow him. This might be our only chance," Mereneith said.

According to Tjethy, Sef was working for him, so perhaps the junior priest would have a way of sneaking them into the compound without being noticed. They trailed Sef down a few streets until they could no longer see the grand façade of the great temple behind them, then, each of them grabbed the unsuspecting priest by one arm and dragged him into a side alley.

The man instinctively opened his mouth to shriek in alarm, but Mereneith promptly slapped a hand over it, smothering his cries for help.

"Shut up, unless you want to get us all killed," she hissed. She lifted her hood an inch with her other hand. "It's me, Mereneith."

When she caught the glimmer of recognition flash across Sef's eyes, she slowly released him.

"Are you out of your mind?" Sef whispered, eyes still darting around anxiously. "They're looking for you everywhere! There's notices with your faces plastered all over the city! If I get caught with you, I'll be hung as well."

"I'm not blind, and if you don't help us, you'll be dead before they catch you."

Mereneith shot Kha a glance, and a sharp tip immediately appeared at Sef's waist, jabbing his side threateningly. It was only a broken piece of wood, but the hapless priest didn't know that.

"What do you want, Mereneith?" Sef yelped.

"We need to get in to the temple and you're going to help us."

"It's impossible! Prince Kanefer has stationed guards all around the perimeter, and even within the temple grounds. No one can sneak in and out without being noticed."

"That's your problem, not mine. We know you're working for the High Priest, and I'm sure you know whose side the High Priest is on. If Kanefer wins, what do you think will become of you?"

Sef pursed his thin lips together in a hard line, brows furrowing in distress. After a moment's pause, he finally relented, shoulders sagging.

"There might be a way," he said.

#

Kha and Mereneith stared at the wild zilla and shamwa shrubbery that lined the foot of the temple wall at its northern wing. A guard had just completed his patrol past this section of the perimeter and was about to turn the corner to continue on his way.

"The hole is right there, behind those bushes" Sef whispered, pointing towards the wall. "You'll have to hurry, because the next patrol will be here in minutes. Once you're inside, hide in the nearest grain store. I'll let you know when it's safe to come out."

That said, the junior priest slipped away while the duo crept briskly towards the supposed "hole" that he had pointed them to.

When they reached the bushes and their entry point came into view, Kha stared at it in dismay.

"T-t-that's a dog hole," he said.

"Hurry up. You heard what Sef said. The guards will be here again any minute."

"I can't crawl through a dog hole!"

"Oh, so you'd rather die?" Mereneith grabbed the prince by the arm and yanked him down. "Follow me." She got on all fours and scrambled through the tiny opening, formed by erosion of the stone and persistent canine digging. Within the blink of an eye, she was already on the inside. She quickly surveyed the surroundings, then turned back towards the hole once she was certain there was no one around. "Hurry!" she scolded.

Moments later, the prince's reluctant head appeared through the hole, followed by the rest of him. He grimaced as he dusted away the sand and dirt from his cloak.

"If we live through this, don't tell anyone I ever climbed through this hole," he muttered.

"The grain store is over there."

Ignoring Kha's grumbles, Mereneith headed towards a small wooden shed that was located at the corner of the courtyard. They had entered into one of the temple's storage yards, which was rarely frequented at this time of night. It wasn't long before a few knocks came at the door—two short, two long, one short—the code that they had agreed upon.

The shoddy door creaked open and Sef's anxious face appeared. "Quick, follow me," he said, gesturing to them.

Mereneith and Kha slipped out behind the priest, and the trio made their way to Mereneith's cellar room, pausing every now and then to evade the patrolling guards. An air of disquiet and apprehension loomed upon every corner of the temple, and while priests still went about their evening chores, the fear hanging upon their countenances was clearly visible.

"Get what you need quickly," Sef whispered, shooing them down the narrow stairs when they arrived at their destination. "If you hear my whistle, find somewhere to hide."

Mereneith nodded, giving her thanks. She swiftly made her way down the stone steps, with Kha following behind. To their surprise, there was already someone waiting for them. In contrast to their dishevelled state, High Priest Tjethy looked as well put together as he always was—as if they were not in the midst of a coup.

"Ah, I'm glad to see that the both of you are safe," Tjethy said when he saw them emerge through the doorway. He put down the papyrus he had been holding in his hands. One of Mereneith's many eccentric designs. "It is a great risk you are taking to come here though. Prince Kanefer has planted eyes all over the capital—the temple included."

"Hem-netjer-tepi," Mereneith greeted, once she had gotten over her initial surprise. "Prince Nefermaat is to be executed tomorrow. We have to do something."

"And what might it be that you have planned? Just the two of you?"

The lack of confidence in their abilities did not go unnoticed. Tjethy was regarding them with arched brows and a quiet, though not unkind, disbelief. Mereneith felt the cracks of uncertainty starting to manifest inside her mind, but a soft squeeze at her right hand distracted her from sinking into the negativity. It was Kha, who gave her a small reassuring smile.

The prince took a step forward, putting himself between her and the high priest.

"High Priest Tjethy," he said, "what's the situation like? Seeing that you are still a free man, I assume Kanefer has not discovered the truth of your allegiance."

"No, not yet, although with your presence here I'm not sure how long I'm going to be able to keep my cover up."

Kha glowered. "Your cover will be useless once the king falls. Do you think Kanefer will let you off the hook? He is a suspicious man and he distrusts everyone. He will install his own men in every institution of power—including the Great Temple. We are all on the same boat," he said.

Tjethy took one contemplative look at the young prince. Then he smiled. "Seems like it was only yesterday when I first saw you in the palace as a swaddled child. And now look at you—a grown man." He placed one hand on Kha's shoulder, and the latter shrugged it off unceremoniously. "What will you have me do, Your Highness?"

"We need to bury some Ak'heka crystals around the execution site without being found out," Mereneith answered. "Can you help us?"

"Might I ask why?"

Mereneith exchanged glances with Kha, seeking his opinion on the matter.

Tjethy chuckled. "What happened to us being on the same boat? Do I not have the right to know whether or not this boat is about to sink?"

Kha hesitated for a moment, then he nodded.

"The site of the execution has a high throughflow of geo energy that can be concentrated through the crystals. If a sufficiently large number of crystals are placed in this formation—" Mereneith rifled through her mess of papyri and dug out a rough sketch of lines and crosses in the shape of a complex polyhedral, "—then we can use the earth's energy to trigger—" she paused "—an explosion."

"That is not what Ak'heka crystals are meant for." Tjethy's brows furrowed in disapproval. "Even if it works, which it may not, what would that achieve? There will be plenty of city folk gathered to witness the execution. The casualties will be great, and there are no means of guaranteeing that the king himself will not be hurt."

Mereneith shook her head. "It won't. Or at least it shouldn't. It doesn't work the way a kitchen explosion does. Based on my tests, the effect of the energy overload is directional, depending on the configuration of the crystals and the presence of a suitable channelling conduit. We can target the location of the explosion," she explained.

It was a wild idea, something that she had discovered by chance while playing with scrap bits of crystal by the banks of the Nile. She had been toying with crystal arrangements to see if anything would come out of it, when a loud bang almost caused her to topple backwards into the river. What she discovered was a small hole at the centre of her crystal formation, with bits of dirt flung in all directions around it. Subsequent tests yielded the same results, with different magnitudes depending on the quality of crystals used and the geographical location she was at. Thrilled with her discovery, Mereneith had begun work on a small wooden device—a crystal holder of sorts, fashioned like a crossbow—that could then allow her to be more precise with pinpointing the position of the detonations.

Heretical, Rekhmir had muttered when he heard of her little experiments, though he had never stopped her. Now, the fate of the kingdom rested upon this heresy.

"You wish to assassinate Prince Kanefer," Tjethy said solemnly.

"That would be a bonus," Kha replied. "Our purpose is to create a distraction so that we can rescue the king. Once my father is free from Kanefer's grasp, he will be able to tell everyone what the truth really is, and what Kanefer is plotting."

"And should you fail..."

"Then our boat has sunk. So will you help us?"

Kha stared at the high priest, a grim resolution in his dark eyes. In that moment, Mereneith saw him as Tjethy's equal—or perhaps even his superior. The royal blood that flowed through his veins shone through those eyes. Tjethy was right. Kha had grown up, and he was a true prince of Egypt now.

The high priest placed his palm across his chest and bowed. "As you wish, Your Highness," he said.

#

The sun of Ra blazed brightly against the azure skies on the day of the execution. Despite the sweltering heat, hordes of city dwellers had gathered around the central market square, where the beheading of Prince Nefermaat was due to take place. There were no stalls in sight today. Instead, a wooden platform had been set up in the middle of the square, upon which a surly executioner stood with his long, wooden stake. People jostled shoulder to shoulder, eager to catch a glimpse of the action. Soldiers were lined up around the square, spear tips glistening under the sun's rays, ready to apprehend any troublemakers.

Hidden beneath the shadows of their coarse hemp hoods, Mereneith and Kha blended in with the crowd, waiting anxiously for the moment of reckoning to arrive.

Earlier that morning, before daybreak, Tjethy had arranged for a few priests to conduct a ritual blessing at the execution ground, so that the gods would not be alarmed by the blood spilled upon their soil. It was then that Mereneith and Kha, disguised as part of the priesthood, had quietly buried the nine Ak'heka crystals beneath the sand and gravel.

Mereneith's eyes darted to the various locations where the crystals lay hidden, beneath the feet of the unsuspecting townsfolk. Beneath the long sleeve of her cloak was the tenth and final crystal of the formation, clutched tightly within her palm. Once this crystal was in place, the trap should be triggered, shifting their plan into motion. She could only hope that her calculations would be correct.

A commotion distracted her from her own thoughts, and she turned towards the direction of the heckles and shouts.

"It's the king," Mereneith whispered, glancing at Kha.

Their greatest worry was that Kanefer would change his mind about having the king appear at the execution, but thankfully that hadn't happened.

King Sneferu was seated in his golden litter at the head of the entourage, looking pallid and weak—a mere shadow of his former self. He was supported by two servants, who held on to his arms in order to keep him upright. Behind him came Kanefer and Iynefer, the former wearing a confident smile upon his face.

Mereneith felt Kha tense beside her, and she gently patted him at the elbow as a reminder of the plan they had.

They watched as the entourage proceeded towards the central platform. At the very tail of it came Nefermaat, shackled with heavy chains at his hands and feet, his back bare and bleeding from the lashes he had endured while imprisoned. Some of the onlookers began pelting him with rotten fruit and vegetables the moment he appeared, yet the prince barely flinched. He continued forward in impassive silence, even as the soldiers prodded and dragged him up the platform where he was to meet his end.

Palace attendants had set up chairs in front of the platform—front row seats to witness the execution—and the king and princes were quickly ushered toward them. Kanefer remained standing. He turned to face the crowd, and the corners of his lips stretched further in a mirthless grin. He raised his hands in the air, demanding silence.

"Citizens of Memphis, we are gathered here today to witness the execution of a criminal who has committed an abomination to our kingdom and who sought to betray our king. It is with great sadness and regret that I, as Regent, must preside over the death of one whom I used to call brother. Nefermaat, formerly a prince of Egypt, shall pay for the crimes he has committed and answer for them in the afterlife, when he faces the judgement of Osiris. I am aware that there have been some...rumours, that have been spreading amongst you regarding the legitimacy of this claim, which is why my father, King Sneferu, has chosen to grace us with his presence today even though he has taken ill." Kanefer turned towards the king and bowed respectfully, earning a scoff from Kha. "Unfortunately the remedies prescribed by the royal physicians have taken its toll on His Majesty, thus he has asked for me to address you in his stead. May Ptah bless our king with a quick recovery, so that the lands of Upper and Lower Egypt may continue to prosper."

The crowd murmured in agreement, with several saying prayers to the gods for the king's good health.

"He speaks as if he believes it is true," Kha said between gritted teeth. "I never would have guessed that my brother is so seasoned an actor."

Mereneith was watching intently as the scene unfolded around the central platform. Kanefer was standing right beside the king, with Iynefer flanking Sneferu's other side.

"We need to lure Kanefer further away," she said. They needed to draw him to where they wanted him to be.

Already the executioner was readying his stake, which would be impaled through the second prince once the command was given. Time was running out.

"I'll do it," Kha said.

"What? That's too risky!"

Even he managed to evade the soldiers who were standing guard, he would not win in a fight against Kanefer. The eldest prince was a seasoned warrior and Kha would stand no chance against him in hand-to-hand combat.

"This is our only chance." Kha turned to Mereneith and held her hands in his, giving them a reassuring squeeze. "Trust me. I'll be fine. When I draw Kanefer away, trigger the formation immediately, am I clear?"

"But if you're beside him, then you'll—"

"Immediately," the prince repeated. "There is more at stake today than the life of one prince."

Mereneith felt a lump rise up her throat. She gripped onto his hand even more tightly, as if afraid that he would disappear for good the minute she let go.

Kha smiled and gave her a wink. "I'll be back," he said, then he loosened her fingers from his and slipped away into the crowd, disappearing into the sea of bobbing heads.

#