Sweat pooled in Mereneith's palms as she waited for Kha to appear. In front of the central platform, Kanefer had seated himself back down and gestured for the overseer to start the proceedings for the execution.

We only have one chance.

If they failed, Nefermaat would be dead and the allegations against him would be sealed in stone. There would be nothing else they could do to turn the tide against Kanefer, even if they had the support of the king's secret guard, it would not be enough.

"Have you any final words, Brother?" Kanefer called out to Nefermaat.

The second prince laughed. "You have said enough for both of us," he replied, "so I think it best for me to conserve my own energy. My head hurts from trying to keep up with all the lies."

"In that case you can save the explanations for when you face the scales of Anubis."

"Nefermaat should not be the one facing the scales today," a voice called out, drawing everyone's attention away.

Kha stepped out from the crowd and lowered his hood, revealing himself. Loud gasps escaped from the lips of those who recognised the young prince, and even the guards looked startled by his sudden appearance.

"You!" Kanefer pointed an accusatory finger at Kha.

"Nefermaat is not the traitor. You are," Kha continued, striding forward.

Mereneith watched as he stopped at the exact position they needed Kanefer to be in. Now it remained to be seen if Kanefer would take the bait.

"Citzens of Memphis, do not be deceived by my brother's lies. He is the one who has committed the crime of treason by colluding with the Canaanites, and now he has poisoned the king, all for the sake of the crown. Kanefer, confess your sins now and perhaps you shall be shown leniency."

"Ridiculous," Kanefer scoffed, his brows arching with condescension. "Do you think a few words can turn opinion against the truth? Guards, arrest him!"

Mereneith's heart raced within her chest. The guards were closing in on Kha, and still Kanefer had not moved from his position. In a matter of minutes, Kha would be apprehended and they would still not have achieved their goal.

Everything that happened next was a blur.

Kha leapt forward and grabbed Kanefer by the left arm, yanking him forward. The latter stumbled, taken by surprise, but it was only for a blink of an eye. Kanefer quickly regained stability and countered Kha by twisting his arm around to his back. Kanefer was stronger and quicker than Kha, and it showed. They exchanged several blows. Streaks of blood appeared across Kha's face. He struggled to stay upright, but Kanefer's fists kept pummelling him to the ground.

Mereneith bit down on her tongue to stop herself from calling out.

She had to wait.

She had to trust Kha.

Kanefer's fist went for Kha's jugular. Once contact was made, there was no question that the young prince's neck would snap immediately.

"Kha!" Nefermaat cried.

In that instant, Kha's blood-stained hand shot out, catching hold of Kanefer's ankle. With an anguished roar, he pulled hard, and the eldest prince's knee gave way. Kanefer fell forward on top of Kha—fell exactly where they needed him to.

"Now!" Kha yelled.

Mereneith hesitated for a split second, then she flew into action. She pushed past the crowd and planted herself in position, holding out her prototype of the wooden crossbow. An Ak'heka crystal shaped like the tip of a spear sat in its little cage, sparkling under the sunlight, and Mereneith wrapped her fingers around it to keep it in its place. It was unfortunate that she hadn't had the time to figure out a way to secure it better. The crystal grew increasingly warm, until it was like a burning coal searing through her flesh.

She pointed the tip of the bow towards Kanefer.

An explosion rang out.

Then another.

And another.

Screams and dust filled the air, and the market square descended into chaos. The captains of the guards were shouting out orders, drowned by the cacophony of voices all around.

Mereneith dropped the wooden bow onto the ground, her ears ringing and heart pounding. Blood dripped from the burns on her palms, but she didn't even register the pain.

She could see dark shadows sweep in from the sides. The king's secret guard. If things had gone according to plan, then both the king and Nefermaat would be rescued and taken to a safe house until they received confirmation of Kanefer's status.

There was no time to see whether or not they succeeded, because the next moment a pair of strong hands gripped her by the shoulders and pushed her to the ground. Someone's sole stabbed upon her head, pressing it against the dirt.

#

The only thing Mereneith knew was that she was on the move, and they were moving fast. Blindfolded and gagged, with her hands and legs bound by thick rope, she had been flung onto a wagon like a limp doll. Her body could acutely feel every single bump in the road and her bones were about to shatter.

When they finally stopped and the binds on her eyes and mouth were removed, the first thing she did was to keel over and empty out all the bile from her stomach. They were in the middle of the desert, with nothing but sand for miles.

Her captor, a tall man with squarish shoulders and an equally angular face, stared down at her with disgust.

"Your Highness, can't we get rid of her now?" he asked.

Mereneith followed the direction of his gaze, and met the savage glare of the first prince—Kanefer. His chest was smeared with blood and sand, and a large gaping wound stretched from his right shoulder down to his elbow.

Her heart sank.

If the blast had failed to kill the prince, then there would be hell to pay. His injuries would only fuel his rage.

At Kanefer's feet lay a large sack, writhing and flailing upon the grass. The prince kicked the sack viciously, and a moan echoed from inside.

"Kha!" Mereneith cried, instinctively recognising the voice.

Part of her was relieved that he was alive; the other part was fearful of what was to come.

Kanefer's lips curled cruelly as he rained more vicious kicks into Kha's gut. Then, he said to Mereneith, "I want to know who it was. Who was helping you?"

"I don't know what you're talking about! Let him go!"

Kanefer placed his shoe where Kha's head would be and ground his heel against it. A dark red stain appeared on the sack, seeping through the brown weave.

"I am not naïve, girl," the prince spat. "The two of you could never have pulled off something like that on your own. I would have suspected Nefermaat, but the fool could not have colluded with you while imprisoned. Who was it? If you tell me, then perhaps I will let you go free."

"No. You have to let the both of us go."

Mereneith knew that she had little bargaining power in this situation. They were in the middle of nowhere and there would likely be no one in the vicinity except for Kanefer's men. There were only four of them, she counted, but it was still more than what she and Kha could take on. Still, she had to try.

Judging from the harried look on the men's faces and the way they kept surveying the surroundings warily, it appeared that the plan to rescue the king and Prince Nefermaat had succeeded, and Kanefer was now on the run from the king's guard. That meant that the prince's top priority should be to escape, not to seek revenge.

"If you dally any longer, the king's men will catch up with us," she added. "Let both of us go free and I'll tell you what you want to know. You cannot seek vengeance if you are dead."

To her surprise, Kanefer threw his head back and laughed, revealing a horrific set of bloodied teeth. He pushed his foot down even harder. "If I let him go free, then I'm already dead," he said.

Kanefer squatted down and undid the knot of the sack, yanking it down to reveal Kha's battered body. The young prince was almost unrecognisable with his bruises, and his eyelids were swollen and bleeding. Open wounds also lined both his legs, collateral damage from the blast. He was alive—barely. Even though his limbs had not been tied the way hers were, he could hardly move them. Mereneith stifled a gasp, but the tears still misted her eyes.

"Hello little brother," Kanefer said, holding Kha's chin in a pincer grip. "Quite a show you put on back there. And what for? To save Nefermaat? That two-faced jackal? One day you'll learn what a mistake that was, that is if you survive that long." He held out his other hand and one of his men placed a dagger in it. Kanefer pointed the tip at Kha's jugular. "So, do you think our father will send someone to rescue you? Or will he feed you to the crocodiles just like how he's treated me?"

Kha spat in Kanefer's face. "You were the one who betrayed the Two Lands," he hissed.

The latter scowled and his expression darkened. He wiped the spittle from his face. "I betrayed no one. The kingdom betrayed me," he said. "After all the years I've spent fighting for this land and leading her armies, what do I get in return? I should be the heir to the crown, not a bastard like you."

"I never wanted the crown. You know that."

"That makes it all the more ironic, doesn't it? You don't care for it, yet they would force it upon your head. I could do great things as the ruler of this land, yet I will never be good enough for it. Our father guards those stupid crystals like treasure, and what for? To be used as decorative trinkets of the nobles? Fools!"

Mereneith listened, her heart pounding rapidly in her chest. Kanefer knew the potential of the Ak'heka crystals, yet he was willing to sell them to the Canaanites, just because he wanted to secure his claim to the throne. Did it not occur to him that the Canaanites could turn this against them at any time? Or did he simply not care? There was a fine line between a fearsome general who fought to defend his people, and a cruel warmonger who thirst for blood. Kanefer was the latter.

"That is because you aren't good enough," Kha retorted, even as blood trickled from the corners of his mouth. "You care more about your own ambitions than the welfare of the people. Someone like you doesn't deserve the crown."

Kanefer's eyes blazed with fury. The tip of the dagger pressed against Kha's skin, drawing a thin line of blood.

"Your Highness, don't!" one of his men called out, anxiety written all over his face. "We still need the fourth prince. He is already a dead man. There is no harm in letting him struggle for a few moments longer."

They need us, Mereneith thought. Or at least they needed Kha. She was only alive because no one had time to kill her yet.

Now that she had more time to collect her senses, she realised that they hadn't gone far from Memphis. The capital city's stone walls could still be seen behind them. Kanefer had to be waiting for help to arrive, and Kha was to be his hostage in case the king's guard caught up to them before his own reinforcements did.

To her relief, Kanefer heeded his subordinate's advice and lifted the dagger. He gave Kha another kick in the ribs, scoffing when he heard a moan escape from his brother's lips.

"Do not blame me for this, Kha," Kanefer said. "Blame the people who would make you king, for you could have lived if not for them."

The first prince said no more to either of them, and the entire contingent continued to wait in silence for either salvation or death to befall them.

Mereneith was left lying on the scorching sand, straining to keep her eyes open as they were buffeted by the billowing grains. They had replaced the scrap of cloth around her mouth, so she could no longer speak. A few steps away, she saw Kha sprawled on the ground, blood continuing to flow from his wounds.

If they continued to wait like this any longer, Kha would bleed to death before anyone else showed up. She had to find a way to get them out of this situation, but she could not even move, what more—

What's this?

She closed the fingers of her right hand a little more tightly, trying to verify the sensation through the pain of her burns. She had been so caught up with the stress of the capture that she hadn't realised she was still clutching on to the Ak'heka crystal that had slid out of the bow when she dropped it.

Merely a "decorative trinket" in the hands of many Memphis residents, but not to her.

Mereneith slowly rotated the crystal until its sharp edge pressed against the rope binding her wrists. She did a quick check of Kanefer and his men. None of them were paying any attention to her, because they had spotted something approaching in the distance. Not from the direction of Memphis, which meant that it was likely to be Kanefer's rescue party.

She needed to hurry.

Ignoring the worsening pain in her hand. Mereneith sawed frantically at the rope, praying that the crystal would be enough to serve the role of a makeshift blade.

"Prince Kanefer," a man called out as the small contingent of five approached on the backs of fierce brown stallions. Horses were rare in Egypt, but the same could not be said of lands beyond their kingdom.

Mereneith recognised the hoarse, grating quality of the voice immediately. It was the Canaan general that Kanefer had been trading with. As expected, the prince intended to flee to the territories of his allies, where it would be difficult for the king's men to reach him.

She felt the rope fray beneath her fingers and a spark of hope sprung up within her.

"General," Kanefer greeted with an arrogant tilt of his chin. "It's taken you long enough. I was beginning to think that you intended to forsake our alliance."

General Akiya let out a low, guttural chuckle. "Why would I do that? There is still much that we can accomplish together. My tribe welcomes you, even if your people don't," he said. He gestured to his men, who promptly led forward the spare horses they had brought with them. "It is a long ride to the border, but the journey will be much quicker on horseback."

Even though Kanefer was still putting on a show of conceit and superiority, Mereneith could detect the relief that flashed across his eyes. The prince made a move towards the horses, then stopped, remembering the hostages that were still with them. He walked back to Kha and stared down at the boy as if he were looking at a fly.

"Mark my words, little brother—I will return, and I will sack Memphis and its palace walls until there is nothing left by ash and rubble. But unfortunately, or fortunately, you will not be alive to see that day."

He withdrew his dagger from his waistband, plunging it towards Kha's heart. Mereneith screamed, but her cry remained trapped within her throat. She was too late. Too slow.

But then she heard the whistle of an arrow slicing through the air.

One of Kanefer's men collapsed, the arrow's shaft protruding from his left shoulder blade.

"It's the king's soldiers!" someone shouted.

The Canaanites had already turned their horses around. They had come to receive Kanefer as part of their agreement, but they were not obligated to lose their lives on foreign soil for his sake.

A stormy shadow fell upon Kanefer's countenance. He threw the dagger aside and picked up a bronze-tipped spear that had been impaled in the sand, deftly deflecting any arrows that were flying his way. With his free hand, he grabbed Kha by the scruff of his neck and held him up. The latter's legs dangled helplessly in mid-air, blood dripping from his heels.

"I have Kha with me," Kanefer bellowed, his voice ringing forcefully. "Call off your attack, or else I'll put this spear through him!"

The flurry of arrows immediately ceased, and the king's guard slowed to a stop, still a good five to six wagons away from them.

Kanefer backed away towards the nearest horse, still dragging Kha with him.

"Let Prince Kha go, and your life could still be spared!" the leader of the king's guards said.

The eldest prince scoffed and spat on the sand in disdain. "Tell my father that I don't need him to spare my life," he answered. "And as for this bastard—" Kanefer came alongside the horse, a mere foot away from mounting the steed. He tightened his grip on Kha's neck, threatening to snap it once and for all.

The rope around Mereneith's wrists snapped.

"No!" she yelled, pushing herself up and throwing her entire body in Kanefer's direction. Hand raised, she brought it down upon the traitor's back with all the force she could muster. The crystal in her hand stabbed through his flesh, as if it were no different from bronze.

Kanefer roared. He dropped Kha and spun around to face Mereneith, his dark irises burning like coal.

Even as she stared up at the face of death, Mereneith felt no fear. She had done what she could. For Rekhmir, for Kha, and for herself. Perhaps it would still not be enough, and their lives would end here today, but she had no regrets. The corners of her lips quirked upwards in a mocking smile.

A foot landed heavily on her abdomen. She could hear the sound of her own bones cracking and taste the metallic sensation of blood on her tongue. Pain racked her entire body, reminding her that she was still alive—if not for long. She watched as Kanefer brought his fist up, then she closed her eyes, waiting for the blow to strike her in the head and end her suffering.

It did not come.

Instead, Kanefer's anguished howl pierced the air.

Mereneith's eyes flew open. She saw the shaft of an arrow impaled at the prince's left side, where the earlier explosion at the execution ground had already taken out a significant section of skin and flesh. Blood flowed like water from the wound.

Kha held on to the other end of the arrow, large beads of sweat hanging upon his pallid countenance. He wasn't looking at Kanefer, but at her—and he smiled.

You foolish boy! How could you still be smiling at a time like this?

Kanefer moved to retaliate, but his arms were held back by two of his men. They dragged him away from the fourth prince. "Your Highness, there is no time! We need to leave now!" they begged.

Pounding footsteps were approaching, as the king's guard had swiftly made use of the gap created by Mereneith to close in on them.

Kanefer gritted his teeth, then swung himself onto the horse's back. The injuries he had sustained were also wearing him down, and he could barely sit upright. He took one final bitter look at Kha before slapping the horse and sending it galloping after the Canaanites.

In their dusty wake, Mereneith dragged her shattered body towards Kha. With the last bit of strength in her, she stretched out her hand and took hold of his. She felt his fingers wrap themselves around hers. Perhaps for the last time.

We tried our best, she thought, a heavy fog slowly seeping into her mind.

She smiled.