Lion Head Mesa twenty-seventh

"i am humbled to be the servant of the gods."

the erpa-ha inclined his head, that they should both sit upon a low couch of rich sheepskins taken from the steppes. he was straightbacked, sitting upon one end to observe the other prince.

"harakhte, son of ra-semerkhet and heir to the dunes of akhet," senmut said, repeating the words of the herald carried to him.

the akhet prince was handsome, though the high priest's eyes detected more than wolf. he did not comment upon this. "tell me of your lineage," senmut invited, as fellahin crept around them to lay out an easy meal of few meats and the first fresh-picked berries of spring, tart and blissful.