Lion Head Mesa crook & flail

"royalty does not marry for romance," khusobek grunted, pushing his shoulders more firmly against the stone at his back. "they marry to preserve a lineage. he is not only a prince, he is a priest. as pharaoh he would be three godheads. surely he knows this."

khusobek did not know that senmut's origins were lower even than his own, that the man had been a boy with muddied blood, the same as any born into the fellahin class. he saw only nobility, and the coolness of the prince surely masked ambition.

"it is the ones who do not bluster or announce themselves who are the most dangerous."