Lion Head Mesa The almond and the apple

Quiet fears spill from the fellahin’s lips. Eset’s eyes find Pharaoh’s empty tunnel, a dank airflow sifts through the strands of sepia on her neck while she imagines the Queen’s impending choice. Chief of their desires, suitors came for the empty throne. They did not come expressly for Toula. Her marriage was ancillary to their claim as Pharaoh.

She wonders what Tuna knows of the gathering Sphinx, if she had access to the councils and chambers where currents of power and secrets could be observed.

in the center of the dusty concourse she brings herself closer to the coyote girl, aligning their spindly bodies. “Are there any inhabitants here I should be wary of, Tuna?” Her face is serious.

“Or otherwise- keep an eye on?” for herself; for their Queen.