Two Eyes Cenote gods of the arena

"eyes are more resilient than we know." willowbark astringent, dabbed along the corner of that unfortunate wound. "we will keep it covered."

her own bruised face smarted still, cut tingling where rashepses had slashed her in his fury. 

keeping meseba's muscular back turned for a moment, she faced the guard and dropped her voice into a conversational inflection, though its volume had decreased. "don't react. you should know that our semer-wati refuses to send mazoi to find eset, as she is only one servant."

she slowly wiped a red crust from the corner of his eye, salving the angry flesh there at once with aloe. "my talk with him was less than fruitful. now i am a prisoner here in the examination room until khusobek wakes."

don't react, tavina's stare warned meseba once more. "eset would not want you to do anything untoward. and if rashepses sees you leave muat-riya, he will know you go for her."

now she took a small padding of sheep's-wool and fit it over the guard's injured eye, swaddling his proud face in strips of thick grass to keep it held. 

"it would be better if you leave in the direction of akashingo, meseba. tell senmut what has happened. he will not act rashly. or, you might go to rashepses himself and ask where you might be most effective. once you're out of the palace, you can go anywhere you like. anywhere you need."

angered pain swam in her own face. "i fear my time in muat-riya will come to an end if the captain dies or if he lives. our semer-wati has already threatened the destruction of my rooms and then my execution if i persist for eset."

resolutely she gazed up into the stoic knowledge of meseba's face. "i know you will find her. i wish i could tell you where to start."