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Prologue
THE EMPEROR’S COUNSELOR stopped reading He looked up and spoke the next lines off by heart "‘Love is strong as death,’" Kidane said "‘Jealousy is cruel as the grave’" He had been reading aloud fros "‘Many waters cannot quench love, neither can floods drown it If a man offered for love all the wealth of his house, it would be utterly scorned’"
Kidane rolled the scrolls shut Turunesh had set a pot of water to boil over the ceremonial brazier, and she and her father were about to drink one last ritual cup of coffee with their young British guest Tomorrow Medraut’s e journey, four thousand dom in Britain
"We will miss you deeply, Medraut," Kidane said "Our home has become your home You are not the inexperienced boy you hen you arrived You have earned your Aksumite name, Ras Meder, Prince Meder, lord of the land We will arden court was dark but for the hanging lamps Turunesh’s doves and parrots were asleep The white, alcoved walls of the enclosure were full of shadows; laranite fish pool Kidane’s face was difficult for Medraut to see, for the light fell over his shoulder, but the counselor’s voice arm and filled with sadness as he spoke
Medraut knelt and lifted his host’s hands frohtly "And I will e he had spoken for nearly three years and which he took pride in being able to read and write "You are right: Aksum hasof ifts and affection generously and generously"
He turned toward Turunesh, but she sat with her head bent, her attention fixed on the roasting coffee Medraut quickly looked away from her Lizards leaped andover their heads The night air was full of the bitter fragrance of coffee, but also smelled faintly of frankincense, as the scent blen fro hillside
Medraut did not easily speak of himself, and he had never heard any Aksumite make painful confessions about his or her emotional state But he wanted to explain hiht in the house of the dark, regal girl he had come to love
"I had no sense of my oorth when I arrived in Aksum," Medraut said in a low voice "Since their birth I have lived in envy of my small half-brother, Lleu, and Goewin, his twin sister But Aksum has made me I have become myself here Why should I envy anyone? If Hector and Priamos can serve their uncle the emperor so selflessly, after a childhood of exile and i"
Turunesh spoke chidingly as she laid out the earthen cups "You let a deal of nonsense pass your lips, Medraut son of Artos You know the sequestering of lesser princes is traditional, and Caleb never planned to keep his nephews at Debra Damo forever You can be sure your father has a plan for you, as well Will you follow hi?"
"Not while Lleu lives Lleu is the queen’s son, I aent, perhaps, or its steward"
"There is no greater service on this earth than stewardship," said Kidane "A true king is his people’s steward; their lives, and their faith, are in his hands"
Turunesh began to pour the coffee, still berating Medraut "And that you would call the here at Debra Damo a prison, after your visit there with the eloith holiness and delight on your return"
"You speak perfect truth, as ever," Medraut adain with the memory of that visit: the rare, clear air of the ailded church there, the reservoirs hewn fro rock, the twisted strap of leather rope that was the only way up the cliff He thought of the emperor Caleb’s companionship, of his trust and honor
"Now I have beco up from her deft hands: "Warrior, statesman, huntsman Lion killer" She raised her head froh she did not meet his eyes No Aksureat insolence to do so; he was the eldest son of Britain’s high king
"And Christian," Turunesh added, s still "You were baptized here What will Artos your father say to that?"
"He’ll say, Africa is always producing soether
Kidane held out his hand again to Medraut "Get off your knees, you sentimental boy," he said
Medraut took his seat, embarrassed Turunesh handed him his coffee, bitter and black He cupped the hot beaker between his hands, breathing in the strong steareat dose of honey in it," Turunesh said, "to sweeten it for you I know you don’t really like it"
"I like the sht before you go"