rear of Eridu’s quarters. A small but separate dwelling stood against the wall, one that contained only three rooms, the province of his half-sister, Kushanna. Flowers and shrubs grew along the side of the house, softening for a few paces the hard lines of the Compound. The king cared little for anything green.
Kushanna waited for him just inside her doorway. Like Petrah, she also seemed to know when she would be needed.
“I saw the others leave,” she said, stepping aside to let her brother enter. “They had smiles on their faces. Did it go as you expected?”
Shulgi could restrain himself no longer. “No, it went the way you said it would, damn you!”
“Come inside,” Kushanna said, ignoring the harsh words. “Tell me all about it.”
He followed her through the main chamber and into one of the inner rooms, not her bedchamber but a small windowless alcove where her companion slave slept at night. Shulgi had never been invited into Kushanna’s bedroom. Even she wasn’t that bold.
Kushanna sat on a small chest, while Shulgi sat on the edge of the slave’s bed and stared at his sister. The entrance to her quarters could be seen from here, but no one could hear their words, as long as they kept their voices low. And no one could see inside the alcove without being seen.
Shulgi took a deep breath to calm himself. “I told him… we told him what needed to be done, that he had to be patient, that he had to stop wasting his gold on weapons and men who can’t be trusted. Marduk take him! It’s my gold he’s spending, Shanna. My birthright. Even your dowry. Soon there will be nothing left for us, and Sumer will be weaker than before. Already the other cities no longer fear us.”
Kushanna smiled at him. She did not permit many to call her by her childhood name.
Nearly as tall as her half-brother, she had two more seasons than his eighteen. Graceful and willowy, with light brown hair that reached nearly to her waist, she attracted every man’s eyes. Her white gown of the softest linen clung to the full lines of her body. A gold ring adorned each of her forefingers, and a pendant of the finest lapis lazuli dangled between her breasts.
“So, what will you do now, my brother?”
“I’m surprised you’re not reminding me about Father. You warned me he would not see reason.”
“I could have been wrong,” Kushanna said, picking at a thread on her dress. “He might have listened to your advice.”
“He still thinks of me as a child,” Shulgi said. “I get more respect from my men — even from Razrek — than our father the king.”
“I know Razrek wanted you to accompany the soldiers when they went north. Perhaps if you had been there, our soldiers might not have been defeated.”
“Father did not want to share his glory with me,” Shulgi said, unable to conceal the bitterness he still felt. “That’s why the fool ordered me to stay behind, supposedly to protect his city and his gold. Not that I had managed to do even that much. His loyal steward Petrah made all the decisions, in father’s name, of course.”
“He’s been our father’s trusted servant for many years,” Kushanna said. “Such loyalty deserves to be rewarded.”
“Yes, it does,” Shulgi said, his voice hardening as he envisioned a suitable reward for his father’s retainer. “Petrah will obey our father’s every wish, even if it means destroying Sumer in the process.”
“Petrah gathered the gold as soon as he received the message from Akkad. He paid the ransom in less than a day,” Kushanna said. “He was very concerned for our father’s welfare.”
Her calm words fed the flames of Shulgi’s rage, not that he cared any more. “Eight hundred coins, wasted, for nothing! Eskkar will use it to strengthen his army. And now father wants to spend what little gold remains on another foolish attack on Akkad. He will ruin Sumer to gain his revenge on Eskkar.”
“One day, when you rule here in Sumer and over the other cities, things will be different.”
He lifted his eyes and met her gaze. For once he paid no attention to the lush body sitting before him. “I think that day has come, Shanna. My father’s mind is consumed with hatred. He will destroy all of us. What we talked about… it must be done. Will you stand beside me?”
Kushanna met his gaze for a long moment, studying his face, as if measuring the depth of his anger and resolve. Satisfied, she rose from the chair and sat next to him on the narrow bed.
Shulgi felt the heat from her thigh through the thin garment as it touched his own.
“You know I will, Shulgi. You are the only man I have ever loved.” She took his hand in both of hers and pressed it to her bosom, letting him feel the softness.
A rush of desire swept over him. His eyes closed for a moment. When he opened them, her mouth was close to his own. Shulgi kissed the soft lips that reached up for him. They had kissed many times before, stolen moments when their father was absent or the servants occupied, and each time his passion for her grew stronger.
This time, however, Shulgi sensed something more than a casual dalliance. He let his hand slip from her grasp, and used his fingers to push the dress off her shoulder, until her right breast swelled from the garment’s confines. For once she didn’t push him away. Instead her eyes closed, and she took a deep breath, her nipple firm and hard. The warmth from her skin seemed to burn his hand as he brushed his fingers over her, and the scent of her body roused him even more than the sight of her naked breast, perfect in its beauty. He cupped the heavy globe of soft flesh, squeezing gently.
Shanna leaned against him, her body reacting to his touch. Then she opened her eyes and held his gaze while she nudged the dress down from her other shoulder, then let herself fall back on the bed. She reached up and traced her finger along his cheek, enjoying the look on his face as he drank in the sight of her bare breasts. Shanna had never let him go so far. Then she placed both her hands behind his neck and pulled him toward her.
Shulgi leaned over and kissed her breasts, first one, then the other. Shanna moaned softly at his caress, and arched her back against him, while her hand reached over to brush against the rock-hard manhood straining beneath his tunic.
“When will you make me yours, my beloved?” Her voice, husky now with passion, inflamed him even more, and the touch of her hand made his already fierce erection even harder.
He moved his mouth to her lips, and kissed them, gently at first, then with growing passion. “Tonight, my Shanna… tonight. Before our father decides to send me off on yet another wasted journey to recruit men.” He ran his hand over her breast, teasing the nipple until it swelled and hardened. “Besides, I can’t bear to wait another day for you.”
“The time for waiting is past,” Shanna agreed. “Tonight you will make me yours.” She returned his kiss one more time, then slipped from his grasp and sat up, smiling at him as she rearranged her dress. “But first we must talk about what needs to be done. We must plan with care, so that nothing can go wrong. Only when we are ready can we act.”
Shulgi forced the sight of her bare breasts from his thoughts. His erection still throbbed, but after all these years, he could wait one more day. “Then let us talk.”
The rest of the day passed soon enough, as Kushanna and Shulgi made their preparations. He felt no surprise at learning that she had already considered every detail, every step. And only when she declared herself satisfied with his role did she agree. One last kiss, and he returned to the soldiers’ camp just outside the city, where Razrek had settled his men and horses.
New recruits — those too stupid or too desperate to find another trade — milled about, waiting for the day to end. Kuara had spoken the truth in the council, Shulgi knew. These men would make poor fighters. It would take many months before even half of them reached the level of training achieved by the men Eridu had led north to their deaths.
Shulgi didn’t care. His own detachment of men — its survivors numbering less than thirty since the battle with Eskkar’s forces — were as good as any of Razrek’s core group of veterans. More important, they were loyal to Shulgi, not Razrek, not even Eridu. They were commanded by Vanar, formerly one of two of Shulgi’s leaders of twenty. The other had died by an Akkadian arrow, and Vanar had taken charge of those that remained.
Shulgi found Vanar stretched out on the grass beneath one of the few trees large enough to provide shade.
“Taking your ease, I see.”
Vanar opened his eyes, but didn’t bother to get up. “We’ve finished training for the day, commander. The men are washing down the horses in the river.”
“Make sure they give themselves a good cleaning as well. My father has complained about the horse stink of
