Page 2 of The Immortal's Trick
My childhood friend struck one of the boys in the jaw with a strength I didn’t know the teenager possessed, scaring the others off when they recognized him.
Then, he’d gathered me in his arms as I cried, humiliated and shaken, but I’d never been so relieved. Something inside me changed that day. Something young and tender bloomed and never really went away.
But life has stopped it from growing into anything else.
“Ready?” Nebet’s voice draws me back.
I open my eyes and see her securing a midnight blue scarf over her head.
I nod. “Ready.”
“Should we tell Father we’re leaving? See if he can help load the cart?”
“No.” Hopefully, Theshan is asleep. Even if he isn’t, his weakened lungs won’t let him do much. Or so he claims.
With help from nearby field hands, we’re on the loaded cart quickly. I take the reins and steer our gray, spackled mare down the road, toward the heart of Alexandria.
The breeze is mercifully mild today. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Nebet tip her face toward the sun. Her smile gleams like polished brass—no wonder people say she’s the beauty of the region.
The city thickens around us like a knot of heat and dust. The closer we draw to the market, the more suffocating it becomes. Noise spills from every alley: bartering, shouting, the bray of donkeys, the clang of metal against stone. I thread us through the chaos, heart quickening.
Ani’s family’s shop sits on a narrower street, quieter than the central plaza. I spot him before he sees us, lifting a crate with one arm, muscles taut beneath his tunic, still smiling at a customer.
“Ahem,” Nebet says.
I glance at her. She’s grinning like a jackal. “Yes?”
“Nothing. Absolutely nothing.” Her smug tone says otherwise, but I stay silent.
Ani glances up, sees us, and his face breaks into that smile, so open and warm. “Eshe! Nebet!”
Nebet chuckles. “You’d think it’s been years since he’s seen us.”
I nod in response, trying not to notice the flutter in my stomach.
I swallow and hop down from the cart before Ani can reach me. He’s at my side anyway, helping Nebet with unnecessary gallantry.
“How’s your father?” he asks her, but his eyes are on me.
“No worse,” she replies. “We count our blessings.”
He nods, then turns to me. “And you, Eshe? How are you doing?”
I shrug, keeping my voice steady. “As good as I can expect.”
Before he can press further, I ask, “Where do you want the crates?”
He gestures inside the shop, and we begin unloading. Nebet and Ani chat easily as they work. I only speak when necessary. I’ve never been good at small talk.
“Would you mind if we left the cart for a bit?” Nebet asks when we finish. “I want to visit a shop before we return home.”
I blink. This is the first I’m hearing of it.
“Not at all,” Ani says. “I’d come with you, but Father left me in charge today.”
“Such a shame,” Nebet says. She elbows me when I don’t speak.
“Yes,” I force out. “You’ll be missed.”
