17/03/2026 20:09

---

I sort of figured you would. The last thing we needed was another helpless innocent on our hands, and as soon as we reached Luxor, Lia would have all the enthusiastic help she wanted. Selim was the only other person in Luxor who knew, but Selim was unaware that the drab companion was Sethos's daughter. His uncle's expression was that of a man remembering a particularly successful romantic interlude.

Selim was an expert mechanic, but the process took a lot longer than it ought to have done, with Emerson helping. Your son hasn't been idle these past few years; he has annoyed almost as many people as I have-the Turks, the Senussi, the Nationalists, even a few people in our own service. There is a flagrant contradiction between the principle of self-determination, which we support in theory, and the politics we practice. Except for his bandaged hands, Ramses appeared none the worse for his adventure.