"After significant modifications to account for reality," Wonder corrected. "You always forgot about little details like guards, or walls, or the laws of physics."
They smiled at each other, the weight of shared history like a familiar cloak wrapping around them both. But Annani could see the question in Wonder's eyes, the awareness that she had not been invited here to reminisce.
"There is something I need to tell you." Annani tightened her fingers around Wonder's hand. "I should have told you about it sooner, but I did not want to get your hopes up for nothing."
Wonder frowned. "Don't keep me in suspense. Just tell me what it is."
Annani contemplated the best approach to tell Wonder about Esag and decided to start at the beginning.
"Kalugal and Jacki found another figurine in Egypt that resembles in style the one Kalugal found of you. Only this time, the figurine was of me."
Wonder gasped. "Do you think the same person carved them both?"
Her friend had always been sharp. "Yes and no. Mine was a copy of an original that was carved by the same person who carved yours. When Fenella held it, she saw visions of the carver copying an older original, which was signed at the bottom." She took a deep breath. "The name of the artist was Esag son of Agnon."
Wonder went very still, her hand trembling in Annani's grasp. "Esag?" The name came out as barely more than a whisper. "But that would mean that he?—"
"Survived." Annani squeezed her friend's hand. "The inscription read, 'Blessed be the memory of the most radiant princess who was taken from us too soon.' He thought we had all died, Gulan. He carved figurines of us to keep our memory alive."
Tears gathered in Wonder's eyes but did not fall. She had not always been good at controlling her emotions, but she had gotten better at it after her resurrection.
"Fenella's talent works best when Kyra and Jasmine join forces with her. That is why they all boarded Kalugal's jet this morning and left for Egypt. They are going to follow the trail of figurines that will hopefully lead them to Esag, and if we find Esag..."
"We might find Khiann," Wonder finished. She pulled her hand free and stood abruptly, pacing to the window. "Anandur had to know about this and didn't tell me." She turned back to Annani. "Did you or Kian order him to keep this from me?"
Shaking her head, Annani rose to her feet and walked over to her friend's side. "We did not, but he might not have known the details. And even if he did, he probably wanted to spare you disappointment the same way I did. Finding Esag is not assured. In fact, the chances of finding him are very slim."
"He should have told me anyway. We're fated mates and we don't keep secrets from one another." Wonder closed her eyes briefly. "Did he think that I was still pining after Esag?"
"Oh, my dear Wonder." Annani patted her friend's arm. "Men are foolish creatures, but your Anandur knows how muchyou love him. In his mind, he was protecting you from disappointment if the search proved fruitless."
Wonder's broad shoulders sagged. "That sounds like him."
"Hope can be cruel when it is snatched away. I also wanted to spare you that if possible, but I knew you would be angry at me if I kept it from you."
Wonder moved back to the sofa, sinking into the cushions. "Can I at least see the figurine?"
"I gave it to Fenella to take with her, hoping she might glean more memories from it. But I took photographs." She sat next to Wonder. "Do you want to see them?"
"Yes, please."
Annani reached into the hidden pocket of her gown and withdrew her phone. She had taken multiple photos of the figurine from every angle, just in case it got lost and this was all that remained of it.
She handed the phone to Wonder, watching her friend's face as she studied the images.
"It's so beautiful," Wonder breathed. "The detail is extraordinary. I never knew Esag had such artistic talent."
"And this is not even his work. According to Fenella, the artist who made this copy was never satisfied with his attempts to match the original. He felt he could never capture the perfection that Esag had achieved."
Wonder enlarged the image, studying the face carved in miniature. "It does look like you. Not just the features, butsomething about the expression. That little tilt to your chin when you're planning something devious."
"I do not tilt my chin when planning," Annani protested.
"You absolutely do. It's your tell." Wonder handed the phone back, but her expression had grown distant. "If Esag made these, mine and yours, he must have cared for me more than I thought he did."
Wonder had been in love with Esag, and he had let her down. Annani could see how knowing that he had carved her likeness, thereby preserving her memory, must have stirred up old feelings and old questions.
"Of course, he did. His marriage was arranged, and he was doing what was expected of him."
Wonder nodded. "What I don't get is how he knew about the fate that befell me. He wasn't there when I fell into the chasm, and yet Jacki saw the whole story when she touched my figurine."
"I have a theory about that," Annani said. "What if Esag developed foresight abilities over the centuries? What if he had visions, and he imbued his work with them?"
Wonder shook her head. "If he saw me falling into the chasm, he knew that I wasn't dead and that I was in stasis, buried somewhere in the desert. Why didn't he look for me?"
"Maybe he did," Annani said softly. "Maybe he also saw what happened to Khiann and looked for him too. That is what I am hoping for. Perhaps he doesn't have the resources to find Khiann, but he could point us in the right direction."
They sat in silence for a moment, the weight of desperate hope pressing down on Annani instead of uplifting her.
Wonder straightened, shaking off the melancholy. "The threads of fate are weaving the tapestry of our lives, and the pattern is starting to emerge. It's all coming together."
