Esther by Rebecca Kanner

Author:Rebecca Kanner
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Howard Books

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

* * *

MY BANQUET

My heart drummed inside my chest as I approached the noise of the banquet hall. Despite my escort, my crown, and the gold and gems that weighed upon my neck, arms, and ankles, I could not help but feel small. The last time I was in the large banquet hall I had just been kidnapped and brought to the palace with numerous other girls, only one of whom would be queen. As I stood in front of it with a crown upon my head, the room seemed just as large as it had then.

My eyes were drawn up toward the ceiling, which was held by six rows of six columns, each higher than twenty men. Even with the deafening clamor of people laughing and yelling, and even through the haze my veil cast over everything, as I gazed up the room felt empty except for the rams’ heads at the top of each column that seemed a warning to all those who dwelled within the palace walls: do not challenge the powers that reside here.

I did not want to seem as impressed as I was, so I quickly lowered my gaze from the ceiling while keeping my chin up. The hall was big enough to host ten thousand guests, not counting the many more who could sit in the balconies. It was filled with more color, shouting, and excitement than even the marketplace had been. Voices echoed, seeming to come from everywhere at once. Princes from all over the empire, along with their attendants, crowded around tables near the dais where the king sat waiting for me. Because Xerxes was Ahura Mazda’s representative ruler on earth, he was kept away from the view of his subjects, except for formal audiences. He sat behind a screen through which nothing but his silhouette was visible—a giant figure elevated upon a stone platform, a huge goblet his only company as he waited for his new wife. We are not so unalike, my king. I felt the reassuring pressure of the Faravahar against my chest. I too am hiding.

I stretched my spine as tall as possible and entered the banquet hall. The king stood and his subjects’ voices died as they quickly did the same. In the silence that followed, the room seemed to grow larger. I kept my head high for the thousands of eyes that watched as I made the long journey to my new husband.

Before I reached the elevated platform I saw the table of Immortals. The king’s favorites were celebrating like royal sons, drinking without armor on. They sat at one of the tables close to the king’s screen. Parsha was among them, and also, Erez. He looked as though all but his body was elsewhere. His broad shoulders were hunched, and I could not help but wonder what he was thinking.

He turned and looked through my veil, right into my eyes. I was certain he saw me more clearly than anyone else in the room. I took a deep breath and forced myself to look away, back toward the stone dais.

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