The Desert Princess (Ebook Shorts) (The Loves of King Solomon Book #1) by Jill Eileen Smith

Author:Jill Eileen Smith [Smith, Jill Eileen]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Tags: FIC042030, FIC042040, FIC027050
Publisher: Baker Publishing Group
Published: 2014-08-05T00:00:00+00:00

7

JERUSALEM, 974 BC

The morning of my wedding day dawned with the soft light of pink and yellow hues, and the dew tickled my feet as I stepped out of my tent to look on the glory of Jerusalem. The year since our betrothal had been excruciatingly long and yet had flown on eagles’ wings, barely allowing me enough time to finish the final preparations for all of the items I wanted to bring to my new home with Solomon.

Solomon. How I loved the sound of his name on my tongue! My heart skipped a beat, and my heightened nerves sensed every movement, every soft rustle of tent curtains and the murmur of voices throughout the camp.

We had traveled from Rabbah for the past three days, and as we had done with our first visit to Jerusalem the year before, we stopped outside the city to rest. Soon Inaya would help me into my colorful bridal gown, and I would climb atop a jewel-bedecked camel and ride beneath a tent-like covering with fifty guards running before and behind, a sign of our elevated royal status.

My pulse jumped as I imagined the rest of the ceremony and all that was to follow. There had been letters between us, though time did not allow many, and several months had passed since our last correspondence. Did Solomon long for me as I did for him?

I placed a hand to my heart and sighed, allowing myself one last moment to dream of my life with Solomon. Despite my father’s warnings, I dared not imagine sharing my husband. The law of Solomon’s God instructed men and women to cleave to each other as one, not with two or three or more. All I had to do was be everything Solomon longed for in a wife. I would meet his every need, and he mine. Nothing would pull us apart after this night.

I turned, jolted by the sudden parting of the tent flap behind me.

“Did you sleep at all, my girl?” Inaya said as she came up beside me.

I shrugged. “A little.” I faced Jerusalem once more as the sun rose and touched the edges of the limestone houses and the glistening gold plating along the palace towers.

“It is time to begin our preparations,” Inaya said.

I glanced at her and saw the thick linen towel and my day robe draped over her arm. She held a piece of hyssop along with a small clay jar of olive oil in one hand and a skin of goat’s milk in the other.

I nodded and mutely followed her to the place beyond the tents, down the embankment to the Gihon Spring. Inaya searched for a secluded place where the trees overshadowed the water and anyone looking down from the walls of Jerusalem would not be able to see my ritual washing.

Inaya held the towel like a curtain as added protection, and I dipped a toe into the bubbling waters. The shock of cold made me pull back.

Inaya chuckled and I glared at her.

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