His Face Is The Sun by Michelle Jabes Corpora

Here is a summary with spoilers for His Face Is The Sun by Michelle Jabes Corpora

In a prologue, a cat, who thinks himself as one to be worshiped, witnesses the birth of three young royals: a boy, a girl, and another boy.

Princess Sita has grown up with her loving parents, but also under the constant threat of living with the Pharaoh. She cannot wait for moments when she can feel like a normal person, which for her is at a festival, but her father makes her go with her brother, Meryamun, called Mery. Meanwhile, her other brother, Kenna, plans on staying back to study.

Nefermaat wakes from a dream, one she knows she has over and over again, but whenever she wakes, she forgets it. She knows it is important. Neff has been living with her parents, who work at the market. Neff has an idea, as it is the one day a year when Bast the goddess arrives and some are allowed to ask her questions, though those people are told well in advance. Neff wants to try and contact Bast about her dreams, and she manages to ask her question. A storm comes in, and the priestesses tell her she has been blessed. She is whisked away from her parents to become a priestess in training.

Raetawy is a farmer’s daughter, struggling every single day thanks to the oppression of the Pharaoh’s men. During her free time, she spends it street fighting to gain extra coin, anything to help put food on the table and care for her father. When she goes home that evening, her father is grateful, though he does not know about the fighting. Their evening takes a turn for the worse when soldiers come to collect their share of the farm ten days early, and they are not ready. It leaves Rae feeling even more lost and depressed.

Karim has always been on the run, mostly because he likes to live on the edge. He and his crew decide to go looking into a tomb to gather spoils and other gold and objects. What they find is a tomb, and after looking around, they hear knocking from inside it. They all run away, not wanting to know what is inside.

Neff has made it to the temple and hates every second of it. No one wants a peasant girl there, and to make it even worse, they shave her head, making it feel like they are tearing apart her identity. When the opportunity arises, Neff makes a run for it, but the temple is large and vast, and she gets lost. She runs into a ritual taking place. She knows she should not watch, but cannot help it. Neff is caught, but luckily a man comes to help her and says she must have gotten lost and that she is his assistant. The man introduces himself as Prince Kenna. Neff is shocked to meet the royal, but asks if she can actually have the position, as it would help her feel less lonely. Kenna agrees.

The festival is in full swing, but before Sita can dance and drink, she must ask a question to Bast first. Instead, she asks for the favor of being free, though she regrets it quickly. She goes dancing and briefly sees her brother Kenna along with some new priestesses. While Sita is off with a man, her brother Mery comes to interrupt. They are both a little tipsy, and Mery tells her that he is the reason their father is sick. He has been poisoning him slowly for some time.

Karim runs straight to Pa and tells him what he found, and the two go back to the tomb. While there, Karim gets a better look at the paintings inside and notices that one of them looks like him, which he finds odd since the pictures are over a thousand years old. Karim decides that his answers are in the city at the temple. He finds an old fishing boat and starts his journey.

Rae goes out one day and finds soldiers terrorizing the town. She stands up for one of the neighboring farmers and ends up getting punished for it, whipped until she almost blacks out. When she comes to, she decides she has had enough and is going to join the rebel movement. The rebel leader in town is Asim, and she joins one of his rallies. Even after a passionate speech, no one volunteers to join except Rae. To show how sincere she is, she offers to fight Asim. She puts up an incredible fight until Asim hits her back and she goes down fast due to the whipping she had the previous night. Asim is impressed and tells her she can join.

Neff has started her lessons about interpreting dreams and visions and is learning quite fast. She decides not to tell anyone that she has learned to interpret. Because of her classes, she has not had time to visit Kenna. When she has a free afternoon, she goes to find him but ends up eavesdropping on a conversation between him and his sister Sitamun. The princess mentions she is worried about their father’s health, but Kenna tells her not to worry. Kenna then tells Neff to come out, and she learns that Kenna is entombing people. They are interrupted when the Pharaoh calls Neff in to interpret one of his dreams. Neff quickly figures out that he is being betrayed by someone close to him, but decides not to dismiss him and tells him he should listen to the priest. When Neff leaves the room, she runs into Prince Mery, who tells her that he knows she lied. He says he will not say anything, but she must give him a vision, which she does. After more threats, Neff runs back to Kenna, who knows something is wrong but gives her space and time to tell him.

Rae goes back home, and her father knows what she is planning and is not happy about it. Rae tells him he has no say in the matter and that she is going to help. While getting some fresh air after their argument, she is at the riverbank when a fisherman yells to her. The boat gets close, and Rae realizes the fisherman is not really a fisherman, just a man on a boat with his dog and no food. Rae gives them supplies to help with the last day of their journey. In return, the man gives Rae some jewelry to thank her. Soon after, there is a rebel attack, and Rae heads it up, narrowly escaping death. They tell her to go home and stay out of the public eye for a while, which only makes her angry.

Mery and Sita are out on the banks of the river with their younger sister, who happens to be the Pharaoh’s favorite child. They are attacked by an alligator, but thanks to advice Mery got from Neff, their lives are saved. Soon, their little sister starts to look ill and faints. Sita quickly takes her to the palace for help, where her father also comes. Her father mentions that the two of them will eat sticky buns together soon. The healers then reveal that his daughter has the same illness as him and is dying. Sita realizes what is happening and confronts Mery. He admits he has been poisoning the sweet cakes and is shocked to realize he is also killing his little sister. It is far too late. Mery tells Sita to keep her mouth shut, because if she tells anyone, both of them will be killed.

Karim makes it to the city and is surprised by how massive it is. He manages to sneak into the temple but gets caught in its depths until a young priestess comes to his aid. She introduces herself as Neff. Karim tells her he is there to research the tomb he found. Neff agrees to help him, but they will need extra help. She brings him to Kenna, and the three go into the archives to find answers. Karim sneaks away briefly to get the answers he needs and then leaves them behind. He is unsettled because Neff looks just like one of the girls in the portrait in the tomb, the one right next to his image.

Sita hates that she has this secret, one that is killing her little sister and her father. Her little sister eventually dies, and Sita debates telling her father. While she is with him, he starts to shake and pass out, and Sita is ushered away. While preparing her goodbyes, Sita is in her room when an old woman visits her, claiming to have delivered her and her siblings. After the woman leaves, Sita realizes she was a goddess. Sita, Kenna, and Mery gather around their dying father to say goodbye. Sita stays back and decides to tell her father everything, but he dies midway through her confession. When she leaves the room, Mery is waiting for her. He knows she tried to tell their father and informs her that once he becomes Pharaoh, he plans on making life difficult for her if she does not cooperate.

Neff goes to find Kenna to comfort him but finds him embalming his father. She offers to stay and help, and that is when Kenna realizes his father was poisoned slowly. Neff reveals the vision she had of his father. Once Kenna hears it, he immediately knows Mery is responsible. He also realizes he can do nothing, as Mery already has allies who would come after him.

A point of view chapter follows from the original cat. He wonders why the humans are deviating from their normal habits and decides to visit Mery. While there, a woman comes to Mery’s room and offers her services. Mery tells her he plans on turning a new leaf for the kingdom, then kills her.

Sita tries to figure out what to do next. She feels like she is already at rock bottom, but it gets worse when her mother arrives and tells her that Mery plans on marrying Sita, his own sister. Sita is disgusted, but her mother explains Mery is trying to return to old traditions to prove himself as ruler. Sita then learns Mery has gathered all the women who used to service their father. She runs to the room where they are gathered and finds them all dead, poisoned by wine.

Rae continues trying to be part of the revolution. When soldiers arrive in the city, it seems like an attack. Instead, they announce that the Pharaoh is dead and the new one plans on turning a new leaf for the country.

Neff and Kenna plan together, unsure what to do with the information they have about Mery. Mery arrives and tells Neff he is impressed with her and wants her to work at the palace so he can call on her whenever he needs her. Though it hurts Kenna, Neff agrees, already having a plan she hopes will make her family proud and one she hopes Kenna will soon understand.

Karim is making his way out of town when he stumbles into a woman in trouble. She has the same face as one of the figures he saw in the tomb. He stops to help her and forces her to eat lunch with him. He learns she is Princess Sita and that guards are searching for her. Sita explains her situation, and Karim offers his fishing boat to get her out of town unseen. Sita agrees. On the way, Karim tells her about the tomb, and Sita decides she wants to see it.

Neff adjusts to her full-time life as a palace priestess. During Mery’s coronation, she is proud to see her parents, though her mother appears ill. She finds Kenna and secretly passes him an object to show she is still on his side. Kenna looks thrilled.

Karim and Sita reach the tomb, where everything goes terribly wrong. Karim is killed, and Sita begs for his life to return. She presses an artifact to his chest and blacks out. When Sita wakes, she is no longer in the tomb. Karim is alive, stitched up, and looks at her before asking, “What have you done?”

In an epilogue, the cat feels neglected while wandering the castle. He finds a new young, bald girl who talks to him and says she is new to the palace and looking for a friend. The cat senses change is coming and cannot wait to see what it will be.