This is the story of Katya, a British-Iraqi archaeologist, who ends up in a precarious situation during the IS attacks on Mosul in 2014, and Aurya, a young woman in Ninivé in 640 BC. I love how their stories come together in this lively historical novel. It’s both thrilling and informative at the same time.
'I know what you did,' he said, his voice high and strangled. Aurya paused.
'What's that?'
'I saw you,’ Nebo-Pishtim said. 'Last night, out near the pit.'
And Aurya realised what it was, that strange look in his eyes. He was afraid. She watched him, her whole body numb. She tried to keep her face calm.
'We weren't out by the pit. You imagined it.'
'I was throwing out our old matting,' he said. 'I hid when I saw you. "Sharo," you said. "Sharo, help me do it".'
Aurya grabbed Sharo's hand and turned to walk down to the boats.
'You're a liar,' she said, trying to control the pitch of her voice.
'I'm going to tell everyone,' Nebo-Pishtim shouted after her.
She kept on walking without looking back, feeling the ground suddenly unstable beneath her feet, her whole body alive with fear. 'I'm going to tell everyone what you did!'
