The Queen of Sheba (Ebook Shorts) (The Loves of King Solomon Book #4)

© 2017 by Jill Eileen Smith

Published by Revell

a division of Baker Publishing Group

P.O. Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287

www.revellbooks.com

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—for example, electronic, photocopy, recording—without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.

ISBN 978-1-4934-0020-1

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. ESV Text Edition: 2011

Scripture quotations marked NIV are from the Holy Bible, New International Version®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com

This is a work of historical reconstruction; the appearances of certain historical figures are therefore inevitable. All other characters, however, are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

Published in association with the Books & Such Literary Agency, Wendy Lawton, Central Valley Office, P.O. Box 1227, Hilmar, CA 95324, wendy@booksandsuch.com.

To truth seekers everywhere, especially those

who do not stop until they find Him.

Contents

Cover

Title Page

Copyright Page

Dedication

Epigraph

Prelude

1

2

3

4

Interlude

5

6

7

8

9

10

Grace Note

11

12

Postlude

Note to the Reader

Acknowledgments

Sneak Peek of Redeeming Grace

About the Author

Books by Jill Eileen Smith

Back Ads

Back Cover

Now when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the LORD, she came to test him with hard questions. She came to Jerusalem with a very great retinue, with camels bearing spices and very much gold and precious stones. And when she came to Solomon, she told him all that was on her mind. And Solomon answered all her questions; there was nothing hidden from the king that he could not explain to her.

1 Kings 10:1–3

Prelude

For fifteen summers since my birth, I had been groomed for the moment the scepter would rest in my hands. I simply had not expected it to come when it did. My mother, Makeda, Queen of the South, died suddenly one evening after a night of feasting. I woke to the sound of her maids shouting the news—far before I was ready to lose her. Or to rule so vast a kingdom alone in her stead.

But alone was exactly what I was then, and still remain, for the kingdom of Sheba takes great pride in their virgin queens. The furtherance of our dynasty comes through adoption, normally of a female child, but now and then a man-child is chosen when no suitable girl can be found. I had yet to find either, for the infant girl I had adopted in my twentieth year died of an unexpected plague before her fifth birthday. Ten years later, I have not had the heart to replace her, though my vizier and the nobles in my inner circle remind me of my duty weekly. I weary of the thought.

Perhaps my disillusionment comes from fear of loss or never having known my true parents. Whoever birthed me mattered little once I, Nicaula Bilquis Makeda, was chosen as Makeda’s heir. All eyes of the kingdom turned to me the moment my mother’s body rested in the netherworld.

I did not know how hard the task would be during those early years, or how fast time would carry me as I sought to establish a kingdom to rival that of foreign kings. A kingdom that would send me in constant search of answers to impossible questions.

And now, after fifteen years as queen, I find I still seek answers to those questions. But I did not expect them to lead me on an adventure that would take me far from my homeland.

Queens simply did not leave their kingdoms for a quest. And yet, that is exactly what I did.

1

Sheba, 953 BC

The air in the audience chamber where I ascended my throne bore a sticky feel, despite the scent of the pleasing frankincense burning in the sconces. The summer rains would be upon us soon, yet I already felt sweat trickle beneath the weight of the golden crown as I took my seat. Slaves lifted heavy palm fronds to cool the air—a welcome respite. I smoothed my elaborate gown and matching gold and purple robe, then took the scepter from my vizier, who waited patiently to sit at my right.

Najib was a comely man, one I had considered a near equal, one who could make a mother of me—if the law allowed it. How was it that my next in line for the throne could marry and bear children while I, Sheba’s queen, must remain barren and unloved? I ignored the ache to my middle that such thoughts evoked and nodded, unsmiling, in Najib’s direction.

Did you rest well, Najib? I asked as the buzz of my courtiers’ voices filled the chamber. He normally did not speak to me until I spoke first to him. It was custom. And we always followed custom.

Yes, my queen. His mouth twitched into a half smile. A striped turban adorned his dark hair, and a blue robe with golden threads cloaked a trim body. The robe gave status to his role as my underling and heir apparent—at least until such time as I chose a child to follow in my stead. Have you given any thought to the candidates brought to you a fortnight ago?

The question was one he asked almost daily now, but I had commissioned him to search for another young female I could adopt. Ten years was long enough to grieve, at least as far as my advisors were concerned.

I met Najib’s gaze with a glance I could not hold. No. I have not had time to meet the candidates. The truth was I had no heart to tear an infant from her mother. And the unwanted children who roamed the halls of the temples to our gods either were too old or had been handpicked to be priestesses. My healthy fear of angering the gods kept me from choosing one from the temple grounds.

You really must consider someone soon, my queen. The advisors are growing restless. Najib spoke truth, for I had seen the looks of impatience, yet still I put them off, claiming it was my right to do so.

What? I should think you would be glad to be the one to rule after me if no one is chosen. I mocked him with my tone, but I knew by his look that even he did not wish to go against the ruling council who oversaw the goings and comings of Sheba’s monarchs.

At the rate you are waiting to choose, my queen, should anything happen to you—may the gods forbid it—I myself will be in my grave before this child is old enough to handle matters on her own. He stroked a narrow beard that was not truly a beard. His chin looked like that of a goat more than a man, but it was his preference, so I said nothing.

I will choose soon, I said, feeling suddenly cross over it all. Besides, I still entertained a crazy notion of bearing a child for the sake of love. It went against all of Sheba’s protocol, but hadn’t such things been written of in our poetry and sung in our songs? Why was our monarch the only one who looked with longing on the idea of love yet was denied its very pleasures?

This question was only one of many that plagued me in the quiet moments of the night, or when I stood on the latticed balcony of my rooms and stared up at the lush mountains and waterfalls in the distance, wondering how such beauty had come into being. Were the gods of my people, the sun and moon and creatures of the earth, to be worshiped for such magnificence? When I gazed at the heavens and pondered, I felt only confusion. For despite the legends of Astar, the sun goddess, and Sin, god of the moon, I saw them more as heavenly beings than the powerful creators of good and evil others claimed them to be.

A commotion at the end of the audience chamber drew my attention away from my troublesome thoughts. Hadi, my lead war general, approached the throne. I extended the scepter. He touched its tip and bowed low.

What news do you bring to me, Hadi?

He rose up on one knee but did not look up. I have news from the north, he said.

You may rise and speak.

He did so and nodded. "The king of Israel has sent a fleet of ships to the narrow passage of the Red Sea, near our ports. He has sent servants into our