Hidden Loyalties A Judaic Novel by Meira Berendt

A Novel Anna couldn’t breathe. She couldn’t think. “Devorah…” she croaked. “Devorah, I never meant… I never thought…” She broke off, unable to continue. Suddenly, she got up and fled from the room. She ran all the way down the hall, nearly tripping on her gown several times. She lifted the bottom of her dress and ran even faster, unable to get Devorah’s haunted look out of her mind. How could Devorah bear to look at her? She had killed the girl’s father! Mystery, suspicion, and intrigue fill the palace of Czar Arlavious. Why is Czar Dimitri so intent on his son gaining Czarevna Annalina’s hand in marriage? Who is behind the sudden edict to expel the Jews of Atka? Is Luka a clone of his father, or does he have the backbone to make his own decisions, especially when his newly-formed friendship with Czarevitch Alik has shown him an entirely different—and so much better—way of rulership? And throughout all the drama, Devorah, a young orphan from the Jewish community who, through a series of unfortunate events, has been thrust into the role of the Czarevna’s handmaiden, watches silently and wonders… Can she help out the Jews, in her position at the palace? Does she have what it takes to save the Jewish people of her town? …Or will Dimitri’s diabolical plans play out before she even has the chance? By Meira Berendt