by Elm Vince
“Too weak to protect your subjects…” Iram gestured to the guests, who shakily pushed themselves to all fours or started crawling away. “Unable, even, to protect your new wife.”
My blood ran cold as Iram’s dark gaze locked with mine.
I was distantly aware of Kassim calling my name before the floor fell away beneath me.
12
My feet flailed in the air. Far below, Kassim stood alone. Beyond the blast radius, most of the wedding guests were back on their feet, their heads craned up to stare at me, horror etched onto every face.
A jeweled shoe slipped from my foot and fell to the marble below with a thump.
“Zadie!”
Several people cried my name. Kassim, my mother, Lalana… I couldn’t be sure from this distance. My head whirled and my stomach roiled.
How did I get up here?
The hands holding my wrists were warm. Hot. Too hot to be human. I tilted my neck back. Tarak held me over the edge of the balcony, his chest puffed out and his brown hair slicked back from his face.
“Tarak,” I snarled, squirming against his grip. Anger seared away my fear. “You two-faced, double-crossing, son-of-a-roc. Put me down!”
“I hardly think you want the djinni to grant that wish, Princess Scheherazade.” Sultan Iram loomed closer to me over the balcony, his gray eyes stony. “Not when you hang so precariously above the marble floor.”
“Tarak, stop this,” I tried again, but the fire had gone out of my voice.
The djinni’s violet eyes remained vacant, staring forward, not meeting my gaze.
“It’s interesting how familiar you are with this particular spirit.” Iram’s voice was low, his head tilting as he addressed me. “Hepzibah informed me as much. It’s foolish. He has no love for you, you know.”
Tarak’s grip tightened, and I repressed a yelp. My arms and shoulders already sang with agony, and my burning wrists felt like they might snap clean off.
Iram shifted back from me, moving along the balcony to address the sultan far below us.
“Your Royal Vizier informed me of a great many things, Kassim.” Iram’s voice seemed to carry without needing to shout over the distance. “She told me many tales of the young, haughty, orphaned sultan desperate to prove his worth.” He gripped the edge of the balcony. “I know everything, Kassim. I know what runs in your blood. And who heats it.” His gaze slid sideways to me. “Hepzibah has informed me that you care for this woman. Not as a sultan covets valuable alliances, or as a man desires a beautiful woman. She tells me you love her.” Iram leaned forward on the marble balcony, staring down at Kassim, who seemed so far beneath him. His mouth twisted into a satisfied smile. “So I’m taking her.”
A cacophony of shouts and gasps rose from the crowd below.
“Not, to be clear, to prevent the alliance between your two kingdoms.” He laughed. “No. Now I have the lamps, something as trifling as this marriage makes no difference to my plans.” Sultan Iram gestured to the crowd. “You’ll still have the first-born princess of Khiridesh. The union can go ahead once I take my leave.”
I looked down to try and see Lalana, but my stomach flipped and my vision seemed to warp when I took in the drop below me.
“I’m taking the woman you love as insurance to guarantee Astaran, or any of her allies, won’t interfere with my plans. Do you understand, Kassim? Rise against me, and I’ll kill her.”
At Iram’s words, Tarak let my wrists slip through his hands an inch, and a scream tore from my lips.
“Stop. Don’t hurt her!” Kassim started forward, shouting up. “Let’s talk about this.”
Iram laughed darkly. “The time for talking is over, Kassim. Men like us live in an age where action determines legacy.”
I hung limply, my hands and arms numb and tingling. All the blood had rushed to my feet, leaving me lightheaded and sick, a high-pitched whine filling my ears.
Think, Zadie. I couldn’t let myself be used against Kassim. But if that was this sultan’s plan, he needed me alive.
Without much thought, or any warning, I bent my wrists and dug my nails into Tarak’s hands. When the djinni flinched, I pulled forward with all my weight.
Caught off guard, Tarak yelled and toppled right over the balcony, and I fell with him, my dress flying up around my face and ears, my limbs flailing wildly.
Then warm arms wrapped around me, sweet smoke filling my mouth and nostrils. I felt solid floor beneath me, and my knees buckled with relief. I coughed, unclenching my eyes to the world still swimming around me. I was on the balcony.
Hot hands pinned my arms behind my back.
“Let me go!” I wheezed, struggling against Tarak once more. I stamped at his legs and feet with my own, but they turned to smoke beneath my blows.
A stinging slap sent my face flying to the side. The vizier stood before me, her bony hand still raised. My vision blurred with tears and my ears rang.
The vizier let out a sigh, speaking for the first time. “You have no idea how long I’ve been wanting to do that.”
“I can hazard a guess,” I ground out, my cheek pulsing.
“Enough, Hepzibah.” Iram motioned for Tarak to step me forward, displaying me to the crowd below.
“I’ll kill you! I’ll kill you both!” Kassim yelled. He stood directly below the balcony now, flanked by Elian and Namir. Both were weaponless, and the latter pressed a hand to his ribs.
“No, sultan. You won’t.” Iram pursed his lips. “Were you not listening? You will not act against my kingdom in any way, or your princess dies. If I hear so much as a whisper of ships or armies being mobilized, if one scout reports Astarian men within ten leagues of my borders, your princess dies. You do anything I deem a threat, your princess dies.”
Iram turned his gray eyes to me, grazing his knuckles along my still stinging cheek. “If your sultan heeds my words, there will be no need to waste such a vivacious, spirited life.”
I flinched back from him, but he had already turned away, nodding to the vizier. Hepzibah cracked her silver staff down against the marble, and the weapons dropped from the ceiling.
The crowd below screamed, diving out of the way of the sharp blades raining down. The weapons smashed and clattered to the floor just as every window in the ballroom banged open. Rain and wind clawed their way in, whipping the banners into a frenzy and ripping the garlands from the plinths.
Above our heads, violet smoke began to churn and swirl like a whirlpool, funneling down toward the balcony. I cried out, struggling against Tarak, breaking free. Wind and cold water lashed at my face as the thick smoke wrapped around us.
I threw up an arm to shield my face, coughing as I screamed Kassim’s name into the wind.
The cries of the guests grew distant. Air rushed past my skin as hollow weightlessness took over. I could no longer feel Tarak’s hands, or the rain on my skin, or the stone beneath my feet.
The palace melted away before my eyes.
- The End -
Ready for the next book in the Desert Nights series? Check out THE SECRET OF THE LAMPS now.
A note from the authors
Dear reader,
We hope you enjoyed the run-up to Zadie’s wedding, even though she didn’t get the happy ending she deserved!
Next time, Zadie is held captive in Phoenitia where she learns more about her enemy’s plans...
If you enjoyed the book, we’d love it if you’d leave us a review on Amazon. These help other people to find our books, and keep us writing more in the series!
If you skipped the prequel, but want to read more about Zadie's adventures, download a free copy of The Sisters and the Sultan. Or, if you’d like to recommend the series to a friend, it’s a great (and free!) place to point them towards.
GET YOUR FREE COPY OF THE SISTERS AND THE SULTAN
You’ll be added to Elm’s newsletter, so you won’t need to worry about missing any of the new releases in the Desert Nights series.
Yours literarily,<
br />
Elm and Helena
The Desert Nights series
The Sisters and the Sultan (Prequel)
The Girl with Seven Wishes (Book 1)
The Queen of Forty Thieves (Book 2)
The Sand beneath the Stars (Book 3)
The Palace of Dust and Shadows (Book 4)
The Princess and her Tiger (Book 5)
The Curse of the Midnight Voyage (Book 6)
The Spirits below the Sand (Book 7)
The Djinni and the Lost Princess (Book 8)
The Sorcerer in the Smoke (Book 9)
The Secret of the Lamps (Book 10)
The series will continue with books 11-12…
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About the authors
Elm and Helena have been friends since before they were old enough to read. They grew up loving the same books, and never quite grew out of it, so it’s not much of a surprise to anyone who knows them that they’ve both ended up writing YA fantasy – and even less of a surprise that they’re now writing a series together!
They’re both mad about dragons, fairytales, strong female leads, and hate-to-love romances; and recent fantasy books they haven’t been able to stop chatting about have included those by Sarah J. Maas, Naomi Novik, Sabaa Tahir and Leigh Bardugo.
Find out more about each of the Desert Nights authors by taking a look at the information below:
More about Elm
The Star Cast Series
Tapestry of Night (Book 1, forthcoming)
www.elmvince.com
www.facebook.com/elmvince
www.instagram.com/elmvince
More about Helena
The Carnival of Stars Series
The Prince and the Poisoner (Book 1, forthcoming)
The River Witch Series
The River Witch (Book 1)
The Iron Court (Book 2)
The Queen’s Court (Book 3)
The Wild Hunt (Book 4)
The Iron City (Book 5)
The King’s Court (Book 6, forthcoming)
The Court of the Faerie Queen (River Witch Books 1-3 omnibus)
The Court of the Faerie King (River Witch Books 4-6 omnibus, forthcoming)
www.helenarookwood.com
www.facebook.com/helenarookwood
www.instagram.com/helenarookwood
www.bookbub.com/profile/helena-rookwood
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
A note from the authors
The Desert Nights series
About the authors
