There was a long silence.
“Don’t worry, princess,” Mehri said at last, reaching forward to tuck a wayward strand of my hair back into place. “By the time Jevera and I are finished, the sultan will be desperate to present you to the palace.”
I wrenched my gaze from the sultan. “I doubt tidying my hair will be enough to convince him.”
Would the others in the palace be as disappointed as the sultan to discover they had been presented with Zadie, not Lalana?
“Go on then,” I said begrudgingly, and tried not to mind too much as Mehri and Jevera bustled me into a small tent and out of sight of everyone else. They buzzed around me like sandflies, smoothing cream and powder onto my skin and massaging fragrant oils into my hair.
I cringed as Jevera spat on a cloth and began to tidy up the mess around my eyes, then ringed them with kohl to make them look even bigger. Mehri quickly unpicked my hair from its complex knot before braiding it again so it sat more neatly.
“There.” Mehri beamed at me. “Now you really look like a princess.”
Jevera looked less convinced. “Hopefully it’s enough to please the sultan.” She frowned, leaning forward to add a little more shimmering cream to the inside corners of my eyes.
I pushed my way back out of the tent, looking in the direction Kassim and the vizier had disappeared. The two of them had joined the others I’d seen staring at us earlier, all standing in the shade of the high palace walls, watching as my dowry was carried through the gates. Behind the pallets of gleaming gold pranced the fine Khirideshi stallions, and I felt a twinge in my chest. If only Kassim had let me ride in on a Khirideshi horse instead of an Astarian elephant, I wouldn’t feel so much like my insides had been wrung out. And maybe I wouldn’t look so much like they had, either.
“Come on,” I muttered to Jevera and Mehri. “Let’s get this over with.”
I strode over to where the others had gathered. Along with the sultan and the vizier, two men and a young girl inspected the treasure as it glittered past them. They didn’t notice me at first, so I cleared my throat loudly before dropping into a neat curtsey.
“Zadie,” Kassim said, his eyes flicking from my face to my hair. “Why didn’t you wait for someone to fetch you?” His full mouth set into a sullen line.
Spirits, did he have to sound quite so cold every time he spoke to me?
“Kassim,” the vizier said quickly, flashing me a smile. “Introduce the princess.”
“Of course.” He dragged one foot through the sand. “Princess Scheherazade, this is Elian, the captain of the palace guard.” He gestured to a broad-shouldered man with a thick beard, who gave me a grin before dropping into a low bow.
“And this is Namir.”
The second man didn’t smile, but gave me a stiffer bow, his mop of curly hair flopping forward with the movement. I noticed Kassim didn’t mention exactly what he did at the palace.
“And I should introduce my sister, Princess Safiyya.”
The girl smiled brightly at me, dipping into a little curtsey. So this was Kassim’s youngest sister. She had a freckled nose, and ears that stuck out beneath a sheet of black hair that was even longer than Lalana’s.
“Pleased to meet you, Princess Scheherazade,” she said in a sweet, breathless voice.
“Call me Zadie,” I replied automatically.
“Kassim says I can give you a tour of the palace tomorrow,” she said very quickly, as though she had been waiting to tell me. “I can answer any questions you have, Zadie.”
I felt a little stab of disappointment in my chest that Kassim wouldn’t be showing me around himself. How was I supposed to show the sultan what I was capable of if I didn’t even get to talk to him? But I forced myself to smile once more. “I’m looking forward to it already.”
“Perhaps while the princesses compare notes on what they’ll wear to tomorrow’s celebrations, we can continue our conversation, Hepzibah,” the sultan interrupted in a bored voice.
“Of course, Kassim.”
What celebrations?
I tried not to feel too irritated by the fact that he hadn’t shared anything about what would happen on my arrival, not to mention his presumption that all I would be interested in was what I would wear.
The sultan moved from my side to stand beside the vizier, watching my dowry being carried inside the sun-warmed palace walls. His forehead was creased, his mouth downturned.
“Don’t look like that, Kassim,” the vizier said. “I told you everything would be fine. Look. That’s the last of it.”
They seemed to have moved on from talk of talismans. But what could possibly have worried the sultan about my dowry? Was something missing?
Princess Safiyya moved closer, a wave of her sweet jasmine scent washing over me as she took hold of my arm. “I hope we’ll get to chat more tomorrow evening, Zadie. Hepzibah’s organized the most amazing welcome feast for you. There’ll be the finest food available in Kisrabah, and performers who’ve traveled from all over the kingdom. We have the most wonderful musicians in the world in Astaran. And your champion will be named.”
“Sounds wonderful,” I said distractedly, still watching Kassim.
“I just worry that we’re tempting fate, Hepzibah. Much has been taken from the palace over the past few weeks, and we still don’t know how. Those thieves were probably watching us today, parading everything through the street…”
There had been thieves in the palace? More than once? I glanced up at the thick, stone walls stretching high above me. How do they get in?
“The traditional procession was important, Kassim,” the vizier said in a clipped voice. “You know how much your father valued the old traditions. We want to impress upon our people what will be gained with this marriage. The sight of the dowry will inspire confidence. It will show them what wealth we have, what strength.” She glanced back at me with a warm smile. “Not to mention showing off your beautiful new bride.”
Kassim ignored that last comment. “And if someone had stolen something? What would that have said for the strength of my kingdom?”
“But nothing was stolen.”
“We were attacked on our way here.” Kassim’s expression was pinched. “I never dreamed a pack of common bandits would be so bold as to attack their sultan.” He paused. “At least no one outside the palace knows about the items stolen from within our own walls. And we’ve already covered up the attack on the road. But if someone had taken something in broad daylight, in the middle of Kisrabah...”
The vizier sighed and shook her head. “If someone had been stupid enough to try and take something in broad daylight, we would have made some other demonstration of our strength to remind everyone of the cost of taking from the sultan.”
Kassim let out a low growl. “Perhaps we should let the city know that the penalty for thieving has just increased to the loss of two hands instead of one.”
“You’ve got to be kidding!” The words were out of my mouth before I could stop them.
Everyone turned to stare at me, aghast. The sultan turned red with anger.
I swallowed, shrinking back from his furious stare, my throat tight. What had my mother told me about not speaking unless I was spoken to? I needed Kassim to think me a perfect princess until we were wed, and blurting out criticisms was probably not going to aid my cause.
But what use was a sultanah who wouldn’t speak out for her people?
Blood pounded in my ears. “S-Stricter laws don’t typically work as a deterrent,” I said in a halting voice. I glanced over at the vizier, hoping she at least might listen to what I had to say, even if Kassim would not. “Besides, one law for all types of theft is inappropriate. Would you punish the father who steals a loaf of bread for his family in the same way you’d punish someone for stealing treasure from the sultan? Such inflexible measures only create ill will among a kingdom’s people.”
Kassim gave a derisive snort. “I see my new bride thinks she’s well-versed in law and
order. Something else I hadn’t expected from the daughter of Sultan Shapur.”
“I’m sure the princess is just tired after her journey, Kassim,” the vizier said quickly. “Why not let her go to her chambers and rest for a while?”
But Kassim held up a hand and fixed his long-lashed eyes on me. “The laws of Astaran are decided by the sultan. And the only person in a position to advise him on those laws is his Royal Vizier. I do not expect you to try and undermine centuries of tradition, Zadie.”
My cheeks burned hot. I prayed to the spirits for the strength to hold my tongue.
“Kassim.” The vizier inclined her head toward the others around us. “Now is not the time for this conversation.”
The sultan ignored her. “Your role here, princess, is not to advise me.” His gaze flicked back to the vizier. “I already have people to do that.”
My hands trembled and I quickly cast my eyes to the ground. It was ridiculous, he was ridiculous. But I held my tongue.
“You are here as my bride, and I expect you to act accordingly,” he continued in the same patronizing tone. “You will not give your opinion unless asked for it. You will not presume to know more about my kingdom than I do myself. You will not do or say anything that will reflect badly on me or Astaran. I expect you to be the polite, gentle, loyal bride I was promised. Not an advisor. Is that understood?”
I clenched my fists so tightly that my fingernails dug into my palms. Gentle?
Would a gentle bride have been able to fight off that bandit from the back of a Khirideshi horse?
“I said, is that understood, Zadie?”
In that moment, I hated him. For belittling me in front of the vizier. For not listening to good sense. For not being the progressive sultan I had hoped he might be.
Then I caught myself. If I wanted to be sultanah, I couldn’t openly hate the sultan I was to marry. He was a means to an end, and I would have to hold my tongue. At least until we were actually married.
I forced myself to incline my head in a slight nod.
“Jevera, escort the princess to her chambers,” the vizier said gently. “Everyone is clearly tired from so much excitement on the road. Let her get some rest so she’s feeling better for the welcome feast tomorrow evening.”
My handmaid bowed and turned assessing, dark eyes to me.
Numbly, I looked back at Kassim. He refused to meet my gaze, instead turning to look at the gates closing behind us.
I guessed I was going to my chambers then.
Chapter Five
“I thought it made sense to start in the gardens before it gets too hot.” Princess Safiyya’s voice floated back to me, carried on a lilac-scented breeze. “We have fourteen gardens within the palace walls, and nine smaller courtyards. Did you know we grow twelve types of roses here? And night-flowering jasmine… It smells amazing.”
I walked along behind her, trying hard to concentrate as we drifted between trees heavy with almonds and figs. It was already too hot, nearing midday. The princess seemed sweet enough, though, even if she was a little bit earnest.
“We’ll look around the inside of the palace after lunch,” she continued. “There are four buildings inside the palace walls – the palace, the barracks, the temple, and the crypt.” She listed them on her fingers as she talked. “We have almost three hundred rooms, and that’s just in the palace itself. There are also bathing pools, when it gets too hot to do much else.”
She turned down another leaf-lined path, leaving me to trail behind her, all our handmaids following us. It felt disconcertingly like being in yesterday’s parade. At least there was no elephant to contend with this time.
“If you want to bathe before the welcome feast this evening, your handmaids can take you down to the pools. Jevera knows where they are.”
A loud laughing sound made me jump, and Safiyya hid a smile as a jewel-colored peacock strutted across the path. “We currently have fifty-three peacocks in the palace gardens. We also have an aviary and a small zoo.”
Right. No elephant, but fifty-three peacocks.
The gardens spilled over with fragrant plants and glittering blue pools, copper fish flashing through the water. Beyond, the palace was built entirely of shining, white marble. Much of the stone was carved with beautiful swirling patterns of flowers or inlaid with semi-precious stones, and elegant arches and decorative minarets soared above the courtyard’s walls.
I had never seen anything so magnificent.
But I still couldn’t help the sweat gathering on my back or the heat prickling down the nape of my neck. I had come here in order to make a difference. I was to marry the sultan, and I had expected to rule.
But, spirits, was this to be the domain I ruled over? Gardens to wander aimlessly through in the mornings, and pools to bathe in when it got too hot?
Where was the armory? Or the council rooms? Surely those were the things I needed to see to be able to lead effectively.
Safiyya chattered on animatedly up ahead. “Several of the gardens are so ancient, they were here even before the palace. Scholars say they’re so perfectly designed, they must have been created by spirits. There’s only one we can’t see today because it’s being used for the feast tonight.” She let out a long sigh. “Oh, Zadie, I can’t wait.”
My stomach turned at the mention of tonight’s event. I hadn’t seen Kassim since he had scolded me at the palace gates. In some ways, I was relieved to hear the welcome event was still going ahead as planned. My comments hadn’t been enough to call off the wedding.
But the thought of facing Kassim again… The sultan might be open-minded in some respects…after all, his Royal Vizier was a woman…but it seemed he had traditional views when it came to the role of his future wife.
The sound of metal ringing against metal drew me out of my sulking, and I flinched.
“What was that?” I asked Safiyya sharply.
She looked back in surprise. “What?”
The clash of metal rang out again. I moved swiftly to her side, grabbing her arm. Could it be the thieves Kassim mentioned? He had said they’d managed to get into the palace, yet no one knew how. Would they be bold enough to break into the palace in the middle of the day?
Safiyya giggled at my concern. “Zadie, it’s just the training ground.”
My cheeks heated as I dropped her arm. I still must be jumpy after our encounter with the bandits. But through my embarrassment, curiosity flickered.
A training ground… Now that could be interesting to see. I had no idea what kind of forces Kassim had training here in Kisrabah, but based on the attack on the convoy and the sultan’s words about the thefts in the palace, I should probably find out.
“Can we go have a look?”
Safiyya giggled again. “You are funny. Whyever would you want to see the training grounds?”
I frowned at her. “Why wouldn’t I? You know the convoy was attacked on our way back here.” I crossed my arms. “Shouldn’t the future sultanah see the army charged with protecting her people?”
Uncertainty clouded Safiyya’s face, and she began fidgeting with the ends of her long hair. “We’re not allowed, Zadie.”
“What do you mean?”
Safiyya dithered, shooting nervous glances at our gaggle of handmaids, who all stared at me in abject horror. “Wouldn’t you rather come see my pet, Lotus?” she asked, a pleading tone in her voice. “He’s adorable. We must see if we can get you something to keep you company, too. Then I’ve organized lunch for us. And we still haven’t even been inside the palace yet…”
The clash of metal rang out again, and I twisted around.
I really wasn’t interested in meeting Safiyya’s pet kitten or dove or whatever it was. And I didn’t see any reason I shouldn’t go check out the training grounds. What use would I be as Sultanah of Astaran if I didn’t even know what our armies looked like?
I gave Safiyya what I hoped was a reassuring smile. “I’ll just take a quick look.” I began striding through
the gardens toward the source of the noise. “It won’t take long. Besides, no one will even know I’m there.”
I didn’t look back, but to my relief, I eventually heard footsteps following behind me. I didn’t want to upset Safiyya. I just wanted to see the training grounds.
“You know, I’ve never done anything Kassim forbade me to do before,” the princess said in a hushed voice. Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes glittering. “It feels…exciting.”
I looked at her in surprise.
“And what you said to him, about thieving and punishments… I don’t think anyone, apart from Hepzibah, has ever spoken to him like that. You’re very brave, Zadie.”
I winced. At least someone had been impressed by what I’d said.
The clashing sounds grew louder as we approached a tall, white stone wall, a narrow staircase cut into the side of it. Sand had crept back in, as though the desert had sensed a weak spot in the palace and done its best to wind its way inside.
“Behind here?” I asked Safiyya.
She nodded, albeit unwillingly.
Hitching up my skirts, I began climbing up the steep staircase, using one hand to steady myself as I went. The stone was already hot under my palm. It must be later in the day than I’d realized.
Safiyya drew in a quick breath from behind me. “Zadie! I can see your knees!”
I shot her an exasperated look, my head spinning for a moment as I looked back down the steep steps. “You’d see as much and more if we visited those bathing pools of yours, wouldn’t you?”
Her cheeks turning even pinker, Safiyya let out another giggle and followed me up the narrow staircase.
I could hear the grumble of the handmaids as they were forced to follow their mistresses. Spirits, it was no wonder Safiyya hardly saw anywhere else in the palace. How was she supposed to go anywhere with such an unwieldy number of attendants following her?
With a twinge, I wondered whether Lalana had ever felt the same. She was the one at home who had been trailed by an army of handmaids.
Throne of Sand (2020 Reissue) Page 4
