I pressed my lips together, wishing I’d picked up one of the fallen scimitars in case I needed to defend myself. I didn’t trust my legs to support me if I tried to stand, so I remained cowering before her.
“Aliyah, I didn’t bring the Royal Guard here. I swear. No one even knows I left the palace.”
She paused, her eyes flashing.
Doubt crept up the base of my spine. That wasn’t quite true. One person probably knew I left the palace. The same person who had given me the means to do it, and who’d already admitted to tracking the Queen of Thieves...
“I owe you a life debt,” Aliyah said finally. She lowered her voice. “And I will pay it by keeping this secret.”
I glanced at the thieves celebrating by the tower. “Even from–”
“Even from my thieves, yes.”
I breathed a sigh of relief. My hands began trembling again, so I placed them behind my back before Aliyah could see.
“But this truce is with you only,” she continued, scooping up her crossbow from the ground. “It does not extend to the rest of the Astarian royal family, or their armies. They persecute my people. They killed…” She hesitated for a moment, cocking her head. “Tell me. Do you know the sultan’s spymaster, Namir?”
I swallowed. “Yes.”
“He killed Idris, my predecessor. The King of Thieves.” Aliyah’s voice softened as she spoke about him.
“Your father?”
“He might as well have been,” she answered, her dark eyes darkening further. “As thieves, we run outside the law, so we expect persecution. But what happened with Idris… I can never forgive the crown. I hate them all.”
I flinched. “Including me?”
Aliyah ran her eyes over me. “No, not including you, Zadie. Not after today. But that’s not to say I like you, either.”
“Hey, Aliyah!” several of the thieves called her over. They had already started helping the injured onto horses.
The thief queen offered me a hand up.
“You’re a good shot,” I said, shakily getting to my feet.
She smirked. “Well, I should hope so.” She swung the crossbow down from her shoulder and held it out. I hadn’t looked at it properly before, but now that I saw it up close, it was definitely too fine a weapon for some thief on the streets. “I won it in a card game from a sailor. He insisted it was enchanted, and, well… I’ve never missed a shot with it yet.”
My eyes widened as we reached the others. A magic key, an enchanted crossbow. Just how many magical weapons did these thieves have at their disposal?
“Well fought, Aliyah.” Faris clapped the queen on her shoulder.
“How many did we lose?”
“Just two.” Lisha materialized at our side, her hands covered in blood. “Muzna and Iyas. Ru’bah, Yakub, and Kamra are seriously injured. We need to get them back.”
“Will they survive?” I asked.
“Why do you care?” Lisha spat. “By the way, thanks for all the hiding you did. It really helped us out. I saw you on that horse, ready to bolt. I’m surprised you’re still here.”
“Peace, Lisha.” Aliyah sounded tired. “She saved my life. Let her be.”
Lisha fell silent, her lips still downturned. She brushed several dark strands of hair from her face, leaving a smudge of blood across her cheek.
Aliyah turned to me. “I will honor my agreement with you. Give me your letter. We’ll smuggle this into Yadina and deliver it to…”
“Ambar,” I said quickly, untucking the letter from my inner pocket.
“Ah yes. Ambar, the merchant of magical objects.”
I handed over the letter. It was less urgent to find out what he knew now I had the page from the book, but sending the letter couldn't hurt. Besides, maybe I'd get to hear something of Lalana’s new life, too.
I wondered if there was a bounty on the head of the lost princess, or if everyone truly believed she had died, despite never seeing a body.
“We’ll have your reply within a week. Don’t worry about finding us. We’ll find you.” The letter disappeared up Aliyah’s dark sleeve. She turned away from me, addressing her friends. “It’s time to go home.”
A week. That wasn’t so long to wait.
In the meantime, I probably had some explaining to do at the palace. I glanced to the last of the light in the sky. I had been gone for hours.
I put a hand to my pocket, feeling for the book I had stolen and the page I had torn from The Book of Talismans.
If Kassim had noticed I was missing, I hoped it would be enough.
Weak sunlight filtered through the palace windows as I strode toward the council rooms, the stolen page from the book rolled up in my fist.
“Ah, Princess Zadie.” Namir appeared at the end of the corridor, like a shadow. “Where are we off to this morning?”
“The council chambers,” I replied, swiftly stashing the page into my pocket.
“What a coincidence. So am I.” He fell into step beside me. “And how was your day yesterday, princess?”
“Very busy,” I replied evasively. If Namir wasn’t going to ask me whether I had left the palace using the tunnel in the crypt, I wouldn’t offer the information willingly.
“You know, I bumped into your handmaids yesterday afternoon – the dark girl with the braids, and the small, cross-looking one. They were very distressed that they couldn’t find you. They were on their way to tell the vizier you were missing when I ran into them.”
My breath caught in my throat.
“Luckily, I told them I’d just seen you in the dovecote. They spent the rest of the day searching the gardens for you, you know.”
I did. I hadn’t gotten back to the palace until dark, and when I’d slipped into my chambers, Mehri had thrown her arms around my neck and sobbed, claiming she thought I’d been killed. Jevera had shown no such emotion. She’d simply run a critical gaze over my soiled, plain garments, then dragged me to the bathing pools.
“So, did you manage to fit in a walk, or a ride?” Namir enquired politely.
“Both, actually.”
“Sounds like a very active day.”
“It was.”
We walked toward the council rooms in silence, our footsteps ringing out against the tiles.
“Interesting company you keep these days,” Namir said in a low voice as we neared the door.
My heart stuttered. “What do you mean?”
“You would do well to heed my warnings, princess. There is no honor amongst thieves.”
We paused in the corridor and a shiver ran through me, despite the morning sunlight on my skin. Could Namir have set me up and followed me? I’d thought the Royal Guards finding me and Rafi in the bazaar had just been bad luck, but the fact they’d known we’d be at the Order of the Scholar’s library… There was no way they could have just guessed that.
So Lisha was right. It had been my fault the guards had been there, albeit unintentionally.
I stepped away from Namir. “You had me followed?” I hissed.
The tall man shrugged, his expression neutral. “You know me, princess. Always following someone. Actually, you lost my men for a while in the bazaar, but my scouts spotted you riding from the city with your new friends.” He pressed open the door to the council chambers as his lips twitched up. “After you.”
I glared at him and stalked through first, Namir swiftly following.
The vizier, Elian, and Kassim all had their backs to us, leaning over the wooden table.
“I don’t understand a word of this, Hepzibah. How can we be sure it’s even the right one if we can’t read it?” Kassim sounded irritated.
“I have been assured it’s the correct book, Kassim.” The vizier’s voice was strained. “Just look at the pictures. They certainly look like amulets and talismans.”
“But none of them look like the one we need.” Kassim slammed a fist on the table.
“Look.” Elian leaned over, his broad shoulders dipping forward. “
There’s a page missing.” Parchment rustled.
I moved around to stand on the other side of the table and Namir followed. Kassim glanced up, his brow furrowing when he saw me standing next to his spymaster.
“Not now, Zadie.” He waved a hand in irritation. “Elian, remove her.”
I looked down at the book and my stomach dropped.
It looked exactly like the one I’d stolen from the library yesterday.
But it couldn’t be. Maybe there was another copy?
Everyone shouted as I pulled the book toward me and flipped it closed. On the leather cover, just underneath the silver letters spelling out The Book of Talismans in Old Khirideshi, were tiny dents from my teeth.
“Whose book is this?” I asked slowly, looking between the vizier and the sultan.
“I sourced it for the sultan.” The vizier snatched the book back from me.
My stomach turned again. Was it possible…? Had she paid the thieves to steal the book?
“Elian, please remove the princess.” Kassim said again. “This doesn’t concern her.”
Elian moved to my side and placed a large, gentle hand on my arm. “Please, Princess Zadie, allow me to escort you back to your chambers.”
I pressed my lips together. “Of course, Elian,” I replied sweetly. “It’s just so nice to see a book written in Old Khirideshi.” I turned to leave.
“Wait. You can read this?” Kassim sounded skeptical. He pulled the book from Hepzibah’s hands and placed it back in front of me.
I nodded with a smile, then reached into my pocket. “Actually, when I was in the marketplace yesterday–”
“You went to the marketplace yesterday?!” the sultan roared, the book momentarily forgotten. His face turned a startling shade of red. “After I expressly forbade it?”
“Well, Namir sent a few of his men out to accompany me.” I turned to the spymaster, putting him on the spot. “Didn’t you?”
Namir’s face didn’t give any hint of discomfort when he answered. “I did, Kassim.”
I smirked at the spymaster.
“She said she had your permission, though.” He inclined his head toward me, giving me a mild smile.
That lying son of a roc.
The sultan glared at me with ferocious, amber eyes. “Zadie,” he began, his voice low and deadly. “You can’t–”
“I picked this up,” I cut in, pulling out the page from my dress pocket and spreading it on the table.
The vizier’s thin eyebrows shot up. “Where did you get that?”
“Is that the missing page of the book?” Elian asked in disbelief, looking between the page and the vizier.
“I don’t know.” I shrugged. “I picked it up from one of the market stalls. At first, I just thought it interesting that it was written in Old Khirideshi. It’s a very rare language.” I turned to the sultan. “But then I read it was about a Night Diamond talisman. I overheard you talking about it before, and I thought it would make a nice gift for my betrothed.”
The anger drained from Kassim’s face. Instead, he looked at me like I’d sprouted an extra head.
“Wow, isn’t that some luck!” Elian laughed, clapping the sultan on the back. “Hepzibah’s merchant clearly ripped out a page to make some money on the side. But the princess found it anyway!”
Namir looked from me, to Hepzibah, then finally to Kassim. “Quite the coincidence,” he pronounced.
Before anyone could grill me further about the book, the merchant, or the torn page, I lifted my gaze to meet Kassim’s. “I could translate it for you. Unless you have a scholar in the palace who already speaks Old Khirideshi.”
It was almost certain they didn’t. Even in Khiridesh, there were few who recognized this ancient script.
Kassim shook his head. “No. Translate, please.”
“As you wish, Kassim.” I traced my finger along the lines of text. “Hmm… It says the talisman is guarded by a soothsayer in a once-mighty city, now lost to the sands.”
“Does it say where exactly?” Kassim had leaned so far forward, our noses almost brushed as I looked up. He cleared his throat and leaned back a little.
I looked down again and pursed my lips, trying to sound out the word. “Tigrylon,” I said finally. I looked up with a frown. “Although I can’t imagine that city is more than a ruin now, if it even still exists at all.”
“It used to be near the border of Khiridesh and Astaran.” Namir stroked a finger across his chin.
“Then we will organize an expedition as soon as possible.” Kassim’s eyes lit up. “Elian, how quickly can you get supplies together and organize the men?”
The captain grinned. “We can be ready by tomorrow evening.”
The vizier snatched the page from me. “Your Majesty, I will send for a scholar proficient in Old Khirideshi immediately. We need to be able to negotiate with this soothsayer, and if he’s been living in Tigrylon all this time, it’s likely that’s the only language he speaks.”
I frowned. “I can read and speak Old Khirideshi. Why don’t you just bring me?”
“Out of the question,” Kassim snapped. “It was lucky you picked this up from the market, Zadie, but I haven’t forgotten that you went there against my wishes in the first place. You disobeyed me and put yourself in danger.”
“But–”
“I don’t want to hear it. This will be a dangerous trip. There’s absolutely no way I’m bringing along my bride-to-be.”
I fumed, biting down hard on my lip to keep myself from snapping at him. Just where did he think he was going to find a scholar who could speak Old Khirideshi by tomorrow?
“Tell us then, Hepzibah,” Namir said mildly. “Do you think you can get a translator here by tomorrow?”
I smirked as the spymaster echoed my thoughts out loud.
The vizier’s mouth opened and closed, her cheeks turning pink.
“What are you saying, Namir?” Kassim snapped.
“Princess Zadie found the missing page of the book.” Namir’s dark eyes met mine, and his eyebrows lifted questioningly until they disappeared beneath the curls of his hair. “And her mother, the Sultanah of Khiridesh, is a great collector of magical artifacts. The princess’s knowledge of such items will surely prove useful. She has already demonstrated her gifts at tracking down rare and desirable objects, after all.”
A faint heat crept up my neck, and I instinctively placed one hand over the other, hiding the ring. I always kept the star-shaped jewel turned inward, but Namir had an uncanny ability of guessing what I was doing. And I couldn’t risk him finding out about Tarak.
Namir took a step toward Kassim. “The princess had barely any information on the talisman, just a name, yet she still managed to find exactly what we were looking for.”
My cheeks grew hotter. Was he really on my side, or was he deliberately raising suspicion about how I had come across the page?
The spymaster just gave me a polite smile before turning back to the sultan. “Kassim, I think it would be wise to take the princess with you. It’s only a few days’ travel from Kisrabah, so neither of you will be missed. And the fact remains, Zadie is the only one who can translate for you.”
“Kassim.” The vizier took a step closer to the desk, her eyes still darting between me and the sultan. “Please, listen to sense. Even if you think the princess might prove to be useful, it’s not sensible. It’s not safe. The sultan and his future bride should not be out of the palace at the same time.” The vizier tilted her head to one side, regarding me with a look of concern. “I hope the princess doesn’t think I’m trying to upset her. But really, Kassim, have you considered what kind of target the two of you together would be, far from our forces, in the middle of the Tigrib Desert?”
“I’ll be no less safe than anyone else!” The words burst from my lips before I could stop them. If the vizier had hired the thieves, was that why she didn’t want me to go? In case I told Kassim?
The crease lining the sultan’s forehead dee
pened and he leaned forward, resting his hands on the table.
“I could accompany you,” another voice chimed in.
Even Kassim looked surprised as Elian stepped forward, his huge frame casting a shadow over the desk. “As Namir says, it will only be a few days. I’m perfectly happy to accompany you in order to ensure the princess is safe. If it improves our chances of finding the talisman, it’s more than worth my time away from the palace.”
Spirits, was one of Kassim’s council always going to be trailing my every movement? I swallowed, my hands moving to the shawl at my shoulders, toying nervously with the fringing. I didn’t trust Namir or Elian not to have their own agenda in this.
But still, if they could convince Kassim to take me with him…
The sultan straightened, and the rest of the room fell silent. “Hepzibah, I agree with you entirely.”
I opened my mouth to protest, but Kassim held up a hand. The rings on his fingers glittered as they caught the light.
“However, the fact remains that we need someone to translate when we negotiate with the soothsayer, and I don’t want to waste any time with this.”
He looked keenly at me, his full mouth drawing into a thin line, then turned back at the vizier.
“If you can get a translator here by tomorrow, that’s my preference. But if not, we have no choice. Princess Zadie will come with us.”
Chapter Nineteen
The translator never arrived.
I waltzed around my room like a spirit dancing on the desert winds. Rifling through my dressing room, a smile spread across my face as I dug out my most comfortable tunics, loose pants, and light, simple headscarves. I tossed them all gleefully into the leather saddlebags Kassim had sent to my room.
I was going to help find the talisman. Finally, a chance to prove myself to Kassim. I’d be using my studies to aid an important quest in the name of the Kingdom of Astaran. And as a bonus, I wouldn’t have to wear the soft slippers and impractical dresses I’d been forced to wear since leaving for my new home in Kisrabah.
After all, what use would jewels and silks be in the desert?
“Oh, Zadie.” Knowing how excited I was, Safiyya did her best to sound pleased for me, but each time I stuffed another scruffy tunic into my bag, she screwed up her face. “Won’t you miss the lovely things in the palace? You’ll have to ride for days. You’ll have to sleep in a tent.”
Throne of Sand (2020 Reissue) Page 15
