The scowl returned to Bahar’s face. “You don’t trust me, merchant?”
Tarak gestured for me to bring the jug of wine over. “I’ve shown you what I have to offer.” He shot me a lazy grin. “I’m just asking you to return the favor.”
Bahar’s dark eyes turned stony, but with a jerk of his chin, he signaled to one of his men. He disappeared outside, and after a few minutes came back in with a rolled up carpet under his arm. It was a rich tapestry of blues and yellows, shot through with glittering gold. As the man unraveled it, the bottom of the carpet floated upward, its tassels reaching out toward me.
Tarak looked at me expectantly. “Go on then, lady luck. Take the carpet and get up on the table. You’re both the spoils.”
I stared at him in mute outrage. The spoils?
He waved impatiently toward the table. “My good friend here has put forward what he’s prepared to bet. It’s only fair I do the same.”
Seeing no other choice but to do as he said, I let out a low, furious hiss.
Bundling the floating carpet into my arms, I clambered up onto the table.
When we got out of here, I was going to kill Tarak. Never mind the four wishes I had left.
I sat uncomfortably in the middle of the table, cross-legged, hugging the carpet to my middle. The carpet seemed to be perfectly content rolled in my lap, occasionally reaching out its tassels to tickle my arms when it felt I wasn’t giving it enough attention. At least it covered my bare stomach. It was chilly in here.
I scowled and self-consciously put my hand to one of my earrings, playing with the heavy silver disc.
Bahar was frighteningly good at cards. He’d won most of the hands they’d played so far. I could see him relaxing, the tension leaving his shoulders. His gaze frequently slid to me, and I did my best to look at him the way Lalana might, forcing the scowl off my face.
If I were being honest, he wasn’t so terrible to look at…if you could get past the grime covering his tan face, the dirt clinging to his old clothes, the bone in his hair. His braids swayed like the River Kisr when he moved. I could very well believe this man was the master of the Astarian waters, as well as all the others in between the twelve kingdoms.
But I found it increasingly difficult to look pleasant. Time was slipping by, the afternoon shadows growing longer as they crept through the shutters, taking us closer to when I needed to be back at the palace for Safiyya’s ball. Each time the pirate looked away, I shot daggers at Tarak, my temper simmering.
He laughed too loudly, joked too crudely, spent too freely. My money, no less. Or the sultan’s anyway. And he seemed in no rush to end the game and get out of here.
Flagon after flagon of wine was brought out to the table, the pirate and his men glugging it straight from the jugs, the glasses long since smashed to the floor. How could Tarak be so relaxed? If, spirits forbid, the pirate actually won me, the djinni would be coming right with us.
If he did, I would toss his ring into the middle of the ocean out of sheer spite.
“You’re not bad, merchant,” the pirate purred, selecting another card from the pile. “But I don’t think you’re good enough.”
Tarak let out a long-suffering sigh. “Come here, my lucky little talisman.” He reached up to pull me off the table and onto his lap. “Bring me some of that luck I know runs through your blood.” The carpet jumped out of my arms, rippling indignantly at being disturbed and waving its tassels like tiny fists in Tarak’s direction.
Something ran through my blood, but it was anger, not luck. I bit back the protests ready to fly from my lips.
Bahar’s face tightened. “Show.” He placed his cards onto the table, face down. “And get that girl off your lap and back onto the table.”
I glanced down at the cards in Tarak’s hand and cringed. All low. No Sultans, Sultanahs, or even an Emir. He couldn’t win with a hand like that. And if he didn’t have the cards, no amount of clever words and wide smiles would help him.
I blinked as the two of ewers turned into a seven, the eight of rubies into an eight of ewers.
A straight run.
Tarak placed his own cards onto the table, face down. “Is she really so different from the charms lining your person?” He waved his hand at the pirate’s waistcoat, then gave a long, loud sigh. “But you’re right. You get back up there and sit with the carpet. You’re the prizes.” He shot me a meaningful look. “Hold it tight, lady luck.”
He wants me to hold the carpet again? Slowly, I climbed back onto the table and held out a hand to the carpet. It floated back to me, this time wrapping itself around my shoulders like a blanket and nuzzling its tassels against my neck. Tarak gave me an encouraging nod.
“Happy?” he asked Bahar.
The pirate jerked his chin to the cards on the table, looking anything but happy.
They flipped them over at the same time.
Unsurprisingly, Tarak won. He blew me a kiss before collecting both hands, earning a furious growl from Bahar.
My eyes flicked to the table. Each of them had three neat piles of cards. It was even.
The pirate snatched up the remaining cards in the deck and shuffled them.
One more hand to play.
I didn’t know what Tarak had planned, but this game was uncomfortably close for my liking. Even if the djinni won the next hand, I could already sense that Bahar felt he had been robbed. Slowly, I shifted closer to the edge of the table, allowing one leg to dangle off, ready to run if I had to.
Bahar dealt out the next hand, his lips pressed into a thin line, a muscle feathering along his jaw.
“She’s back on the table.” Tarak grabbed the cards from the table. “So I don’t want you saying she’s the reason I won.”
“Confident, aren’t you?” Bahar said coldly. He pulled a dagger from his belt and used it to pick something out of his teeth before slamming the point into the table between them.
Tarak didn’t blink. “Let’s conclude this then, shall we?” Both men placed their cards face down on the table.
I held my breath, willing Tarak to look over at me. To reassure me he had worked whatever magic he’d used on the cards again. That I wasn’t about to be handed over to a pirate.
Bahar turned over his cards, and I bit back a groan. A strong hand.
Tarak sighed, dropping his chin into his hand, his elbow propped on the table. “Not bad, my friend. Everyone warned me you were good at cards…” He lazily flipped his own hand, revealing four Sultanahs. “But I think you’ll find I’m better.”
As one, the pirates around us shot to their feet, chairs crashing to the floor, knives flashing, their attention on Tarak.
Bahar’s eyes gleamed. “I’m afraid the Sultanah of Scimitars has already been played this game,” he said softly.
My blood chilled.
“Do you want to know what we do with cheats, merchant?” Bahar ran his tongue along the side of his knife.
My heart beat faster. Could the djinni win in a fight against eight men? Would they realize he was a spirit? That he was bound to me?
Then I realized none of them were looking at me any longer.
Tarak didn’t look at me, either. He shrugged, giving the fuming men a lazy grin. “You’re pirates, aren’t you? I thought we were playing by pirate rules.”
I slid slowly off the table, the carpet still wrapped around my shoulders.
The air around me prickled with violence, the men taking another step toward Tarak, closing in, their backs to the table where I’d been sitting with the carpet. I was now certain he was buying me time to get out of here.
I glanced behind me. There was a small door, which I guessed must lead down to a cellar…and hopefully a way out.
I took a slow, silent step backward, then another, until I was out of the lamplight and flat against the wall of the tavern, the carpet protecting the rough wood from grazing my back. All eyes were fixed on Tarak and the others. I inched sideways, careful not to make a sound.
“The thing is, gentlemen, you’ve overlooked quite a big problem.”
“Oh really?” Bahar raised an eyebrow. “I’ll grant you one last favor before you meet your death, merchant. Tell us what we’ve overlooked.”
I took several swift steps to the door and tried the handle. My heart lifted in relief. Unlocked.
Tarak shook his head sadly. “Well, while you’ve been berating me for my playing style, I’m afraid we’ve both lost.”
Bahar frowned. “What–”
“If you care to look over there, you’ll see both our prizes disappearing out of the tavern.”
I froze as Tarak pointed in my direction, and everyone turned toward me. The moment they looked away from Tarak, he disappeared in a puff of violet smoke.
Not good.
I wrenched the door open and almost fell down the steps to the cellar, taking them two at a time in my haste to get away from the furious pirates.
A roar of outrage echoed down the steps, followed by the thunder of footsteps on the floor above.
I didn’t look back. I held onto the carpet tightly as I fled into the cellar, blinking rapidly to adjust to the darkness, looking for any route out of here. My heart began beating faster. There was nothing.
“The door at the back,” a voice hissed into my ear.
Tarak.
That son of a roc. He couldn’t possibly have known there was an escape route when he’d pointed the pirates in my direction.
I didn’t wait to see what form he’d taken this time, but ran for the door, yanking at the handle. It didn’t budge.
The footsteps grew louder, pounding down the stairs.
“Use your key!” Tarak roared.
The carpet hung on around my neck like a cape as I grabbed Aliyah’s key from my waistband and inserted it into the door with shaking hands.
“Stop, thief!” a voice bellowed.
I heaved the door open, tumbling through it into a narrow passageway, then whirled to press it shut again. I got the briefest glimpse of a furious face, braids flying out behind him, his dagger shining in his hand, before the door closed – then the key was back in the lock, securing it behind us.
The door shuddered as the full weight of the pirate slammed into it, howling in fury. The wood tremored again and again.
There was another puff of smoke as Tarak reappeared in human form beside me. “Unless you’re debating using another wish, princess, we need to go. Now.” He offered a hand. “They’ll already be racing back up the stairs to find another way down here.”
“Where are we?”
“Back in the catacombs, but we need to get moving. There are probably other entrances nearby and I’d wager Bahar knows them all.”
I glared at his outstretched hand. The carpet uncurled from my shoulders, hovering at waist height behind me.
“I have to get back to the palace, Tarak. I’m about to miss the ball. There’s no point getting this information about the talisman from Mustafa if Kassim bans me from coming with them for abandoning my duties!”
Tarak flashed me a grin, grabbing my wrist and pulling me onto the carpet. “First we’ll drop off your new friend, then we’ll figure out how to get you back in time for the ball.”
The catacombs were a maze, and I was sure we were lost, although Tarak insisted that he knew where we were going. Every dark passageway looked the same as we whizzed along them on the carpet, the cool air whipping my hair out behind me.
I was running out of time. I needed to be back at the palace changing for the ball, not flying past crates of illegal goods and rats so huge they made me shudder. It was starting in less than an hour and Kassim would expect me there, in costume, to greet the princes.
I hoped nothing bad had happened throughout the day. I’d been away for far longer than I’d planned…
Voices sounded ahead. Tarak and I exchanged a hopeful look and he urged the carpet on faster, shooting toward the sound.
“Z!” Aliyah strode toward us, her face illuminated by the flaming torches the rest of the thieves carried. “You made it.” Her eyes lit up when she saw us on the carpet. “How did you get him to play you for it? I wasn’t sure he would.”
“I don’t want to talk about it.” I wrapped my arms around myself as we jumped down from the carpet, shivering. It was cold as the desert night down here.
The carpet seemed to sense I was cold and floated over to wrap around my shoulders. It was a shame we had to hand it over to Aliyah. I was getting quite fond of it.
“Well, I know Mustafa gave you no choice, but I’m still grateful. You always fulfill your end of a bargain, Z. I respect you for that.”
“Well hey now, why is she getting all the thanks?” Tarak appeared next to us. “Just because the pirate was willing to play for the girl. I was the one who had to play him!”
“He was willing to bet the carpet for you?” Aliyah stared at us in disbelief.
I scowled at her, irritated she was so quick to doubt I might be worth something to the pirate. Then I remembered what Lisha had told us – that Aliyah had history with Bahar. Had they been involved romantically?
Before I could ask, the thief queen hurriedly changed the subject. “Shall I take you back to Mustafa? He owes you the answer to your question.”
I wavered. The mystery of the talisman was so close to being solved…but I had to get back for the beginning of the ball.
“I can’t.” It was still a wrench to say it. I lowered my voice. “If I miss this ball tonight, and all this comes out, it’ll be worse for me than getting no answer at all.” I sighed, unraveling myself from the carpet and coaxing it into Aliyah’s outstretched arms. “Will you tell Mustafa I’ll visit him tomorrow morning? Do you think he’ll honor our deal?
Aliyah nodded. “Don’t worry, Z. I’ll tell him if he doesn’t, he’ll have to answer to me.”
Chapter Seven
I adjusted my tiger mask, peering out of it as Safiyya whirled around the dance floor with Prince Cao. Thank the spirits I’d made it back to the palace in time to watch Safiyya’s opening dance. It was Astarian tradition for the courted princess to begin the ball by dancing with all of her suitors in one long dance. Safiyya was on prince number four and showing no signs of tiring.
Dressed as a dove, she floated across the dance floor, a vision of white silk and chiffon, the draped outer layer of her skirts pinned to her elbows and wrists to make dainty wings. Cao leaned in to dip her backward, and she gave a high, tinkling laugh. The prince was dressed as a desert fox in cream and gold, no doubt a thoughtful nod to the Astarian house colors.
The entire ballroom had been transformed. The room was decked out in hangings of white and gold, but flashes of color fluttered from the ceilings, which had been strung with the banners of all our visitors’ kingdoms. Garlands of jasmine wrapped around the marble pillars and the vast, sweeping staircases, while braziers of incense filled the cavernous room with a sweet, heady scent.
My costume didn’t quite blend in with the scenery. When I’d arrived back at the palace, disheveled and tinkling in my red dancer’s outfit, I’d had to pretend to Mehri and Jevera that this was my surprise costume. They’d both looked horrified at the thought of sending their princess to a ball in such skimpy clothing, so they’d painted all of my exposed skin with black stripes to match the ferocious tiger mask Mehri had made for me.
We ran out of time to smooth and style my hair, so Jevera just unpicked the crown braid, pinning two sections at the front to look like ears and leaving the rest unbound to cascade down my back in thick waves. The overall effect was as terrifying as it was racy.
My eyes scanned the crowd of princes and their courtiers, Astarian nobles and palace officials. Everyone had dressed up, just as I’d directed in the official invite I’d sent out via the palace scribes.
Hepzibah, dressed as a raven in a cape of glossy black feathers, stood stock still at the edge of the room. Her eyes narrowed and her thin fingers clasped around a goblet as she watched Safi
yya dance with Cao.
In the opposite corner of the room, Elian and Namir were both dressed in brown, the captain as a bear with a fur cape, and the spymaster as a falcon with a doublet of feathers. It seemed everyone was here, and had dressed up as I’d requested. I frowned. Well, everyone except–
“Zadie,” the sultan hissed, appearing at my side and already sounding exasperated. He’d only just arrived. What could I possibly have done to irritate him now?
I turned to face him and immediately snorted with laughter, a sound that only seemed to infuriate him further.
Like me, Kassim had dressed as a tiger. But his costume, a cream silk striped with shimmering gold, was far more elegant than mine. His dark hair was slicked back from his face, his jawline prominent beneath the regal-looking mask on his brow.
“What are you wearing?” he snapped. “Is that- are you supposed to be a tiger? I told you I was coming as a tiger.”
“No, you didn’t,” I replied with a barely concealed grin. “Not that I would have changed my plans. I came as a tiger because it’s Safiyya’s favorite animal. I thought she’d like it.”
“Well, that’s why I chose a tiger. For Safiyya.” The sultan crossed his arms, glowering at the dancers twirling before us.
“Well, now we match,” I said evenly, mirroring his stance.
Kassim made a spluttering sound and shot me a look. “Zadie, our costumes look nothing alike. Mine is…” He smoothed down his striped gold-and-cream robes primly. “While yours…” His eyes roved over the scarlet dancer’s outfit that bared my painted midriff.
“Mine’s what?” I challenged.
“You look like you’re about to rip out someone’s throat.” Kassim looked away, turning his gaze to Prince Cao, who stepped back from Safiyya and bowed before handing her over to Prince Diyan.
“Well, who knows? The night is still young,” I mused.
Prince Diyan took Safiyya’s hand and waist, and continued leading her around the dance floor. The bookish prince was dressed as a stork, an outfit that suited him surprisingly well, despite the large beaked mask he was having trouble navigating as he tried not to jab Safiyya as they danced.
Palace of Wishes (2020 Reissue) Page 6
