I blinked in surprise. “You made your choice then?” I asked carefully.
Safiyya gave a firm nod.
I opened my mouth to ask about Elian, then closed it again. I was certain that conversation would bring up nothing positive for Safiyya’s new engagement to Prince Diyan.
“Zadie…” Safiyya began braiding my hair with a light touch that I knew wouldn’t keep so much as a single strand of hair in place. “I do trust you, but I have a few questions…”
“Go on,” I said warily.
“When you got me to speak those words, what happened? What was I doing?”
I considered. Of course Safiyya would want to know about what had happened to her in the tower. But how to answer her?
“Is it as bad as that?” she asked fretfully when I didn’t reply.
“No!” I said hastily, waving my hands about. “It’s not bad, Safi. It’s… Listen, this might sound like a strange question, but what do you know about Astaran’s history? With spirits? And sorcerers?”
Safiyya paled. “Our mother used to sing about princes and princesses with magic that danced in their eyes…but Zadie, those are just stories for children.”
I met Safiyya’s own glowing amber eyes in the mirror again. Just like Kassim’s, they were striking, but when she had used the spell in the tower, they had seemed to spark with a fire that reminded me of the djinn. So Diyan’s stories about the Astarian royal family had been true… Perhaps Safiyya’s choice had been the best one in that respect, too, even though she couldn’t have known it.
My guilty expression was enough to confirm to Safiyya what she had already guessed. She let out a gasp. “But how…”
I shook my head. “I don’t know exactly. I heard from…someone that the Astarian royal family had spirits in the bloodline somewhere.”
Safiyya turned even paler. “I’ve never heard that.”
“That part might not be true,” I said hastily. “But, Safiyya, it seems you really are a sorceress…” And Kassim is likely a sorcerer.
Safiyya was quiet again for a moment. “Is that why you’ve arranged to meet Kassim in the gardens. To tell him about me...about us?”
“No, that’s about something else.” I replied vaguely. I wasn’t sure how much Safiyya knew about the talisman, and I didn’t want to tell her anything until I’d spoken to Kassim. “I wasn’t planning to mention it to him at all. I wasn’t sure if he already knew.”
Safiyya’s shoulders lowered, even as she continued sliding pins into my hair. “I don’t think he does. We’ve never spoken about it at least. But I’d appreciate it if you didn’t tell anyone.”
“Safiyya, you’re my sister now. If you don’t want anyone to hear what you can do, I promise you, I won’t be the person to tell them. Not even Kassim.”
“Oh, Zadie.” Safiyya set down the comb and remaining hairpins on the dresser. “I’m so pleased to have you as a sister. I won’t tell a soul about your secrets, either. I swear it.”
When our eyes met once more in the mirror, Safiyya’s expression was fierce.
And, to my surprise, my hair was braided as beautifully and tightly as if Lisha had braided it herself.
I straightened from where I had been bent over the fountain in the ancient gardens, dusting off my loose pants as I glanced up at the starlit sky. At least in the desert, clouds were few and far between.
I touched a self-conscious hand to my hair. Before she had left, Safiyya had strung yet more diamonds through it, so the braid crown glittered like a real one. Everything was still in place. I needed to relax.
With a sigh, I leaned back against the fountain, gazing into the empty stone bowl. Kassim was late. Maybe he wouldn’t come at all. When I’d suggested a moonlit picnic, alone, he had been reluctant. He’d agreed only on the condition that both my handmaids and plenty of his guards would be stationed around the edge of the garden, keeping things appropriate. Mehri and Jevera watched from the shadows, no doubt pitying the princess waiting for the sultan who hadn’t shown.
The ancient garden looked different at night. The makeshift stage for the princes’ performances had already been dismantled, and it was now quiet and peaceful with its crumbling white stones woven with sweet-scented night-flowering jasmine.
Even if it looked like the jasmine might be my only company this evening.
I glanced down at the basket of rich, red wine, plump figs, and sweet pastries I had requested, a navy blanket spread out beside it. I was beginning to grow cold, faintly embarrassed that Mehri and Jevera would know I had been stood up, ashamed I had thought I might surprise Kassim with my discovery about the talisman under the pretense of romance, but most of all, irritated he had denied me my moment of triumph.
I had hoped that in this setting, once I’d told him what I knew, he might forget that two of the princes had gone missing while in my charge...
I turned – and stopped when I saw the sultan watching me from the other side of the garden. It was too dark to see his expression, and I had no idea how long he’d been standing there.
I took a step toward him. As if woken from a spell, he hurriedly strode toward me. He paused a few steps away, taking in my glittering outfit, the basket of food and drink at my feet, and the goosebumps on my arm.
“Sorry I’m late. I wasn’t sure…” He looked at me again, dark brows lowering.
I gave a small smile. “You’re not that late. The wine will probably be very cold by now, though–”
“So what’s this really about?” Kassim crossed his arms and took another step forward, frowning down at me.
Despite my promises to myself that I would remain pleasant to keep the sultan on side, I scowled back at him. “What do you mean?”
“Well, Zadie,” he said drily, “so far, you haven’t exactly gone out of your way to be the…typical princess.”
My scowl deepened. “I thought that was what you wanted.”
There was a pause. “So did I,” Kassim said softly, half to himself.
In one swift movement, he closed the space between us, standing so close that the warmth of his body washed over me after so long leaning against the cold stone. He lifted one hand to the shawl slung over my shoulders, his fingers brushing my skin as he felt the light material. Heat raced through me, my heart thudding.
I swallowed, and he lifted his eyes to meet mine. They glowed in the dark, that famous Astarian amber.
“S-So fickle,” I managed to stammer. “Do you want me to play princess or not?”
Kassim didn’t reply for a moment, still toying with the shawl, heat surging through me each time his fingers grazed my skin. I stifled the urge to brush my hand against his.
Spirits, I’d only meant to lure him out here to show him what I’d learned about the talisman…
“I don’t know,” he said at last.
I blinked. “What–”
“I don’t know, Zadie,” he breathed. “You are not…what I expected.”
He still didn’t move his hand from the shawl, then his fingers slowly moved down my arm. I shivered at the touch and, against my better judgment, leaned closer.
Kassim’s body responded to mine, his hand moving from my arm to my waist, those long, leisurely strokes making me want to curl into him. Then his hand wandered up my arm again and traced along my collarbone. The world around me spun, my breath coming slower and deeper.
Hesitantly, I reached up and placed my palms on his chest, feeling his heart beat quickly beneath them.
At my touch, Kassim stiffened, his eyes flicking to where there were undoubtedly guards positioned around the edge of the garden. “Sit with me,” he murmured, his hand slipping around to the small of my back and steering me toward where the carpet had been laid out beside the picnic basket.
He turned to me, offering a smile. As he did, the starlight caught on the talisman around his neck.
The talisman…
With difficulty, I dragged my wayward thoughts back to the present, to the reason I’d asked him to accompan
y me to the gardens in the first place. I’d laid out the blanket as a canvas for whatever map of starlight the talisman painted, not for us to sit on.
I swung myself playfully in front of him, reaching up and lacing my fingers around his neck.
His eyes widened in surprise, then narrowed in suspicion. “What are you–”
In one, deft movement, I removed the talisman strung around his neck and took a step back.
But his fingers closed tightly on my waist, tugging me closer. To my surprise, my stomach flipped as the movement sent me crashing into his front.
“Little sorceress,” he growled into my ear. “I knew this was some sort of trick. What kind of princesses do they breed in Khiridesh?”
His breath on my ear made my stomach clench. We were pressed so close together, I was sure he could feel my heart beating against him.
I tilted my head back, my dark eyes meeting his. My lips quirked up. “Difficult ones.”
Disbelief flashed across his face. I moved to dart away from him again, but he held me tightly. “Just where are you intending to run with that exactly?”
“Don’t you think it would look prettier on me?” I tried, my voice coming quick and breathless now.
His jaw dropped.
Before he had a chance to recover, I wrestled an arm free and held the talisman out, tilting it back and forth in one hand, as though examining it. The fine latticework spread over its front, so I angled it toward the starlight, hoping that would be enough to effect whatever magic Mustafa had promised would be illuminated.
My breath caught as the light suffused the talisman like a candle, sharpening and intensifying as it filtered through the latticework until clear, bright lines appeared, projecting an image onto the ground.
I shifted my hand, directing the light toward the blanket, and watched as the pattern became clear.
A map.
Kassim froze. “You are a sorceress…,” he breathed out. His hands didn’t loosen from my waist, but his eyes remained locked on the patterns dancing across the blanket. “You found out…” He finally looked back at me, yet I couldn’t read the expression on his face. “How?”
I couldn’t help the smug smile spreading across my face. “I have my sources. You know, if you ever need my help, sultan, you only have to ask.”
His face tightened with irritation and hands clasped me tighter, almost painfully. I let out a small gasp, and something else passed over his face. Very slowly, Kassim ran his gaze down to my open lips, then dragged it back up to my eyes. “We aren’t finished here,” he said softly and released me.
I stumbled back, the strength somehow having disappeared from my legs. The sultan smirked.
“Come on, little sorceress,” he instructed, his voice returning to one of a sultan. He strode over to stand by the blanket. “Whatever you just did, do it again.”
My heart still hammering in my chest, I somehow managed to stagger back to the blanket so I stood opposite him. I wobbled on my feet.
He glanced up at me, a satisfied, predatory look spreading over his face. “Having trouble standing, princess?”
I gave him what I hoped was a haughty glare. “I can stand just fine, thank you. What were you saying about needing me to help solve your problems with this little talisman?”
He gave a wicked grin and gestured to the blanket. “Please, if you’d be so kind…”
I held the talisman aloft again. We watched as the light built and intensified, settling into a clear outline on the blanket.
“Starlight,” I said softly, glancing up at Kassim. He stared intently at the map on the blanket. “It needed starlight to work its magic.”
Kassim’s eyes widened, and my satisfaction softened into something else. Something I didn’t recognize.
“Do you recognize the coastline?” I prompted as the map continued to grow. It looked unfamiliar to me.
Kassim shook his head slowly, then started. “Look! There’s more appearing!” He looked up at me, excitement shifting the usually sharp lines of his face into an expression that was almost boyish.
Something in me softened further, like it was melting, but I reluctantly shook off the feeling, returning my attention to the map. I watched as the light sketched in mountains, winding rivers, and vast expanses of sea.
“Those look like the Islands of Hidu,” I said.
“But how can they be?” Kassim frowned. “The shapes are all wrong. And there are too many of them.”
The map grew ever more detailed – tiny sea serpents arched in the curl of a wave, winged rocs diving from the mountaintops.
“How are we supposed to know where the cave is?” Kassim wondered aloud.
My gaze snapped back to him. “What cave?”
A guilty look flashed across his face, followed by a hint of his usual, cold expression. “It doesn’t matter.”
“Yes, it does,” I snapped. “I found the talisman, figured out how it worked, and you still won’t tell me what it leads to? How is that fair?”
A vein pulsed on Kassim’s forehead, an internal battle sparking in his eyes.
“Fine.” I glared at him. “Don’t tell me. But don’t expect–”
“It’s called the Cave of Wonders,” Kassim interrupted. “The treasure I told you about… It was hidden by one of my ancestors generations ago. We think that’s where he hid it.”
I fell silent again, turning this new information over in my mind. I looked back at the map on the blanket. On the largest of the islands I had pointed out earlier, a painfully bright spot started forming. I squinted, trying to figure out what it was.
“A lamp…” Kassim’s whisper was barely audible. “That’s it… That has to be it.”
I forced down the excited fluttering in my stomach, trying to concentrate. “I’m sure those are the Islands of Hidu,” I muttered. My brow creased. “How old do you think this map is, Kassim?”
He shrugged. “It was lost hundreds of years ago.”
I bit my lip, excitement welling up in my chest. “Then this could be Hidu,” I said breathlessly. “The coastlines could erode over hundreds of years, couldn’t they? Some of the islands swallowed by the sea? Look…” I gestured around the map. “This coastline is so similar to Astaran’s. And if that river widened at the mouth, it could be the Kisr.”
The sultan shot me an exasperated look. “Just once, couldn’t you leave something to me?”
I smiled sweetly. “In the future, just let me know exactly what you need help with, then we won’t run into this problem of me helping too much, will we?”
He gave me a measured look. “You’ve made your point.”
“Have I?” I rubbed my lips together, suddenly nervous. “Because… I wanted to ask if your deal still stood. About me coming with you, that is.”
Kassim’s face was unreadable.
“Because you said yourself that I could defend myself with the elij, and I know that the two princes went missing, but I found them again, didn’t I? And Prince Diyan still wanted to marry Safiyya so there was no harm done there really…” I trailed off, seeing a smile tug at Kassim’s lips. “What’s so funny?” I demanded.
“Nothing.” The smile vanished. “I should call Hepzibah,” he muttered. “And my scribes. We need to write to the Hiduan royal family. And we should make a record of this so we can still study the map when my princess isn’t able to organize a starlit garden for me.”
My heart sank, even as my body heated at the words my princess. He’d avoided my question, which probably meant I wouldn’t be coming. Or maybe he just needed more time to think it through… Maybe I could get Elian and Namir to put in a good word for me.
Kassim called out and one of the Royal Guards materialized at his side. I watched the humor fade from Kassim’s face as he slipped back into his role as sultan. “Fetch Hepzibah immediately and send for my scribes. Tell them to bring as much ink and parchment as they can manage. And have someone escort Zadie back to her room.” He shot me a look. “She’s
done more than enough this evening.”
“How long until you’ll leave?” I asked, brusquely extending an arm to return the talisman back to Kassim.
His fingers closed over my wrist, heat spreading through me again. I turned to find the sultan standing very close, his eyes fixed intently on my face. “Several days, at least. We’ll have to get a ship ready first, and wait for a reply from the Hiduan royals. But that should give you plenty of time to pack.”
My mouth dropped open. “Pack?”
“Assuming you still want to come?”
I made an odd spluttering sound.
Kassim smiled and his face softened. “Zadie, I want you there.”
He wants me there.
The sultan’s eyes locked on mine and a lump built in my throat. For the first time since I’d come to Astaran, I wasn’t fighting to prove myself, or to be involved.
But before I could form a coherent sentence to thank him, the sultan had moved away, breaking the spell.
Chapter Fifteen
I bit back my excitement as a salt-wind caught my hair, tugging loose strands from my braid and dusting my face with cool spray. Clasping my hands together, I followed Kassim along the shoreline to where our crew waited to greet us.
Our crew. I was still giddy at the thought of it. It had been days since I’d shown Kassim how to use the talisman. Days busy with preparations for the voyage to the Islands of Hidu. Today we would board The Scarlet Dancer, the ship Kassim had chartered, and set sail out of Astaran, away from the mainland.
I looked gleefully to my right, to the dark swell of the ocean. Waves crashed against the walkway, the heavy creak of old, wet wood joining with the roar of the water as the dark sea tossed the ships mercilessly around. The stone paving slabs underfoot were slippery and wet, the strong smell of brine pressing itself into my nostrils.
Behind me, Namir and the vizier muttered anxiously about the possibility that bad weather would stop us sailing. I hoped we would sail out today, but even if we didn’t, just looking at the vast expanse of water was thrilling. I couldn’t quite believe that the water stretched out as far as the eye could see, like the desert at home, or that the water could be so full of movement.
Palace of Wishes (2020 Reissue) Page 12
