Namir didn’t look any happier. “I should never have told you how to get out of the palace.”
“Please, Namir.” I took a deep breath. “You want her to help you, right? And what she wants is not to be cooped up in a cage for the rest of our journey.” I gestured to the bucket in the corner. “So why not strike a deal?”
“The thief has made it very clear that she won’t–”
“How about it, Aliyah?” Cutting across Namir, I fixed the thief queen with a firm stare. “You help us out with what we need from you –” I kept my words deliberately vague, hoping that help might extend both to telling me what I wanted to know about the vizier, and helping Namir with whatever he wanted in Hidu – “and we let you out of this cage.”
Aliyah examined her nails, her expression impassive. “I’ll need a weapon to defend myself against that oaf Bahar.” As though she’d just realized that I’d also had a run in with the pirate captain previously, she shot me a sharp look. “We’ve had dealings before, and he doesn’t forgive or forget easily.”
My cheeks turned pink, and I hurried on. “Bahar has been instructed by the sultan not to harm you. You don’t need a weapon.”
“I want her hands bound,” Namir interrupted, sounding sulkier than I’d ever heard him. “At all times.”
Aliyah smiled sweetly. “That sounds very reasonable. For now.”
“For always,” Namir growled.
“Like to see a girl tied up, do you?” Aliyah taunted.
“That’s a deal then,” I said hastily, before either of them enraged the other any further.
Namir nodded, still looking very sour.
“And perhaps,” I said in a small voice, “perhaps it’s better if Kassim thinks you worked this deal out between the two of you…”
“Of course,” Namir and Aliyah said in unison, before glaring at each other again.
I wiped my forehead. Perhaps they might find some common ground yet.
The knife spun, flashing through the air, then embedded itself in the wood with a thud.
The surrounding crew let out a roar of approval, and Bahar swept down into a low bow. The tip of the knife was barely an inch from the center of the target. Raising a tankard to his lips and downing the drink in one, the captain gave me a roguish wink as he raised it in my direction, dedicating his throw to me.
Kassim’s arm immediately slipped around my waist, tugging me possessively along the bench toward him. My heart faltered, and at this point, it was hard to tell whether it was from being so close to the sultan, or the threat of being recognized by the captain.
“Pathetic!” Aliyah shouted, banging her tankard down onto the table. “Let a real professional show you how it’s done.” She swayed to her feet, her eyes glittering with drink and a knife clutched between her bound hands.
Kassim’s hand tightened against my back. “Who the hell gave her a knife?”
I shook my head. Namir was going to be livid she’d gotten hold of a weapon. Not that she truly needed it to defend herself against Bahar. Now that she was out of her cell, Aliyah had flirted outrageously with the captain at every given opportunity, perhaps thinking it might be a way to her permanent escape. She shot him a smoldering glance as she raised the blade.
But before Aliyah could throw, a second knife thudded into the wood next to Bahar’s – dead on center.
The entire room turned to see Namir lounging back against a wooden pillar, a satisfied expression on his face. “What were you saying about real professionals?”
“It’s not polite to jump ahead of your turn,” she retorted, and without turning to look, she raised her bound hands and flung the knife at the wooden wall.
It landed so close to Namir’s throw that the spymaster’s blade was dislodged and sent clattering to the ground.
The crew roared again, delighted that the thief queen – who they all knew – might best the sultan’s spymaster.
“I guess that’s me out,” Bahar said with a sigh. The captain staggered across the room, squeezing through the press of bodies who’d crammed in at the prospect of a little competition. Silver was already changing hands, but the pirate ignored his crew’s conciliatory comments, making a beeline for me and Kassim.
The captain collapsed in the chair next to me, grinned at Kassim, and leaned over me, deliberately close. “What a shame the two of you went out first, sultan.”
My cheeks heated. I still didn’t know why I’d insisted I join in. With such little experience compared to the others, I’d soon regretted it. My throw had missed the target altogether and put me out of the competition first, to the sniggers of the crew.
But my embarrassment was nothing compared to Kassim’s rage. Just as he’d gone to throw, Bahar had dropped an arm around my shoulders, and the sultan’s knife had been even farther off-target than mine.
I shifted away from the pirate, and then, colliding with Kassim’s chest, shifted back again.
To my surprise, Kassim pulled me roughly back to his side. “In the palace, we don’t resort to distraction tactics in order to win.”
Bahar just laughed. “That’s why you lost.”
I could feel the rumbling in Kassim’s chest, and he let out a low growl as Bahar picked up my hand in his own. “You can’t blame me for my methods. You’re a lucky man to possess such a rare creature. Spirits, it’s a shame Khiridesh is landlocked, if all its women look like you, princess…”
Snatching my hand back, I glared at the pirate and pressed myself harder against Kassim. Was he teasing me? I was certainly no rare beauty.
“I suggest you keep your comments about the princess to yourself,” Kassim said coldly.
His tongue loosened by drink, Bahar ignored the sultan’s warning. He dropped his head into one hand, his dark eyes running wickedly over me. “I’m sure we’ve met before. I just can’t place you…”
Another roar of congratulations from the crew distracted him momentarily. We all looked up to see Aliyah preening and Namir looking thunderous.
“Marvelous work, Ali!” Bahar yelled, raising his tankard before realizing it was empty. Seizing another from the table, he downed it.
Aliyah threw a warning glance at Bahar. “Don’t call me that.” Flustered, she fluffed her next throw, and with a growl of frustration, made an obscene gesture at the captain.
“Not in front of royalty, Ali,” Bahar said in an outraged tone, then promptly turned back to me and Kassim. “Now, where were we?”
“You were just leaving,” Kassim snapped.
“Excuse me, Captain,” Namir said softly from behind us. “Might I have a word with the princess?” Although his tone was mild, the spymaster, for once, was unable to keep a straight face, his lips curled up in a satisfied smile after his win against Aliyah.
“Only if you promise to give her straight back,” Bahar said with another wink in my direction. He staggered out of his chair, moving only as far as the other side of the table before collapsing again. “Where’s Ali? Better hide now, Namir. That tattooed imp doesn’t like being beaten.”
Namir slid onto the bench next to me, his eyes flicking between Bahar and Aliyah. “Is there… is there some sort of history between those two?” he murmured in my ear.
“What sort of history do you mean?”
Namir swallowed. “Were they… together?”
Seeing the way he was still watching Aliyah, I couldn’t help myself. “Is this for intelligence or for your own interest?”
Namir’s cheeks turned pink. “Neither. I thought I might diffuse whatever was going on over here,” he snapped. “But I see you’re doing just fine on your own.” Getting quickly to his feet again, he gave me an exaggerated bow and melted back into the crowds.
Has Namir ever snapped at anyone before? Regretting winding him up, I hoped Bahar wouldn’t take his departure as an excuse to start quizzing me again.
“Well that was a waste of time!” Aliyah’s furious voice interrupted now that Namir was gone. “How am I supposed to
be at my best like this anyway?” Holding her bound wrists aloft, she bared her teeth at the room.
“Don’t be such a sore loser, Ali,” Bahar drawled, reappearing next to her.
“I am not,” Aliyah snapped. “I’d just prefer we played a game where the cards weren’t stacked against me.”
I froze at the mention of cards.
And to my horror, so did Bahar.
He turned slowly back to me, a smile spreading across his face.
Realizing her mistake, Aliyah tried to backtrack. “Come on Bahar,” she said. “Leave the sultan and the princess alone and have another round with the knives.”
“I’m not playing anything else without my lucky charm…” His smile grew more dangerous, his eyes fixed on me.
He’s remembered. My cheeks burned, and I knew my red face had given me away.
But what was I supposed to do? I couldn’t defend myself without admitting out loud all that had happened. Kassim had no idea I’d been out in the city in disguise, and Bahar knew it.
My head swam, the ship spinning around me. Would Bahar keep my secret? Or should I tell Kassim myself?
“Kassim, do you mind if we step out on deck for a moment?” I asked in a high-pitched voice. I couldn’t meet Bahar’s eyes.
The sultan got straight to his feet, extending a hand to help me up. “Of course, princess.” He glared around the crowded table. “Don’t any of you so much as think of disturbing us.”
With the shouts of the crew still pounding in my ears, I silently followed Kassim out of the tiny room. The sultan gripped my hand tightly in his, and to my surprise, he didn’t let go once we had left the others behind us, leading me up the little wooden staircase onto the deck and to the very back of the boat.
But I didn’t have much time to think about the fact that Kassim was holding my hand. More pressing was the fact that Bahar remembered me.
I swallowed hard, a lump sticking in my throat. Should I say something to the sultan now? Prepare an excuse? Or should I just deny everything if the pirate mentioned anything to Kassim?
“I’m glad you suggested we step out of there,” Kassim growled from beside me. “I couldn’t have taken another moment of that…”
“I’m sorry you lost,” I said distractedly. “It wasn’t fair.”
“Zadie,” Kassim said impatiently, turning me to face him. “I could care less about that stupid game.”
I blinked. What? The sultan’s cheeks were tinged pink, and for some reason he seemed to be avoiding catching my eye. “Look,” he said, pointing up at the sky. “Sailors use the stars to navigate the seas just as we use them to travel in the desert. There’s the great camel – and the smoking lamp.”
“Mmhm.” My brow furrowed. Why was he telling me this now? Any desert-born child knew how to recognize the constellations.
Kassim glared at me. “That’s it?”
I stared blankly at him.
He waved his hand wildly up at the skies again, his golden eyes narrowed. “You don’t like it?”
“The sky? Um… sure?”
Kassim made a strangled noise. “I suppose this isn’t quite the same as a picnic in the palace gardens…”
What is he talking about? I took a deep breath, and turned cautiously back to the sultan, putting one hand on his arm to urge him to face me. “Kassim, I don’t understand–”
“I didn’t care at all about the knife throwing, Zadie,” Kassim said roughly, grabbing me by the arms. “But I did care about that pirate fawning over you.” His eyes seemed to glow, his tone low and urgent.
My stomach flipped even as my nose wrinkled in disbelief. Kassim had been… jealous?
He loosed his grip on my arms, running his hands up to either side of my face and taking a step closer. The look in his eyes turned hungry, his long thumb running along the line of my jaw. I shivered as he pulled me gently toward him, my hands reaching up to his chest.
Then a long, metal tube jutted out between the two of us.
Startled, I stumbled backward.
Kassim looked apoplectic with rage. “What did I tell you about not disturbing us?”
Bahar didn’t look away from his telescope. “Sorry to interrupt, sultan, but you missed something in your assessment of the stars. And if you want my advice, if you’re trying to woo a girl with the stars, I’d focus less on the practicalities and more on the poetry.”
“I’m going to hurl you over the side of this ship–”
“The thing is,” Bahar interrupted grimly, “those lights back there, above the horizon? They’re not stars.”
Chapter Eighteen
“We’re being followed, Hepzibah. We need to take this seriously.”
“How can you be so sure they’re following us?”
Namir crossed his arms, shooting a quick look at Kassim before turning back to the vizier. “Hepzibah, a ship is following the exact same route as us and doing its best to stay just out of sight. What do you suggest it’s doing, if not following us?”
“For what it’s worth,” Aliyah drawled, “for once I agree with the spymaster.”
I blinked sleep from my eyes, which were gritty and painful from a night listening to this argument being repeated over and over again. Tempers were fraying fast this morning. After too much drink and too little sleep, no one was bothering to check their words.
I stifled a yawn, wishing I’d listened to Kassim’s entreaties to get some sleep. But I’d been determined not to miss anything.
“There are no trading ships that sail between Urabad and Hidu, and no other reason to follow this route,” Bahar grumbled. “Ali and Namir are right.” He looked even worse than I felt, his eyes deep set and bloodshot, his usually tan face an unhealthy grey. He hadn’t moved from the helm all night, trusting no one else to get us away from the pursuing ship.
If it even was following us.
“I’m just saying,” Hepzibah pressed, changing tack, “the ship is staying well behind us, and making no attempts to engage. And in spite of our captain’s noble efforts, it doesn’t seem to be having any trouble keeping up with us. So why exhaust ourselves trying to outpace it?”
Bahar glowered at her, his tired eyes narrowing to two dark slits. “Think you could get The Scarlet Dancer to move any faster?”
“No one could,” Hepzibah snapped, “and that’s exactly my point. We’re going as fast as we can, and we haven’t put any distance between us and the other ship. So we need a new plan.”
“Alright, Hepzibah,” Kassim said tiredly. “What do you suggest we do, then?”
The sultan sat to one side of the group clustered around Bahar. Sprawled across the bench, his long legs looked even longer tucked into shiny black boots. He was apparently so tired that he hadn’t even bothered to tuck his loose cotton shirt into his pants. Strands of hair lifted on the wind, curling around the harsh lines of his face, softening it. The Night Diamond talisman still hung beneath his shirt, and the glint of bronze made him look thoroughly…piratical.
Something deep within me stirred, and I hastily put my hands to my face to cool the heat flooding my cheeks.
“It’s simple,” the vizier said. “We don’t do anything. We keep sailing, just as we were, and wait to see what the other ship does.”
Kassim looked thoughtfully at Hepzibah. I liked the way his brows knitted together when he was thinking, I decided. The slight pout that came over his full lips, softening an otherwise angular face.
And in spite of what Bahar had said yesterday, I even liked that he had tried to talk to me about navigation, not win me over with romantic poetry.
The fluttering in my chest abruptly stilled. Bahar hadn’t said anything to Kassim – yet – but would the sultan still take me to look at the stars, still hold me possessively, if he knew just how many secrets I was keeping from him?
“There is another option,” Bahar said mildly.
I dragged my eyes away from the sultan and shot the pirate a dark look. Something about the mild tone of hi
s voice made me feel very nervous.
“What?” Hepzibah snapped.
“Hiram,” Bahar called over to one of his crew, who joined him instantly. “Take over for a minute, will you?”
The captain beckoned the rest of us into a small cabin, where he rolled out a map across the table.
At least, I thought it was a map. It didn’t look like any one of the twelve kingdoms. After a moment, I realized it must chart out the sea we were crossing.
Bahar placed a tiny model ship in the middle of the pale wash of blue and then, giving a wicked grin, placed a second just behind it. “We’re here,” he explained, tapping the top of the first ship. “Being hotly pursued by this ship here.” He tapped the second.
“Yes, we gathered that,” snapped Kassim.
Bahar gave Kassim a smile that reminded me of a crocodile. “Your intellect surpasses even your wealth, sultan.”
“Get on with it,” Kassim growled, drumming his fingers on the tabletop.
Bahar traced a finger across the map. “This is the route I had intended to sail, taking us to the south end of the main island. It’s the quickest route from Urabad, and the safest.”
The nervous feeling washed over me again.
Bahar swept his finger in a different arc across the map. “There is an alternative route, taking us to the north end.”
“We need to come into the south end,” the vizier interrupted. “We’re meeting our guide there.”
Bahar waved a hand dismissively. “Easy enough for us to follow the coastline around once we’re there. But this is the key part…” He returned his hand to the map, fingers splayed over an area dotted with tiny triangles. “These waters are known as the teeth. A nasty stretch by anyone’s standards, full of jagged rocks, virtually impassable. You have to know the waters really well to be able to navigate them, else you end up with a hole in your hull.” He flashed a smile full of similarly jagged teeth. “Lucky for all of you, I’m a skilled sailor.”
Palace of Wishes (2020 Reissue) Page 15
