Twenty-nine

"I didn't want to interrupt you and Mazin eating each other's faces in the alcove, but we have a problem."

I scowled at Noor and crossed my arms over my chest.

Mazin and I had jumped apart as soon as Noor's cough had cut between us. I mumbled an excuse and allowed her to drag me away to my bedroom. I couldn't even look at Maz, not after I'd nearly lost myself in that kiss with him. I touched my fingers to my lips as if I could taste him all over again.

But as Noor spoke, a single clarifying thought entered my head and refused to let go.

He thinks you are someone else.

The way he kissed me, held me, breathed me in, he wasn't doing that with me. He was doing it with Sanaya.

If there was anything that should douse my old feelings for him, it was this.

He obviously never had the same feelings for me, otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to kiss someone else like that. I certainly wouldn't.

You want to kill him, I reminded myself.

My heart felt like it was splintering in half, which made no sense because I thought he'd already torn it out.

I buried my head in my hands and groaned. It was time to move forward with our other plans, to shift the focus to someone else. Noor's earlier words filtered through my mind.

"What do you mean, problem?" I said through my hands.

"Darbaran is not taking the bait."

I lifted my head. Darbaran was the very last person I wanted to discuss at this moment.

"Then sweeten the pot for him," I said with exasperation.

"How? I've made subtle offers about gold, jewels. More money than he can dream of. I've offered him everything."

I looked around my room, my eyes landing on the floor, remembering what was hidden beneath it. "Not everything." I sat back in the tapestry-upholstered chair. "If greed motivates him, then we need to prey on that weakness."

Noor straightened, then gestured to the door. "Be my guest."

I set my shoulders, determination steeling my spine. One thing was going to go right tonight. And if I couldn't get the upper hand with Mazin, I sure as hell would against a weasel like Darbaran.

Dabaran took a long drink from the bottle in his hand, then broke off with a laugh, spitting the dark spirits into the nearby pond. His friends were jumping around the fountain, making screeching noises at the swans.

I wanted to leave them to the mercy of the swans and sit back as they pecked their eyes out. Instead, I plastered an amused smile on my face and walked toward them. Darbaran was going to feel like this was his plan, after all.

"Thank you for attending my party."

There were three others with him, two clad in maroon kurtas signifying that they were city guards, and the third in the same dark kurta as Darbaran. All of them gave me a look that made my skin crawl.

"And for bringing your… charming friends."

He leered at me, but then, that was Darbaran's usual expression at the girls who walked by him. I had slammed the edge of my heel into his foot more than once when I'd visited the palace with my father.

"The pleasure is all mine, sahiba." His gaze snaked my body, but I forced my face to remain impassive, as if I didn't want to rip his throat out.

He was only a few years older than me, with a face like a mongoose—small, snub nose, beady eyes, and a permanent air of being unwashed. Despite his newfound wealth, he didn't look more polished than he had prior to my arrest—he still gave the impression of a street criminal, except in finer clothes.

"Tell me," he said, sidling up to me. "How did a woman from the northern tribes come into such wealth?" He eyed the bangles on my wrist and his eyes gleamed.

I bristled at his words, obvious with his tone that he thought the people of the northern tribes were below him. I thought of my beautiful mother, and her tales of growing up in the north as she braided my hair beside the hearth.

"Well," I kept my voice light, though I could hear the tight anger behind my words. "There are plenty of resources in the north, and plenty of wealth." I gritted my teeth. "But that is not how my family is wealthy…" I made a show of looking over my shoulder at his friends and moving closer to him, dropping my voice to a whisper. He lowered his head to catch my words.

"Oh, saab, I shouldn't say." I looked to either side and waited until his friends had moved closer to the swans on the other side of the pond. "I wouldn't want anyone to get the wrong idea. You know. It isn't exactly… legal ."

His eyes widened in interest.

"But, sahiba, you can trust me. I would never tell a soul." His voice was slimy and coaxing, and I could sense the excitement he was attempting to hide.

I gave him a relieved smile and clutched at the gold filigree neck lace resting on my chest. His eyes followed my hands there, and he gave a calculated look, tabulating how much it cost.

"That is good to know. You've been so helpful, especially in dealing with Casildo."

"I do what I can with the ruffians in this city." He spat on the ground and ran his tongue along his teeth.

"And I am so grateful." I stepped over his glob of saliva on the ground. "But I actually need more help. I'd like to move a… certain product without detection. An illegal product."

His eyes sharpened on me, fierce with anticipation. "I can help with that, sahiba."

I pulled back and shook my head. "No, no. I shouldn't involve you." I bit my lip. "It would be incredibly lucrative, but I can't ask you to do something that might risk your position."

"I don't mind a little risk now and then," he said greedily, then seemed to catch himself. "Not when helping a newcomer to our city, I mean."

I smiled, letting my teeth show.

He dipped his head close, as if we were confidants. Raw onion and stale sweat filled my nostrils, and I put a hand over my nose to block the smell.

"What can I help with, sahiba?"

"It's not something I should be sharing here." My eyes darted around. The garden was fairly empty now, with people leaving the heat of the outdoors and retreating into the cool house.

Darbaran's friends were now being chased around the garden by the swans who had finally had enough of their teasing. Servants were scattered about the grass attempting to corral the birds to no avail.

"I've come into possession of a significant amount of a controlled resource…" I deliberately let my voice trail. "One that only the emperor usually has access to. And I need a way to sell it, quickly. I had a previous buyer, but that avenue has since dried up." I clasped my hands together in an attempt to look earnest.

Darbaran stared at me, his mouth slightly ajar, and I could see the wheels in his tiny brain turning. "You mean…" He couldn't even form the words.

"Yes," I breathed, pressing a hand to my chest. "That's exactly what I mean."

A strange light entered his eyes. "How much do you have?" He whispered the question, as if he wasn't sure if he could still speak.

I bit my bottom lip, dragging out the suspense. "A considerable amount." I paused. "Certainly more than I can move by myself."

"You realize what this means?" His voice rose with excitement. "The emperor has completely eliminated any leaks in his production. It would be worth more than we can even imagine." His gaze was pinned to the middle distance, greed lacing his voice like rose syrup, already counting the money he'd get from selling zoraat.

I looked up at him with a hopeful expression. "You can help me, then?"

His gaze turned sly, a dark smile edging the corner of his mouth. "Sahiba, it would be my honor." He placed a palm across his chest. "However, this would be a great personal risk to myself. It will be expensive, especially to be so discreet."

"Of course. Whatever it costs, I will pay it."

Those words had him practically vibrating. "I will also have to take a percentage of the profits. I'm sure you understand," he said smoothly.

I made my eyes go wide. "Of course, Captain. I would absolutely insist."

"Then we are agreed." Darbaran held out his hand. For a second, I thought about ignoring it, so I didn't have to touch him.

I thought back to when I was being arrested, and he had put his hands all over me, dragging me through the halls of the palace after Maz turned his back. I thought of the look on Darbaran's face as he grabbed me, more roughly than he needed to, and how he had thrown me into the holding cell in the palace dungeon before I was transported to the prison.

Bile rose in my throat as I took his fingers in mine and gave his damp, sticky hand a quick shake.

"I'll have my servant, Noor, contact you about next steps." I pulled away from him, resisting the urge to wipe my hand off against the side of my frock. "I should have a shipment ready for you shortly, if you can line up a buyer?"

"Oh, I will have plenty of interest in this, sahiba," he said, his voice bubbling with glee.

I headed back to the house, but a movement near the banyan tree caught my eye.

Someone faded into the shadows the moment I turned, but not before I saw the barest hint of a black-and-gold sherwani.