Despina stared down at the discarded skein of spider-silk by the bed. “I don’t know.”
“Then what do you know? Please tell me.”
“I’ve lived in this palace for six years, and I’ve always found Khalid Ibn al-Rashid quite aloof, yet strangely honorable. Until the events of these past few months, he has never given me occasion to question his character.”
“But how can you continue to serve a king who kills young women without explanation?”
“I came to this kingdom as a slave; I don’t have the luxury of choosing whom I serve,” Despina retorted drily. “The Caliph of Khorasan may very well be a monster, but to me he’s always been a troubled king with good intentions.”
“Good intentions?” Shahrzad spat. “Tell that to the families of the girls he murdered. Tell that to those who loved them.”
Despina flinched, and Shahrzad looked away, rising from the bed in a rush to conceal her pain.
“Shahrzad—”
“Leave me alone.”
Despina grabbed her wrist. “If you care about him at—”
“I don’t.”
“Stop lying, you miserable brat.”
Shahrzad wrenched her arm free, glaring at Despina before turning to leave in a swirl of lustrous brocade.
“You care about him,” Despina insisted. “And since secrets matter so much to you, I’ll divulge one.”
Shahrzad halted in her tracks.
“You are safe, Shahrzad al-Khayzuran. Nothing will happen to you. For I have it on high authority that any attempt to harm you will be treated as a direct attempt on the life of our king.”
Shahrzad’s stomach clenched.
“Do you understand, Brat Calipha?” Despina continued.
Shahrzad glanced over her shoulder at her handmaiden, in stalwart silence.
Despina sighed. “On pain of death . . . you are as important to him as his own life.”
LILACS AND
A RAGING SANDSTORM
JALAL SLID THE REPORT ACROSS THE TABLE AND drummed his fingers against the edge of the stained wood.
“Do you have someplace you need to be, Captain al-Khoury?” Khalid did not look up from his work.
“No. Not at the moment.”
Jalal continued tapping his right hand on the carved mahogany¸ staring intently at Khalid’s face.
“It appears—”
“I wish you would confide in me, Khalid.”
Khalid’s gaze flickered to Jalal, giving away less than nothing.
“And what brought on this sudden desire for closeness?”
“It rained yesterday. You must have a great deal on your mind.”
Khalid studied Jalal with deliberate composure. “There is usually a great deal on my mind.”
“And what of the rain?”
Khalid put down the scroll in his hand. “Rain is merely one element of a storm—generally a hint of things to come.”
“As always, you are the perfect portrait of bleak.”
“As always, you are the perfect portrait of nothing.”
Jalal smiled in a slow arc. “Regarding Shahrzad—”
“I am not discussing Shahrzad with you.” The tiger-eyes fired once in an otherwise cool countenance.
“She must have rattled you last night, with a vengeance. Well done, my lady.”
“That’s enough, Jalal.”
“Don’t be unduly vexed, cousin. It rained yesterday. You don’t have to feel guilty anymore, on top of everything else. The people of Rey are not suffering unnecessarily on your account. Or Shahrzad’s, for that matter.”
“Enough!”
At that, all traces of Jalal’s smugness vanished. Lines of consternation appeared across his forehead. “See? I wish you would confide in me. You are clearly troubled. Perhaps even afraid. Do not live in fear, Khalid-jan, for that is not a life.”
“I am not afraid. I am tired, and you are presumptuous. There is quite a difference.” Khalid turned back to the stack of scrolls before him. “It appears the riots in the city square have completely ceased?”
“Of course they’ve ceased. We are no longer executing their daughters without explanation,” Jalal muttered offhand.
When Khalid failed to respond, Jalal glanced over and saw Khalid glaring at him, with his left hand clenched in a white-knuckled fist.
“Must you always be such an unapologetic bastard?” Khalid exacted in a deathly whisper.
“Be fair. I’m only like that when it suits a purpose. I have been known to apologize when the situation warrants it.”
“I doubt you grasp the notion.”
“You are not the only one who suffers in this. Admittedly, you bear the brunt, but you are not alone. And you take on far more than necessary. Let me help. I would gladly assume some of your burden. That is what I’ve been trying to tell you.”
Khalid shoved aside the scrolls and strode to the window to his right. A marbled arch framed a midday sky above. In the garden below, lilacs bloomed, and their clean scent mingled on the breeze, blowing back into the alcove, rustling the pages strewn on his desk.
Taunting him.
He shuttered his gaze. The sight of shining black tresses across jewel-toned silk and half-lidded hazel eyes flashed back at him. Khalid latched the screens shut, but the aroma of the pale purple blossoms lingered, much to his chagrin.
Jalal took note of Khalid’s irritation. “So you have an aversion to sunlight and flowers now?”