She nodded tightly. Then the emperor turned his gaze back to me, his bright eyes narrowing. I felt something crawl over my skin at his attention. This man had orchestrated my family’s downfall, didn’t care who he killed or destroyed as long as it furthered his goal of more power.
“Who are you?”
I opened my mouth to speak, but Thohfsa beat me to it. “This is Sanaya from the northern tribes.”
I startled, my heart jumping to my throat. But a smile curled on her face and she continued.
“She’s come to curry your favor for her father. I also heard she rescued your adopted daughter from a bunch of street thugs.” Thohfsa laughed, a high-pitched sound that sliced through my skin like a whip. How did she know all that? Had she been asking about me in the palace? I curled my fists at my sides to still their shaking.
“Ah yes,” the emperor responded, his voice mild. “Mazin mentioned something about you.” He nodded in my direction, his eyes sliding over me without really taking me in. “My thanks for helping someone in my household.”
Someone in his household. Not his child. Not his daughter. If Anam died I wondered if he would even notice. Something dark gathered inside me. This man didn’t care about anyone but himself.
Not me. Not my father. Not even those he had raised as his children.
Revenge.
That voice slithered inside me, around me, echoing in my ears. I could do it. Right now, I could grab my dagger and with a flick of my wrist slash the fleshy part of his neck before he could use any of his djinn power.
“It was my pleasure, your excellency,” I heard myself say through gritted teeth as I bowed low. Now was not the time. I didn’t care about what happened to me after it was done, but I still had to deal with Mazin and I had no idea where Noor was.
And seeing Thohfsa and the emperor together had shaken my confidence. I had wanted to speak to the emperor, to get closer to him, but not like this. This felt like Thohfsa calling the shots, controlling the situation, for a reason I wasn’t entirely sure why yet. But the emperor was oblivious to my turmoil and walked away, speaking to other courtiers and warlords who had come to pay their respects.
I cast my gaze around looking for Noor in the crowd.
“Looking for your little sidekick?”
My heart froze at that nasal voice.
Your little sidekick.
Thohfsa knew.
She knew who I was, who Ireally was.My body snapped to rigid attention, muscle memory recognizing danger and battle.
Even though we stared at each other with hatred in a crowded room filled with revelry, we weren’t pretending anymore. We were in combat.
I pressed my hand to the knife under my kameez, not letting her have the upper hand anymore. She had terrorized us in prison and used her power to try to break me. But now we were on equal footing.
“If we weren’t in the middle of a packed room, I would gut you again.” My voice was low, and so quiet. But I knew Thohfsa heard it by the thinning of her lips and flaring of her nostrils.
“Not even bothering to deny it, I see,” she breathed, her lip curling.
“What is the point? Looks like you know everything already,” I said, dangerously soft.
“We’ll see what secrets you spill when the emperor is interrogating you.” But her words weren’t vehement, held no conviction.
A bluff.
“You would have told him already. You’ve had ample opportunity.” My eyes roved over her mulish face as something dawned on me. “No, you want something from me.”
In that moment I also knew why I hadn’t seen Noor yet.
Rage filled my veins, hot and consuming. I advanced on Thohfsa, so close that she couldn’t mistake how much I meant every single word I was about to say.
“Where is Noor?” I growled, unsheathing my dagger, not caring who noticed the flash of my knife in the crowd. “If you don’t release her, I will make you wish you had died the first time I killed you.”
Thohfsa was a brutal dictator in the prison she ruled, but toe-to-toe with me, she couldn’t win and she knew it. Her eyes widened, but she stood her ground.
