“I didn’t expect Mazin there. It was sloppy of me. I should have imagined that possibility.”
“Weshould have,” she agreed. “But it doesn’t change the course of things.”
“No, we can just move forward with the next phase of the plan quicker.”
Noor nodded. “I’ll bring coins to the bazaar tomorrow and coordinate the next steps.” She moved to leave the room but then paused, seeming to hesitate.
“What is it?” All the exhaustion of wearing a face and personalityof someone else was catching up to me, and my voice sounded weary. The effects of the zoraat running through my veins set me on edge, like something dark gnawing at my stomach.
I remembered with a start the black mark that had appeared on my finger, like a spider crawling down my hand. But when I examined it now, it wasn’t there. Sanaya’s burnished brown skin was all I saw. No marks, not even a bruise.
“Are you okay?”
I exhaled, looking back up at Noor. She studied me with a frown. I spread my fingers out again, but there was nothing. Had I imagined it?
“I’ve been better.”
“I know. When Casildo said Mazin’s name…” She trailed away with a shudder. “You seem to be handling it well, though.”
I shrugged, a gesture of nonchalance I didn’t feel. “I knew I would see Maz eventually. I didn’t expect it so soon, but I can adjust.”
“And you’re sure you want to continue with everything? His sister seems sweet.”
I scowled at her. “Yes, I’m sure. I don’t have a conscience where he is concerned.”
She bit her lip. “Even if the sister gets hurt too?”
“He is the reason my father is dead, so yes. Even if his sister gets hurt too.”
Noor nodded and her hands curled into fists. “As long as the plan is still to go after Vahid. I need to know he won’t get away with everything he’s done. That at the end of all this, he will be left with only ashes.”
“Just as we were,” I said quietly, the room seeming to darken as I did so. I cast a glance at the window, the moon casting a shadow of Vahid’s palace.
She walked toward it, placing her hands on the frame and turning back to me. The moon lit her as well, and I saw the sorrow in her brown eyes. “Yes. Just like we were.”
I knew she was thinking of Souma, just as I was thinking of my father.
I continued removing my jewelry, the weight lifting from me with every piece I took off. Gilt bangles on my wrists, a thick golden choker with dangling rubies around my neck, a filigreed ruby tikka pinned in my hair, a gold nath from my nose, all landed with a thud in the bowl on the table.
When I was done, I rubbed my wrists and felt as though I could breathe again.
“By the way, there’s definitely something you didn’t tell me,” Noor said, leaning back against the window.
I stretched my arms overhead, linking my knuckles together and pushing my hands up. It had been a while since I’d trained, and I needed to build up some of the muscle I’d lost in prison. “What?”
She smirked, mirth entering her eyes. “You never mentioned how attractive Mazin was.”
I stared. Then wordlessly I bent down, took off my curled-toe shoe, and lobbed it at her head.
She ducked, undeterred. “Those cheekbones? The dark eyes? No wonder you are cut up over him.”
“Shut up,” I muttered, spinning on my heel.
“You never told me his shoulders were that broad!”
I ordered tea as the room filled with Noor’s laughter.
“Can you be serious for once?”
