Mazin looked between us. “Unfortunately, surprise is often the strategy used by opponents to gain the upper hand.” He turned back to me. “It’s the best tactic one can use in an attack.” His voice was plain, speaking without any condescension.
I blinked at him. “Yes, which is why they weren’t expecting me.” I cleared my throat. “Iwas the surprise.”
I raised my chin. That same thrill buzzed under my skin, knowing your opponent had a weapon just as sharp.
“The emperor wanted to thank you himself, but he couldn’t get away.” His voice was cold again, like when I had met him in the bazaar.
I’m certain the emperor doesn’t even know I’m here or who I am.
“But he does want to thank you in person.” He rubbed his hand over his chin, and I had the inexplicable urge to put my own hand there, to cup his jaw in my palm and cradle his face. I curled my fingers into the meat of my hand to stop myself from doing something so unhinged.
“There will be a feast at court that he would like you to come to,” he continued.
“Oh, but you are welcome back here sooner than that,” cried Anam. “With everything you’ve done, I would love it if we could be friends.”
I smiled, nearly a genuine expression. The more access to the palace we had, the more chances to plant the seeds of our revenge.
And I knew Anam was one of Mazin’s few weaknesses.
“Of course we are friends. And you must come to my home as well.” I looked up at Maz. “I would love to attend the emperor’s gathering, especially being new to the city. That is so generous.”
He nodded, his expression bemused, as if he hadn’t been able to figure me out yet.
At the end of the meal Anam embraced me, and we promised to see each other soon. I began to walk back to the palace entrance, only to have Mazin fall into step beside me.
“You don’t need to walk me out,” I laughed, looking around forNoor. But Mazin stuck by my side, and I forced my feet to continue forward.
It was strange walking alongside him again, but even though this time I had longer legs, he still towered over me.
“I meant it,” he said, so quietly that I had to move closer to him to hear. “I owe you a debt of thanks. And I always repay my debts.” He said it like an oath, and when I tried to brush it off again, I found the words sticking in my throat.
Instead, I nodded. He released a long breath, as if he needed my acceptance. As if he needed the debt.
I smiled at him, shaking my head. “You know, you don’t have to pay someone back if they help you. Not everything is a transaction.”
He stopped short, and I nearly tripped over my own feet at the abruptness of it.
“But it is. Nothing is without a cost.”
“Maybe to you, but not me. When I help people, I have no agenda.”
If Noor were here, she wouldn’t have been able to contain her laughter at my words, but in my heart, I meant them. I wasn’t being Sanaya now, I was Dania. My love never came with a price, even if his did.
“I don’t think you understand where I came from, Sanaya. The way I grew up, you must assume everyone has an agenda.”
“What an awful way to live.” I frowned at his words. “How can you ever truly be free if you measure every interaction in terms of what it costs you?”
“Oh, I am not free in any sense of the word.”
“Of course you are.” We’d come to the open-air courtyard now, the gaudy manicured orchids and jasmine flowers surrounding us with near-suffocating perfume. Instinctually I leaned closer to him, like even in this body I couldn’t get enough of him. We stood next to the large pond, tiger lotus sprouting out of the muddy water like a warning. I waved my arms at the magnificence surrounding us, and I didn’t have to fake my next words. Not when I’d lived in true captivity for the past year.
“You live in a palace, not a prison. You have the world at your fingertips.” I smiled, hoping it wasn’t too brittle. “It’s your own fault if you choose to feel confined.”
His brow rose. “Is it? I’ll have to take my lessons in freedom from you, then.”
“I came all the way here from the northern territory—there isn’t anywhere that can cage me.”
“I like that,” he said quietly, turning to face me. “I should like to feel…” He licked his lips and my eyes followed the progress of his tongue.“Uncaged.”
