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. “Thereareplenty 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 necklace 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 amsograteful.” I stepped over his glob of saliva on the ground. “But I actually need more help. I’d like to move a… certainproductwithout detection. Anillegalproduct.”
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.”
