“Mother, too?” she asked, horrified. “I thought she, at least, would fight for true love.”
“I think she wants to, but she knows how much the sultan has his heart set on an alliance with the Four Kingdoms.”
She slowly sat down beside me, all her enthusiasm leaching away. “Four kingdoms, and he has four children. Why limit himself to one marriage of alliance? Sultan Kalmir only has the one son, so here’s an opportunity for Father to far outstrip him.”
She looked devastated, but I was afraid to ask why the thought upset her so much. After finding Navid at the palace, I didn’t want to know the answer. If she was already thinking that warmly of him, I didn’t know what I could possibly say that would be encouraging. He was unlikely to be any more of a welcome prospect to the sultan than I was.
But despite the sultan’s opposition, and the impediments in front of us, that night I dreamed happy dreams of Rek’s arms around me and his lips on mine. Whatever happened, I would always have that moment and the knowledge he truly loved me. Every day that I had endured Nyla’s blistering tongue—all to keep some tie with my old life—had been worth it. For one night, at least, I wouldn’t think of the future, I would just live in the moment.
CHAPTER23
Adara would have kept me at the palace all day, but I knew Rek would be busy with the captured thieves, and I didn’t want to risk running into the sultan or sultana again. Besides, after a brief visit with Rowan—who seemed to be doing remarkably well—I was eager to see my friends and reassure them of his progress.
I found the house returned to its usual state of calm, although when I entered the kitchen, Yara seemed even more volatile than usual, bouncing around as she shouted instructions at her various minions. As soon as she saw me, she stopped dead still.
“You’ve come from the palace?” she asked. “How is he?”
“Looking very well.” I gave her a big smile. “And the report from the doctor was equally encouraging. He’ll be back here in no time.”
“Oh, thank goodness. When Navid said…I wasn’t sure if he was just pacifying an old woman.”
“You are not an old woman!” I said sternly. “And Navid wouldn’t lie to you. The doctor really did seem pleased last night.”
Yara sat in silence for a full minute before standing and beaming around the kitchen at large. “We’ll make pudding for dessert, I think. Enough for everyone in the household.”
A cheer went up from the servants, and I suspected it was as much for the return of Yara’s good humor as the promised treat. I was about to pass through the kitchen toward my room when Yara stopped me.
“In all the chaos, I nearly forgot. Something came for you yesterday while you were out. Nothing like one invite to beget another, I suppose.” She waggled her eyebrows at me.
“An invite?” I stared at her blankly before realizing the obvious. “From Yasmine?”
“You already knew about it?” Yara sounded disappointed.
“I met her at the ball. She mentioned sending me one, but I wasn’t sure if she’d actually remember.”
“Navid has the invitation,” Yara said. “He got one, too.”
“I suppose she couldn’t just invite me.” I sighed, not at all in the mood for a party. “Thank you for telling me. I’ll go find him.”
I found him in one of the front sitting rooms, thankfully alone. There was a surprising amount to catch him up on, given the short number of hours we’d been apart.
He didn’t seem surprised at the revelation about Rek and me. Apparently I was the only one who hadn’t seen it coming—a willful act of self-denial it seemed. He did appear downhearted at the sultan’s response, however, and I once again took the cowardly path of not inquiring any closer.
“And now we have these.” He pointed at two gilt-edged pieces of card on a nearby table. “I suppose we have to go.”
“Do we?” I sighed, but I already knew he was right. “Of course we do. With Esai still on the loose we need information, and it’s just the sort of place where information of a shady nature might be found.”
“It’s not all bad,” Navid said with an attempt at a smile. “She does serve excellent food.”
“Surprising.” I picked up one of the cards and scanned it. “Given she’s so cheap to her servants, I wouldn’t have expected anything expensive.”
“Oh, she doesn’t like to waste money on her social inferiors,” Navid said, a sneer in his voice. “But she wants her parties to be the talk of the city.”
“Well, she’s succeeded in that.”
“Mother’s already given me permission to escort you to the party,” Navid said. “She even said she left something in your room for you to wear.”
I raised my eyebrows. Allowing us to go to the palace made sense, but this seemed excessive.