Page 86 of The Golden Princess

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I sent her a warning look for talking so openly, even in a quiet voice, but thankfully Nyla had swept forward to give the guests a second greeting, her words easily drowning out our quiet conversation. Movement at the door made me straighten and fix my eyes on Yasmine, as instructed.

In her enthusiasm to prove his guilt, I suspected Adara had forgotten a small but important feature of our history with Azzam. The vizier had a reason to react to this room and the people inside it that had nothing to do with thieves or treason. From her greeting, three years had been enough for Nyla to forget both his face and his name. But even from the corner of my eye, I could see he had not forgotten his connection with this household.

Although I kept my line of sight focused on Yasmine, as instructed, I still caught Azzam’s shock. Whatever he’d been expecting, it hadn’t been to see me immediately upon his arrival, standing close to both a son of the house and the princess.

His eyes skipped from us to Rek before he recovered himself and greeted his hosts. Any dismay at Yasmine’s presence was secondary to his discomfort at seeing the people he had lied to in contact once more.

By contrast, Yasmine held herself in check much more effectively. As he was announced, she turned slowly, her bland smile of welcome tinged with condescension. But I was sure I didn’t imagine the tightening of her smile, or the tiny lines that appeared around her eyes when she heard the identity of the new guest.

The change in expression was gone within moments, but she made no effort to greet Azzam or assert herself in any way, an action more suspicious to me than if she’d greeted him as an old friend.

“Azzam was shocked and possibly scared,” Adara hissed in a triumphant whisper as Azzam moved on to greeting Rek on the other side of the room.

Rek responded with perfect civility, but now I knew the truth, I could see the hints of the anger simmering beneath the surface.

“There was something strange in Yasmine’s response as well,” I admitted, ashamed of how gleeful it made me.

Seeing Azzam again had stirred the deep well of grief inside me, anger quickly springing in its wake. The last time I’d seen him, I’d still been in shock at my father’s death, and his face brought back the many horrors of that awful time. I had my own reasons for thinking Azzam was unlikely to be the one in league with the thieves, but if he did turn out to be a traitor, I would get justice enough to satisfy anyone.

“I’m sorry to say it, but Isav had no reaction at all.” Navid threw an apologetic look at Adara. “I watched him like a hawk, but he’s either an incredible actor and impervious to shock, or he’s never seen Azzam in his life.”

“Maybe he is an incredible actor,” Adara said stubbornly, but I could hear the disappointment in her words.

One of Yara’s serving maids appeared in the corridor, sending me a frantic signal. I took a step back from Navid and Adara before clearing my throat and announcing dinner.

Yasmine, who apparently hadn’t even noticed me in my servant’s outfit, gave me a surprised, assessing look. I ignored her and led the way to the dining room where the first course already waited on the table.

The first clash between Nyla and Mariam arose as both tried to take the place of hostess and usher the guests to their seats. But a deft comment from Isav smoothed over the tension, and everyone was soon eating.

I waited in my place by the door, tense as I tried to watch everyone at once. This was the part of the evening where I had to rely on Rek and Adara’s skills. I could do nothing to steer the conversation.

If anyone had the training for it, it was the two of them. But as the courses wore on, my frustration grew. Isav proved as cunning as his son, lightly turning away any attempt at questioning or provoking him.

He also continued to give no indication that Azzam had any special meaning to him. Given my reluctant admiration of his deftness, I might have considered his manner an unreliable indicator, but Azzam was far less capable. And while he was clearly deeply uncomfortable about being at a small dinner party with Yasmine, the royals, and me, he seemed to discount Isav as inconsequential.

Despite my own preferences, the traitor didn’t appear to be Azzam. Unfortunately that meant the meal was doing nothing to reveal the truths we needed exposed. The courses would soon end, and we would be forced to call in the guards and see if an imminent arrest made anyone spill any secrets. If the fleeting suspicions that had prompted me to arrange this dinner were correct, then that situation could get very messy.

But I hadn’t accounted for the rivalry between Nyla and Yasmine. If Yasmine had brought Isav and Esai here, she must be aware of the dangers inherent in the evening. But apparently that wasn’t enough to mitigate her usual attitude.

“It’s so nice to indulge in a small dinner,” she said in gushing tones. “I’m so used to hosting larger entertainments that I rarely get such a refreshing break. But the whole city seems so enamored of my entertainments, that the numbers always manage to grow. I’m starting to run out of ideas for fresh amusements, although of course I am always partial to the dancers, myself.”

She threw an impudent smile around the room, giving everyone a second to remember her own history before she turned an innocent expression on Nyla.

“What entertainment do you have planned for us this evening?”

Nyla and Mariam threw each other identical looks, their expressions frozen but their eyes alive with horror, united for possibly the first time in their lives. Given the speed with which we had arranged the dinner, there hadn’t been time to organize any entertainers for the end of the meal.

The two hostesses had likely consoled themselves that it wasn’t a grand, formal affair, and they were still in the extended period of mourning. Their guests wouldn’t criticize them for failing to provide outside entertainers. But they had forgotten who they were dealing with.

“Yes, of course!” Ali cried benevolently. “The entertainment! No meal would be complete without it. Tell me, my dear, what do you have planned?”

Mariam sent him a furious glare, and his cheerfulness faltered, as he caught up too late with the state of affairs. But a moment later, his eye fell on me, and his grin returned.

“Ah, I remember now,” he said. “Since this is, as you say, Yasmine, a small party, we have limited ourselves to entertainment provided by our own skilled household. Zaria is an excellent dancer—trained at the palace, you know—and will no doubt provide a delightful diversion.”

Adara and Rek exchanged startled looks while I stared at Ali. But I wasn’t cold-hearted enough to repulse his hopeful smile or Mariam’s desperate look. Especially not when an equally desperate idea had leaped into my mind. Something was needed to shake up the room, and perhaps this was the perfect opportunity to insert myself into proceedings.

I bowed to the table. “The cakes will be served shortly, and the entertainment with it.”


Tags: Melanie Cellier Fantasy