“He’s a madman—”
“Where is the king?”
“—but it cannot be—”
“Don’t believe a word of it—”
“The king! Where is the king?”
King Zaal appeared then, came forth through the crowd with a silent dignity, his head held high even under the weight of a hulking crown.
The young king extinguished his fire at once, releasing Miss Huda in the process. Several people rushed to her side, helping her to safety, while the blue-eyed fool charged forward to meet King Zaal, erecting another fiery circle that trapped the two sovereigns inside.
Alizeh realized then that she would rather rot in the gutter than go anywhere with this copper-headed scoundrel. So these were the few tasks he’d meant to accomplish? This was the business he’d claimed wouldn’t take long?
Oh, she wanted to slap him.
“Your fight is with me, is it not?” King Zaal said quietly.
“Not at all,” said the fool brightly. “There will be no fight, Your Majesty. When I am done with you, you will be begging me to end your life.”
King Zaal barked a laugh.
Someone in the crowd screamed, “Call for the soldiers! The magistrates!”
“The magistrates?” The southern king laughed aloud. “You mean your weak, corrupt officials? Tell me, fine noblesof Ardunia, did you know that your magistrates are paid extra by the crown to collect street children?”
Alizeh felt Omid tense beside her.
“Ah, I can see by the looks in your eyes that you did not. And why would you, really? Who would even miss a surplus of orphaned children?”
“What do you want here?” King Zaal said sharply. He looked different then—angry, yes—but Alizeh thought he looked, for a moment—
Scared.
“Me?” The madman pointed to himself. “What do I want? I want a great deal too much, Your Highness. I’ve been bled dry for too long in repayment for my father’s sins and I’m tired of it; tired of being in debt to so cruel a master. But then, you know what that’s like, don’t you?”
King Zaal drew his sword.
Again, the southern king laughed. “Are you really going to challenge me?”
“Your Majesty, please—” Kamran moved forward as if to enter the fiery ring, and King Zaal held up a hand to stop him.
“No matter what happens tonight,” King Zaal said to him, “you must remember your duty to this empire.”
“Yes, but—”
“That is all, child,” he said thunderously. “Now you must leave me to fight my own battles.”
“As I’ve already told you, Your Highness.” The madman again. “There will be no battle.”
The Tulanian king raised his arm with a flourish and KingZaal’s robes tore open at the shoulders, revealing large swaths of skin that were both scaly and discolored.
The king’s face went slack, stunned as he studied himself, then his southern enemy. “No,” he whispered. “You cannot.”
“Will you not speculate?” the madman shouted into the crowd. “Will you not hazard a guess as to what the magistrates do with the street children they find?”
Alizeh felt suddenly as if she couldn’t breathe.
