Hazan’s firefly.
Kamran was overcome. He’d never felt such elation or relief. He thought he might fall to his knees with the heft of it.
Instead, he said, quite calmly: “What took you so long?”
Hazan, in response, broke down the door.
The rusted metal panel made a deafening groan as it was knocked free from its frame, the hinges screeching as they were torn apart. Kamran moved quickly out of the obstacle’s path, the entire cell shuddering as the weighty door hit the ground with a reverberant crash.
Once he felt it was safe, Kamran moved forward to clasphands with his friend—to thank him for what he’d done—and instead, he recoiled so intensely he nearly tripped over the rotting lump of something extremely dead.
“Your Highness?” Miss Huda peered through the open doorway. “Are you quite well?
“He’s alive!” Omid cried, and tackled Kamran in a show of affection for which, just days ago, he might’ve been sentenced to death. “You’re alive!”
“Good God,” said Deen, roughly yanking Omid away from the prince. “Extricate yourself at once, boy. What are you thinking? One does not simply hug the prince of Ardunia—”
“I’m sorry,” Omid said breathlessly. “I’m terribly sorry, sire, it’s only that I’m just so happy to see you—I thought for sure the defense minister had done something terrible to you—”
“Oh yes, he’s spitting mad,” Miss Huda added, nodding eagerly. “He’s going around screaming at everyone, even the Diviners— I’ve never seen servants so spooked, and that’s saying quite a lot, for Mother can be unforgivably harsh with the staff.”
Kamran stood there, staring at this circus in a state of shock.
He’d heard their voices in his mind earlier; he knew that they’d been discussing him, wondering about his whereabouts; but he hadn’t thought they’d make up his rescue party.
“What,” he said, hardly able to speak, “onearth—are you lot doing here?”
“ObviouslyIcame to save you, you idiot,” said Hazan. “I was fairly close to the castle—stockpiling weapons to crate for the journey—when my firefly found me. I’d left her at the palace to keep an eye on things in my absence, and she alerted me to your situation as soon as Zahhak showed up. I came as swiftly as I could.”
“I’m not asking about you,” Kamran said dismissively. “Of courseyou’rehere—and I’m very glad about it, thank you for coming, really, I mean that—I’m asking aboutthesethree—”
“Oh,” said Hazan, and Kamran heard the frown in his voice. “Yes. Isn’t it sweet? They insisted on helping me rescue you.”
“What?Why?”
“Well, we saw that you were in danger, sire,” said Omid. “It was a terrible betrayal— I didn’t think the Diviners would ever use such awful magic on you—”
“And we weren’t going to stand there and let the rightful king be dragged away,” cried Miss Huda, “so that some serpent of a minister could steal your crown! My fatherdetestsZahhak, and I know this for a fact because when Father is in his cups he often lists the people he loathes, and the defense minister numbers high on that list, which is fairly long, actually”—Miss Huda frowned—“I hadn’t really thought about it until just now.”
“And you?” Kamran turned on the apothecarist. “What’s your excuse?”
“Oh, I haven’t the faintest idea, Your Highness,” said Deen, looking about the tower with a visible revulsion. “That awfulhousekeeper was horrified by the idea of taking part in any of this—and I was stupid enough to agree with her out loud. She then demanded I be a gentleman and walk her the half mile down the bridge so she might hail a cab on a busier corner in town, the fare of which she suggested we share.” He sighed. “I think I might’ve said yes to these blockheads”—he nodded at Omid and Miss Huda—“simply to avoid being alone with her, though, with all due respect, sire, I find I’m regretting that decision now.”
“I see,” said Kamran, frowning.
“Come on, then,” Hazan said, clapping the prince on the shoulder. “Let’s get you out of this hellhole. We’ll have to make a run for it straightaway; Zahhak is on a rampage. He’s tearing apart the castle looking for you—and for something else—your grandfather’s will, it sounded like—”
Kamran felt a bolt of fear.
“And I suggest we head to the docks without delay. There’s a great deal I need to tell you, and then we need to come up with a plan—”
“A great deal you need to tell me?” Kamran’s alarm intensified. “About what?”
Hazan almost smiled. “I ran into your mother.”
“What?Where?”
Hazan nodded toward the exit. “Never mind that now. We’ll have plenty of time to talk and plot while we’re on the water.”
