“But Simorgh and her children are gone,” said Miss Huda. “And I suppose we haven’t any way of knowing whether they’ll return –”
“Alizeh did not betray you!” Hazan insisted, ignoring all this.“She was wrongly accused by both your grandfather and yourself. You had proof of this today and still you persist in this attitude. Our focus now should be finding her – saving her – not wallowing in personal vendettas. How can you not see the damage you’re doing?” He shook his head. “Your thirst for revenge has blinded you, Kamran.”
The prince clenched his jaw, darkness settling inside him. “Iamsorry she was injured. I’m sorrier to have been the one to cause her harm. But she had no business interfering, and I’m no longer certain she needs saving.”
“She was just carried off on the back of a dragon!”
“She chose to protect him!” Kamran shot back. “She took an arrow in the back for the bastard who nearly killed me! Perhaps you can imagine why I’m struggling to feel sympathy.”
“I trust that she had good reason for acting as she did.”
“And your blind faith is going to get you killed.”
“Watch yourself.” Hazan’s eyes had gone flinty. “You speak of her as if she’s some capricious girl, and not the prophesied savior of my people. If she didn’t want you to kill him, I’m certain she had justification. She felt so strongly that she pleaded with you – she physically turned down your bow and still you defied her wishes –”
“Herwishes?” Kamran all but exploded. “And what of mine? What of my dead grandfather, my dead Diviners, my broken empire, my disfigured face –”
“Oh, it’s really not that bad, sire,” Deen assured him. “Truly, I’ve seen quite a number of disfigurations, and yours –”
“ – doesn’t diminish your beauty at all,” finished Miss Huda, nodding eagerly. “In fact, I think it suits you nicely –”
“WellIthink he looks ugly,” Omid countered. “And I don’t think it’s good to lie to him –”
“Are you raving idiots incapable of shutting your mouths for a single, bloody second?” Kamran cried, his chest heaving with fury.
Both he and Hazan turned to look upon their audience, all members chastened save Miss Huda, who was staring slack-jawed at Kamran with a disappointment so severe it bore a resemblance to heartbreak.
She didn’t move except to blink her devastated eyes at him, and in the proceeding silence Kamran realized she was waiting for an apology – an expectation so absurd it cemented in his mind the unnerving fear that the young miss was, in fact, delusional. He witnessed the moment her light went out – naive hope extinguished – before she finally spoke.
“Come along, Omid,” she said tightly, taking the boy by the hand. “I’m beginning to realize that princes aren’t nearly as charming as I’d been led to believe.” Then, more quietly: “This one, in particular, has fallen well beneath my expectations – which I fear were great, indeed.”
Kamran reeled at that, his chest heating once more with indignation. He was clearly in the throes of a wretchedness that encompassed his very soul – and this ridiculous girl had the audacity to focus only on her own feelings, and the temerity to accuse him of incivility? If only she knew the number of times honor alone had kept him from acknowledging aloud the many indignities of her character. She’d no idea the self-restraint he’d already employed in her presence,and for his efforts he was granted no credit, only condemnation –
“It’s clear we’re not wanted here,” she added with an arch of her brow. “Perhaps we should see about procuring some breakfast.”
Omid frowned, even as he allowed the young woman to steer him away. “I don’t understand your meaning, miss – I’m sure the prince doesn’t want us to leave – but breakfast would be great, if I’m speaking honest. I’m starving.”
“I’d love a cup of coffee,” Deen piped up, joining the others eagerly.
“You were too harsh,” Hazan said quietly to the prince. “They didn’t deserve to receive the brunt of your misdirected anger –”
“They should learn to hold their tongues,” Kamran snapped. “They talk too much. All of them.”
Hazan, too reasonable to deny a proven fact, only sighed in response.
A cool breeze pushed through the grounds then, morning sun recasting the grim scene in a dazzling flare of light. Kamran turned his face up to the sky, exhaustion and uncertainty plaguing him in equal measure. He felt no remorse for his earlier speech. He would not allow Miss Huda’s unwarranted feelings to affect his conscience. In fact, should the aforementioned idiots finally abandon him, he would bedelighted.
He turned his head to witness the three walking off with great conviction in no particular direction, Deen’s voice carrying when he said –
“Do you think it’s all right to leave the king lying there?”
“I don’t know, and I don’t care!” sang Miss Huda. “I’m no longer interested in the lives, deaths, and bloated heads of royalty. I’ve put up with enough snobbery in my life, I think, and I’ve just decided I’m quite done with it. Besides, I didn’t come all this way to manage the tantrums of an overgrown child, I came here to help Alizeh – who, despite her apparent crown, never once spoke to me in such an insulting manner.” She turned to her companions. “Did Alizeh ever speak to either ofyouin such an insulting manner?”
Kamran flinched at the repeated sound of Alizeh’s name, even as he listened to this exchange in mute astonishment.
“No, miss,” said Omid with an eager shake of his head.
“No, miss,” said Deen with an uncertain glance back at the prince.
