The apothecarist stiffened in his seat, his small dark eyes shifting. “She – Well, she seemed to question, sire, whether your lack of engagement with the general public spoke to an a-arrogance,or pretension, in your character –”
“Arrogance?”
Huda released a sharp, horrible chortle before clapping a hand over her mouth. “I’m sorry,” she wheezed. “I just – Heavens, I already knew I adored her, but now –”
“Of course I vehemently disagree,” Deen added hastily, “and to be fair to the young woman, I don’t believe she’d made your acquaintance at the time of this speech, for she spoke of you as if you were unknown to her –”
“I warned you,” said Hazan. “I warned you it was a mistake to ignore your public duties. Every function you skipped, every ceremony you avoided – I told you it would reflect badly on your character if you didn’t make the occasional appearance to soothe the hearts and fears of the common folk –”
“That’s enough,” Kamran said ominously.
He’d never thought of himself as arrogant, and the fact that Alizeh had chosen, at some point, to define him as such was an unexpected blow. Certainly Kamran made no willful effort to be pretentious in his duties; he’d simply abhorred the ridiculous functions that defined the crown. He loathed the aristocracy and the pompous heads of the seven houses; he tired of the awestruck commoners desperate to catch a glimpse of him; he resented the performances that paraded him about like a show horse.
Then again, he’d never understood their point.
As a young prince with a direct line to the throne,Kamran had been taught to consider himself vastly superior in the world and was seldom encouraged to look beyond the gilded tiers of his own domain. Only through Alizeh’s interference was he inspired to examine the rotted structures that informed the suffering of so many. She was the reason he’d questioned, for the first time, the actions and motivations of his grandfather King Zaal. She was the reason he’d questioned, for the first time, the insufficient wages and protections of servants. She was the reason his eyes had been opened to the struggles of street children in their empire. Her perspective – her patient eye for the anguish of others – had turned his own gaze toward the less fortunate, inspiring him to see not only the social failings within his kingdom but also the ways in which he might be called upon to address them.
Nevertheless, the unfortunate truth was that Kamran had never thought to examine his own biases until his life had collapsed around him. It had never occurred to him that an unshakable belief in his own greatness might prove a weakness. Indeed, it had never occurred to him that life might one day deal him a lesser hand.
Perhaps, he thought with a pang, this was the very definition of arrogance.
Kamran stifled a sigh.
Even now, Alizeh had managed to deliver him a brutal lesson. Without fanfare she’d fallen from the heavens into the still waters of his life, and he wondered, uneasily, whether he’d feel the reverberations of her impact forever.
“The more I learn about this young woman,” Sarra was saying, “the more I look forward to welcoming her into my family.”
“Then you will be horribly disappointed,” said Hazan. “Such a marriage will not take place.”
“It will,” Sarra countered.
“What do you care who she marries?” Kamran said, his eyes darkening as he turned to her. “What interest do you have in her union with your son?”
“I don’t know that I do,” she said evenly. “I only suppose that a girl desired so ardently by the rulers of two powerful kingdoms – a girl who can command a crowd as she does – must be worth something, and I’m suddenly curious to know what, exactly, that might be. I do like to look after my own interests, after all.”
“Command a crowd? What are you –”
“She’s not magical or anything,” Omid said, confused. “We just like her a lot.”
“A ringing endorsement,” Sarra said drily.
“Actually,” Deen said, leaning forward. “Her body has a natural healing ability –”
“I mean it,” Omid insisted. “You’ve never met a kinder person. I tried to kill her in the street once, and instead of handing me to the magistrates, she offered me bread. I bet you’ve never tried to kill someone, ma’am, and had them offer you bread.”
Sarra’s lips parted in silent astonishment.
She blinked rapidly, first at Omid, then at Kamran, and,sounding a bit breathless, she said, “I’m afraid you’ve just raised more questions than answers, child.”
“She may not be magical now,” Hazan interjected, “but shewillhave magic. And when she comes to possess it, the entire world will recognize her power.”
“Is that so?” A flicker of unease moved in and out of Sarra’s eyes. “And what kind of magic will she come to possess?”
“I don’t… know yet.”
“I see,” she said wryly. “Sounds formidable.”
Hazan sent her a black look, but Sarra turned away, studying the prince with renewed interest. “So you’ve come because you seek her rumored power, sire, and not her heart?”
