Kamran narrowed his eyes, preparing to respond, but it was Hazan who spoke, who appeared both distressed and confused. He shook his head lightly. “Need would not motivate her,” he said. “Duty might. For the sake of the prophecy, for the good of the people – Yes, I believe she could be convinced that a union with the Ardunian empire –”
“What prophecy?” said Huda, looking around. “There’s a prophecy?”
“SheisArdunian, after all,” added Deen. “Perhaps she’d like to go home –”
“What prophecy?” Huda asked again.
Kamran was looking at Cyrus when he answered, darkly: “Melt the ice in salt, braid the thrones at sea. In this woven kingdom, clay and fire shall be.”
Cyrus stiffened.
This was too much. He reached once more for the wall behind him, his condition deteriorating by the second. Kamran had quoted the inscription from the Book of Arya, an ancient tome known to hold the map to an extraordinary power.He’d been struggling for days to convince the book to reveal its secrets, all to no avail.
No one but Alizeh was even supposed to know of the book. Cyrus had only heard of its existence through Iblees; it was one of his tasks to discover the nature of Alizeh’s purported magic, and he’d been commanded to steal the relic from her small room at Baz House.
“Where did you learn that?” Cyrus asked, struggling to suppress his panic.
Kamran only smiled. “She must already suspect her empire is to be woven with another – and we know it won’t be yours,” he said ruthlessly. “In fact, it’s become clear to me now, more than ever, that she and I were fated to be together. It’s been all but foretold.”
“Where did you learn that?” Cyrus repeated, this time losing his self-possession. He felt he might choke on his own fury, so unraveled was his mind. That the devil had summoned him this morning to celebrate this loss, that it seemed obvious now it was all going to fall apart – He was too weak, too injured, too exhausted to endure it.
“It’s from the Book of Arya,” said Hazan, who was looking now at the king with some concern. “We found it among Alizeh’s possessions.”
“Fucking hell,” breathed Cyrus. He closed his eyes, his body sliding slowly down the wall. He finally sat, heavily, on the thick rug, and dragged his hands down his face. “You found the decoy.”
“Decoy?” Kamran demanded. “What decoy?”
“What you discovered was an imitation of the real thing,” said Cyrus, lifting his head. “It’s physically identical – on the outside, at least – to the original.”
“Where is the original?” Hazan asked urgently.
“I have it.”
“What?Why? How –”
“No,” said Cyrus vehemently, shaking his head. “I will bear no more of this. I began my morning by being shot nearly to death, so if you’ll excuse me, I think I’ve earned a reprieve from the many delights of your company.” He looked them over. Then, with a sigh: “If I can’t kill you, and you’re all refusing to leave –”
“We finally get breakfast?” Omid brightened.
“I’ll have you all settled into rooms!” Sarra clapped her hands together. “Oh, we haven’t had guests in ages! It’ll be such a nice change.” She was smiling with such warmth that, for a moment, Cyrus wondered whether his mother’s enthusiasm was genuine. “You’ll be quite comfortable, I’ll see to it personally.”
Omid opened his mouth again to speak, and Cyrus muttered an oath before saying, “Yes, for the love of God, we’ll give you breakfast –” just as there was a sharp knock at the dining room door.
“Come in,” Cyrus said angrily.
The butler, Nima, entered and hastily bowed. “Your Majesty,” he said. “A trio of Diviners has arrived to see you.”
Cyrus’s head jerked upright, and at once, his adrenaline spiked. “What?”
“They’ve requested a meeting at once, sire.”
Cyrus hauled himself up off the floor. He felt dazed; the Diviners had months ago refused to speak with him ever again. In fact, it had been so long since he’d communicated with one of his old teachers that his heart filled now with both joy and dread. The news must be dire indeed if they’d come to deliver it themselves.
Cyrus was paralyzed, struggling to process this, when he looked up to find Hazan standing at his side.
“If this is about my queen,” said the Jinn, “I’m coming with you.”
PART TWO
