Alizeh planted her bare feet firmly on the ground, then lifted her chin. When she spoke, her voice rang out soft and clear in the cavernous room.
“You may enter,” she said.
EIGHTEEN
THERE WAS A GROAN OFwood and metal as the door was pushed open, and through the narrow gap appeared first a delicate hand, then a slippered foot, and, finally, a familiar face.
“Aliz – I mean, Your Majesty? Are you awake? They said you were, and oh, I dearly hope –”
“Miss Huda?” said Alizeh, startled. “Is that you?”
The young woman gave a strange, birdlike scream, slammed the door shut behind her, clapped both hands over her mouth, then ran up the stone stairs and all but tackled Alizeh in a series of exceptionally unladylike behaviors. Alizeh laughed at this, then stiffened as she was gathered up in a severe hug, for she was not wearing any underwear, and did not know how to extricate herself from the embrace without wounding the young woman’s feelings.
Eventually, Miss Huda pulled back, her face bright with emotion.
“You’re awake!” she said. “You have no idea how worried we’ve been! And you mustn’t call meMissanymore, just Huda will do, and anyway, we’re friends now, aren’t we?”
“Yes,” Alizeh said softly. “Yes, of course we’re friends.”
Alizeh’s mind was in turmoil. Her fears were so tangled and her confusion so great that she could hardly choose which question to ask first – and then she grew entirely distracted.There was something different about Huda, something vivid and fine, and Alizeh found herself staring at her friend, trying to understand this transformation before realizing the explanation was quite straightforward.
“Huda,” she said on a breath, “you look absolutelyenchanting.”
The young woman’s color heightened as she pressed her hands nervously to her stomach. Huda was aglow, beaming as she stood there in a stunning velvet gown, the construction of which Alizeh couldn’t help but admire. The dark blue fabric was of the highest caliber, its details exquisite, its stitches undetectable. The dress accentuated her lavish curves in so elegant a manner that Huda looked a great deal like royalty. It was precisely the sort of garment Alizeh might’ve designed for her, had she had the opportunity. Huda possessed far too statuesque a figure to be encumbered by the latest fashions, and now, released from the stays of the current styles, she was remade. Even her dark hair, too often pulled back in a severe knot, was newly arranged in a low, loose bun, artfully chosen tendrils framing the graceful planes of her face. Her eyes seemed bigger, her sun-kissed complexion more radiant. Everything about her ensemble allowed her best features to shine, but –
More than that, Huda seemedhappy.
“Do you really think so?” she said, drawing a hand down her skirt. “Sarra says the dress suits me, though I’m not entirely – Goodness, look at me, my focus so easily diverted.” She shook her head, then took Alizeh’s hands. “It’s just like you,isn’t it, to emerge from a difficulty only to deliver me a kindness?” Huda beamed. “Much as I would love to discuss my wardrobe with you, dear, I must first tell you how very, very pleased I am to see you awake. I didn’t believe it when they told me you were up, not at first, as we’ve been waiting weeks and weeks with no word and we’ve all been terribly distressed, and the Diviners haven’t made it easy, you know, always warning us in their strange way that they can only keep the peace for so long before –”
“Weeks?” Alizeh blanched. “How many weeks? And what do you mean of the Diviners? And Sarra” – she frowned – “what do you know of Sarra?”
Huda paled. “Oh dear. I’ve really stepped in it, haven’t I?Pleasedon’t tell me I’m the first one in to see you?”
Alizeh could hardly breathe around the mayhem in her chest. “Yes,” she said. “You are.”
“Oh dear,” Huda whispered again.
“What’s happening?” Alizeh said, backing away. “Where am I? Where is Hazan? Where is… everyone else?”
Huda went motionless, only her lips parting and closing as she prevaricated. She then clasped and unclasped her hands, looking around nervously, and jumped nearly a foot in the air when there was a sudden knock at the door. There was the whine of old wood, then –
“Miss? Can we come in, too? They said she’s –”
“Not yet!” Huda spun around too fast, her voice too high. “I need another moment alone with her, but then, you know, after that, you might pop in to say hello –”
“But – miss – Deen and I would really –”
“Close the door, Omid!” she practically shrieked.
There was the sound of a long-suffering sigh, then another whine before the door slid heavily closed.
Huda looked at Alizeh, then, smiling horribly, said, “Perhaps you should sit down.”
“I’d really rather not.”
“Yes, well, perhaps I should sit down, then,” she said, and sat heavily on the bed. Huda closed her eyes, drew a deep, bracing breath, and then coughed, her face souring as her eyes opened. “Good grief, how do you breathe in here? I can hardly think straight for all the perfume.”
Of all the things Huda might’ve said, this observation came as an unwelcome surprise. “I think it’s lovely,” said Alizeh, her brows drawing together. “Don’t you like the smell of roses?”
