Page 127 of Chai and Charmcraft

“Yes, of course, your Elegance,” Ashar said hastily, and began petting her again.

Oh, yes, verrrrrrrrrrrrry good. Vishal, we’re keeping this one.

“Um?”

“I promised you that you would have shelter here,” Shai Vishal murmured, still scratching away with his silverpoint. “We are not great powers among the vastness of the Empire?—”

—speak for yourself, boy?—

“—but what power we hold among us is firmly grounded here, in this place. And few other than the God-Emperor could strike against usbothand walk away unscathed.”

Ashar tried very, very hard not to finish a thought that started withthe God-Emperor is a most relevant problem.

No, the most relevant problem is that you need to keep petting,the High Priestess of Bastet said.

“…Yes, your Elegance.”

(Faraj)

After searching in chests and wardrobes and under beds and furnishings amid fifteen stories of thehaveli,twelve of the Archives, three of the barracks, and three sets of attics, while rushing to find his outdoor slippers so that he would not ruin the silk-soled carpet slippers on the cobblestones amid the deposits left by the equine portion of the cavalry, Faraj had not expected to open his bedroom wardrobe, look down, and find a pair of golden eyes blinking up from the dark amid his shoe collection. A variegated pile of fluff seemed to have replaced most of his shoes.

“Mrrt,” Sahar said, with a very distinct sense ofshut that door, it’s much too bright.

“Oh,” Faraj said, and set a bowl of water and a saucer of fish next to the golden eyes, then closed the wardrobe door quietly. “Better, my dear?”

“Mrrrrrt.”A moment later, his wardrobe began to rumble with purrs which the wood seemed to amplify, like a cat-chosen musical instrument.

Irfan did not swear, shout, or punch holes in any ancient furnishings. He said, very precisely, “Can you wear my shoes, your Highness?”

“No, no, I’m fine. Let’s hurry.”

“For another cat who happens to have wandered into the gatehouse,” Irfan said.

“I wouldn’t want her to get bored, or to tell all her friends that the humans can’t be trusted, or whatever else might goamiss?” Faraj hurried to the door and waved to Shahin, who was flying loops around the inner courtyard.

A few seconds’muchtoo falconlike swooping later, they came to a stop at the outer gatehouse, where the noises of a very upset kitten could be heard even over the marching of the guardians’ drills.

“Ohdear,”Faraj said, and bent over to peer under the guards’ table. The guards must have been gambling with dice before they had clearly attempted to prevent the cat his Highness wished to see from departing before his arrival. The sounds of wrath were both unmistakable and very tiny. Huge green-gold eyes blinked at him suspiciously from the shadows.

“I amsoterribly sorry, I never meant for anyone to hold you here against your will,” Faraj said, and settled himself onto the ground in front of the upset kitten. He pulled the little pouch of dried fish snacks out of the fold of his collar over his heart, shook a handful of them onto a guard’s discarded plate, and set it down in front of the rumbling shadows. “You don’t have to come out if you don’t wish to, but may I ask your name?”

“RrrrrrrrrrRRRRRRRRrrrrrrrrrrrroooooooooooooooowww.”

“Ah.” He did wish that he’d paused long enough in his hurrying to ask Kamil’s company, but Kamil was still brushing the thick layer of dust out of his pelt. “Well. I can’t say that I see, for you have found a wonderfully dark corner to lurk within. But in any case: what piqued your curiosity,ya habibti? You are the first to come, and I’m afraid we’re still ironing out the wrinkles in our hospitality.”

“Hsssst.”After a moment’s pause, there were some small scratching sounds.

“Have you brought us mice to count…?”

“Hsssssst.”More scratching sounds, and then a scrape as the plate of dried fish was pulled under the table, and then a little square of slate was pushed out in its place.