Nadia needed me. At this very moment, she was probably trying to find me, and Rahil might find her first. He could already have captured her, forced her back to prison, or even married her. I’d been stupid to wish I was so far away from my husband. Why hadn’t I simply wished that he was dead? That would have been the much better choice.
“Write down your husband’s name and exact location on this piece of paper,” Zafir said, pulling out a slip of parchment and shoving it toward me.
I shoved it back. “I refuse.”
Zafir frowned. “I’m a vizier. You have to obey me.”
“No, I don’t. You have no authority over me. I’m not a Pyrenese citizen, and as such, I’m not bound by your laws.”
He blinked and his frown deepened. “But I command it.”
“You can’t make me.” The childish retort slipped off my tongue before I could stop it. I might have been embarrassed, but the look of stunned disbelief on Zafir’s face was satisfactory enough to make up for it. “If you want to go get the lamp, you’ll have to take me along. Otherwise, you won’t know where to go.”
Zafir narrowed his eyes at me, then stood. “No matter; I can find him without your assistance. There can’t be many impossibly wealthy men in Brisden. Rumors spread quickly.”
I stayed sitting, jaw locked. I would not,could not, let Zafir win.
“Hold out your arm and I’ll release you,” Zafir said, leaning over the chain.
“No.”
“What?”
“I don’t repeat myself,” I said with a smirk.
Zafir tried to cast the spell to release the vow bond anyway, but the chain held. “What have you done?” he demanded.
“I donotagree to break our bond.”
Zafir’s jaw dropped. “Why not? I can assure you that I’m in no way good company.”
“True, but I’m smart enough to see an advantage when it presents itself. I’m only willing to break the bond once you help me figure out a way to get what I want.”
“You’re impossible,” Zafir said. He made as if to storm away, but once he got halfway to the door, the chain pulled him back. He turned, livid, and flames leapt from his eyes.
I grinned. “You wanted me to be chained to you. Congratulations, you got your wish. Now you get to live with the consequences.”
Zafir wrenched the chain so it almost dislocated my arm, but the moment I gave a grunt of pain, he let out a gasp of pain and clutched at his own shoulder.
“Now, what did you say the rules of this charm were, again?” I tapped my chain. “Oh yes, you can’t do anything to hurt anyone without causing yourself pain, which includes me, and you can’t break the enchantment without my agreement. I really like this charm. How considerate of you to cast it.”
“What do you want from me?” he spat.
“I already told you my price.”
“Ican’tkill anyone with this on,” Zafir said, shaking the chain binding us together. “It would kill me if I tried, and I only have legal power in Pyren, not in Brisden. Any petition I filed there would be useless.”
“Then you can help me plan, and I’ll release you right before I put my plans into action—afterwe get back to Brisden.”
Zafir chewed his tongue, seething.
“You need me,” I told him, praying my gamble would pay off. “I can help you get the magic lamp you’re after, and there’s no way my husband will ever let you get close. You need my information. I know where the lamp is and how to access it, but I don’t work for free. If this lamp is truly as valuable as you say, then what’s a while longer with me taking up a little space?”
He rolled his eyes and gave a half-sigh, half-growl of frustration. “Fine.”
CHAPTER 10
For more than an hour, we brainstormed plans on how to get across the world. I kept nervously looking at the door, half expecting Rahil to come barging in to finish what he’d started. Or would he rather not follow me and simply be glad I was gone? He had already been trying to get rid of me.
