“There’s no way any man will notice me next to them,” I hissed at Zafir.
“Trust me. He’ll notice. Just look at him.”
I looked around the crowd, stomach coiled in knots. Being out in the open made me feel even more vulnerable and exposed. What if Rahil was here, waiting to finish what he’d started? I kept watching to see if any of the men had blue-tinted beards.
“I don’t even know which one Julian is,” I protested.
“He’s wearing gold robes and is the only one with a lemur on his shoulder. He’s talking to the woman in a pink dress whose hair is tied back into a braid.” Zafir kept his voice low and conversational. “Don’t look right now. Laugh and pretend I just told you a joke.”
That did make me laugh. “You, tell a real joke? Now thatwouldbe funny.”
“Just keep looking at me,” Zafir instructed calmly. “He already noticed you. Shake your hair back or do something feminine.”
“Something feminine? What precise instructions.” I tossed my head the same way I’d seen the dancing girls do and placed a hand on my side, tilting my hips in what I hoped was an attractive pose. “Is he still looking?”
“No. Try to make eye contact, and once he looks at you, start talking to me again.”
I obeyed, turning to hunt for the man he’d described in the crowd. Just as Zafir had described, there was a handsome man in long, flowing golden robes that screamed wealth, a lemur perched on his shoulder that had a fire tattoo much larger than most other men. Several women leaned in, trying to talk to him. Zafir had been right. If I’d tried to get his attention as they were doing, I would simplybe one of the masses. Julian’s eyes landed on me, then on the chain, and finally on Zafir.
He immediately broke away from his conversation and made a beeline for me, but I turned back to Zafir. “So now what? Am I supposed to pretend to be in love with you to make him jealous? Was that your plan?”
“Hardly. Julian knows me too well to fall for something like that. But good work; he’s coming over.”
“Zafir, I didn’t expect to see you at a fire dance. You never attend.” Before Zafir could respond, Julian transferred his gaze to me. “And why are you keeping a beautiful woman on a chain? Really, Zafir, this is a new low for you.”
“It was necessary,” Zafir said.
Julian took my hand, then bent to brush his lips against my knuckles. “I must beg your forgiveness on behalf of my father’s vizier. When it comes to treating women well, Zafir’s hopeless. I’m Julian.” He smiled and exposed two perfect rows of brilliantly white teeth. At least Zafir was having me seduce someone who was attractive and well-mannered. On Julian’s shoulder, his pet lemur chittered and bared its teeth in something akin to a smile as well.
“Pleased to meet you, Julian. And who’s this?” I asked, smiling at the lemur.
“This is Jax. Jax, say hello.”
The lemur pulled his hat off his head and hopped up and down on Julian’s shoulder, chattering in a high-pitched voice.
“He’s adorable,” I said with a smile, stretching out my fingers. “May I pet him?”
“Go ahead. You can even hold him if you’d like. He’s very friendly.” Julian pulled the lemur off his shoulder and transferred him to mine. Jax wound himself around my neck and his tail tickled my ear.
“Get that filthy animal off the duchess,” Zafir snapped, shooing Jax away.
Jax leapt back to Julian as both Julian and I stared at Zafir.
“Duchess?” Julian asked. Most thankfully, he was looking at Zafir and not me.
“Yes, Alia is a visiting duchess from Brisden.”
Great. Now I had to seduce Julianandpretend to be nobility.
“And you’re keeping a duchess chained? Zafir, what’s wrong with you? Did you clear this with Parliament?”
I cleared my throat. “It’s true. I’m a duchess in Brisden, but there was a misunderstanding when I arrived. Your vizier treated me very poorly, and I told him that he needed to be my servant for a few weeks to make up for it. He’s here as my attendant, and the chain is to make sure he doesn’t evade his duties.”
Julian threw back his head and hooted with laughter as Zafir threw me a very ugly expression. I gave him a coy smile.
“Well, well, well, what a delightful turn of events,” Julian said, rubbing his hands together. “A duchess in our midst? I had no idea. My father mustn’t have known or he would have issued an invitation by now.”
I lifted my shoulder, angling for modesty. “I’m still a far cry from royalty, and nowhere near as important as you are, I’m sure. But at least it’ll be nice to have someone wait on me, hand and foot again.” I raised an eyebrow at Zafir, who had made a noise like he was swallowing broken glass.
