Zafir’s sharp, angular eyebrows drew together and his lip curled. “How many wives did he have, exactly?”
“I was his sixth wife. As far as I can tell, he marries women then kills them once they find his lamp, then finds another so he can keep his inheritance. I used to work for a woman before she became his fifth wife. She made it about a year or two married to him.”
“What sort of work did you do?”
The stolen vials hidden in my stocking felt heavier, as if they were a type of armor, ready to protect me when called upon. “Oh, I dabbled in a little medicinal work. Treating minor scrapes and bruises, mostly.”
He nodded and didn’t pry into my life any further. “Do you have any idea what Rahil already wished for?”
“I’m assuming health or long life or something like that. His house, probably. Oh, and money. He has more than your tzar, I’m sure. But I don’t know what else. He never told me.”
Zafir leaned in closer as he drew on my eyeliner. “Iwould assume not. If I owned a genie to do my bidding, I wouldn’t boast about what I’d wished for.”
“What would you wish for?”
“That’s a very personal question. Don’t move while I’m working. If I accidentally stab you in the eye, I’ll experience the same pain and I don’t want to deal with that.” He carefully traced the eyeliner on my other eye. “What wouldyouwish for?”
“I don’t know. Never being hungry again would be nice. Having unlimited money would be good, too. I may not have liked Bluebe—I mean Rahil, but I did like his house. Maybe I’d wish for one just like that. After being stabbed, I wouldn’t say no to being invincible in battle. I’ve heard that happens if you eat a dragon heart or something.”
“Which is true. But possessing a dragon’s heart is almost as rare as finding a genie. You’re done.”
My reflection in the mirror showed my best qualities while downplaying my less-attractive ones. My lips were the perfect shade of pink and my eyes looked wide and innocent. “You did a good job.”
“You need to be convincing. It didn’t take a lot of work. You’re already—” He fumbled for words.
“What, I’m already beautiful? What is this, a compliment?”
“Don’t get used to it. It’s strictly objective.”
“Well, objectively speaking, I think Julian might fall in love with me now.” I pivoted and examined how my back looked slim and tapered to a point in the mirror. “If nothing else, he’ll notice me.”
Zafir stared up at the ceiling. “I’m sure he will. But until that happy time comes that he arrives to sweep you off your feet, you have to practice being a duchess. Shall we begin?”
CHAPTER 15
Zafir paced in front of me. An intimidatingly high stack of scrolls and ledgers sat between us, ink still glistening on the topmost paper.
“This isn’t about simply foolingJuliananymore,” he said. “In order to masquerade as nobility, you’ll need to foolParliament, and take it from me, they are a suspicious nest of bureaucrats. They’ll be sure to question you. If even one of them doubts you, they’ll destroy you.”
A slight shudder ran through my body. “You make it sound so cheerful.”
“I’m not in the business of being cheerful.” He unfurled a parchment with deliberate slowness to reveal a sprawling family tree. “Here’s your new ancestry. You are Her Grace Alia of House Devraine, Duchess of the Western Marshes in Brisden. You were widowed young, inheriting your late husband’s estates and title. Your coat of arms is a silver wolf head over a vineyard. The house motto is ‘Strength through grace.’Memorize it.”
I blinked at him. “Did youjust make all that up?”
“I did.” His eyebrow arched upward again. “A good lie is always built on the bones of truth.”
I narrowed my eyes and touched where the truth serum was still in my pocket. “Are you very good at lying, then?”
His thin mouth curled into a smile. “Naturally. How do you think I got to be a vizier at such a young age?” He flipped the family tree over. “Now. What was your husband’s title?”
“His Grace the Duke of Devraine.”
“Good. And where did you live?”
“The Devraine Estate in the Western Marshes, and my house motto is ‘Strength through grace.’”
“Very good. Perhaps you are not entirely incompetent after all.”
