I took a step forward, but Zafir threw out a hand to hold me back. “Only him, please.”
Julian followed Zafir, draining the goblet in his hand as he did so, and the door shut once more. Zafir stood with his back to the window, so I wasn’t able to see anything but more importantly, Julian wouldn’t be able to see me. How long did I have before the elixir took effect?
I tried to look in the window over Zafir’s shoulder, but still couldn’t get a good glimpse of Julian, even though the window stretched almost ceiling to floor. Should I barge into the room uninvited? I tried to jiggle the handle, but it wouldn’t turn. Curse Zafir. He was entirely too good at closing loopholes.
Julian was going to be head over heels in love with the table or something. Then my heart stopped. There wereother women in there—Chairwoman Palla and the tzar’s wife—and the potion would make him become obsessed with whichever woman he saw first. I bit my lip and sweat broke out on my forehead.
“Oh no,” I whispered. “Oh no, oh no.”
It felt like an eternity before the door finally opened again, but it wasn’t Julian who came out.
It was Zafir.
“What were you thinking?” he hissed at me. “You just drugged him, didn’t you?”
There was no use in lying to Zafir. Somehow, he knew. “I had to do something,” I protested. “If he can keep me out of prison…”
“Iwas just in there, working very hard to do that very thing,” he snapped. “You aren’t helping things! Now they’ll never trust you.”
“They might not find out,” I said stubbornly. “How could they?”
As Zafir gave me a withering stare, a woman’s raised voice came from the chamber Zafir had just left, along with several men’s voices, all sounding increasingly tense. Before I could turn to look, there was an almightyCRASHand Julian came flying, back-first, through the massive window behind me.
I screamed and ran forward several paces. Zafir put his arm around me and pivoted to block me from the broken glass showering around us while there were several shouts and yells of surprise from the chamber. Julian hit the wall and slid down to crumple on the floor.
Julian looked back through the broken window and murmured with a lovestruck expression, “What a woman!”
Zafir and I peeked inside.
Azora, the tzar’s intimidating wife, was on her feet andstalking toward Julian. Several of the Parliament members flapped their hands at the tzar, urging him to intervene, but he shook his head and laughed. “My wife can handle herself just fine. I’m more worried for him than I am for her.”
Azora stepped through the shattered window, crunching shards of glass beneath her boots as she did so, and grabbed Julian by his lapels. She lifted him to his feet then slammed him up against the wall again and jammed her arm against his throat. “Flirt with me again, and I’ll kick you off a cliff instead of just through a window,” she snarled. “Do I make myself clear?”
Julian’s mouth flapped open and closed, but he didn’t say a word to her and nodded vigorously. His eyes were dilated to their full extent, and he had a sappy puppy-dog expression on his face that slowly morphed into puckered lips as he leaned forward. Azora’s upper lip curled in disgust. She shoved him down, then stalked away.
Tarquin went after her, shooting a wink at Julian as he passed. “Find your own ball of rage. That wild woman’s all mine.”
Julian’s father scurried over. “Julian! What came over you? Are you all right?”
“He’s exhibiting symptoms of having been in contact with an infatuation elixir,” Zafir said, stepping forward. “I happen to have an antidote.” He rummaged in his cloak, withdrew a small vial, and handed it over.
“How could he have been in contact with an infatuation elixir?” Rogan asked as he helped his son drink.
Zafir didn’t look at me. He crouched next to Julian and lifted his eyelid to peer at his pupils. “They can take up to a full day to take effect,” he lied smoothly. “Did he go out last night? Was he at any parties?”
“He’s always at parties,” his father grumbled, offering the rest of the antidote back.
Zafir motioned for Rogan to keep it. “With that many parties and entertaining as many women as he does, I suggest he keep it on him at all times.”
“I love her,” Julian groaned, looking in the direction Azora had disappeared.
Rogan looked embarrassed as he turned to the Parliament members, who were all open-mouthed and gathered on the other side of the shattered window, staring through with wide eyes. “Please accept my sincerest apologies on behalf of my son. He’s never flirted with a married woman before.”
“That you know of,” Zafir pointed out, a slightly smug look on his face. “I suggest that you keep him away from all women for the next day until he recovers and gets a good night’s rest. Best make it a week of no parties for good measure.”
“I hope you get better soon, Julian,” I told him politely, but he let out a heartbroken moan and didn’t look at me.
“Zafir, I’ll come by this evening with our decision about the girl,” one of the old Parliament members said as we all dispersed. Servants had already begun to clean up the glass and measure the window for a replacement.
