Princess of Smoke (2020 Reissue) Read online

  She shrugged off her gossamer shawl and picked up the first book. “Well?” She looked expectantly at the rest of us.

  I hurriedly reached for the pile of books she’d given me. I rubbed my eyes. Beside me, Lisha slowly turned the pages of her first book, her scowl deepening as no pictures presented themselves. To my other side, Safiyya and Diyan fell into a comfortable pattern of checking books, Safiyya chattering about what they might do when we were all finished, Diyan rattling off everything he knew about rare weaponry.

  The pile of books still to check grew increasingly smaller, then bigger again when the librarians returned with the history books Safiyya had sent them in search of. The princess patiently divided these out between us, taking more for herself when she noticed how big a pile still towered in front of Lisha.

  Wearily, I pulled another book off the pile. It was hard not to assume this was useless. No doubt Aliyah would find out something on the streets of Kisrabah anyway, making all this pointless…

  “Here!” Lisha’s voice suddenly echoed too loudly through the library. Grabbing the sides of the book, she got to her feet, her expression triumphant. Slamming the book back down in the middle of the table, she jabbed a finger at an ink drawing on the left-hand page. “This is it, isn’t it?”

  We all stood, leaning over the table to peer at the open book.

  “See how the blade is the same length and shape? The way the hilt is woven in the same pattern? And look.” Her finger traced farther down the page. “They’ve even drawn out that strange symbol separately…”

  My skin turned cold. Drawn on the page horizontally instead of vertically, it was suddenly obvious what the symbol stamped into the hilt of the knife was supposed to be. It looked like a mountain…

  I reached back for the knife at the same time Diyan reached for the book. I ignored him and pulled the knife closer, holding it up so I could examine it. My stomach turned. It was definitely a mountain, and I had seen the shape of it before, in Hidu, tattooed onto the chest of a fallen soldier…

  “Zadie,” Diyan said in a troubled voice. “This says these knives are made in Phoenitia…”

  I sat back down in my chair heavily, limbs suddenly weak and trembling.

  “Zadie,” Lisha said sharply. “Aliyah has to know. Someone has to tell her.”

  “Who’s Aliyah?” Safiyya asked, eyes wide.

  “Go.” I waved my hand weakly at Lisha. “I’m safe in the palace. I won’t leave until you return, I promise.”

  “Zadie?” Safiyya’s voice grew higher pitched. “Why wouldn’t you be safe outside of the palace?”

  Diyan’s breathing had grown more labored. “The Phoenites are after you.” His voice was matter-of-fact, but his face had paled.

  I closed my eyes. If it was the Phoenites, the threat wasn’t just to me. It was a threat against the kingdom. Were they trying to stop the alliance between Astaran and Khiridesh?

  “I won’t be long,” Lisha promised, then melted away into the shadows.

  I leaned forward again, resting my head in my hands.

  “Zadie,” Diyan said softly. “If there’s anything we can do, any more research we can help with–”

  “And what, exactly, are you researching?” A booming voice echoed through the library as a thick shadow fell over the desk.

  I jumped and tilted my head, taking in Elian’s huge frame. He crossed his arms over his broad chest, glaring at Diyan. As usual, Safiyya immediately turned pink in his presence, seeming to shrink in her chair as she avoided looking at the handsome captain.

  I swallowed. “Elian–”

  “No, Zadie, you’re not going to talk your way out of this one.” Elian’s furious expression turned to me. “First, you miss your training session. Again. Then I find out it’s because you’re socializing in the library–”

  “If you please, Captain,” Diyan’s voice remained quiet, but the worry was written across his face. “The princess wasn’t missing her training session just to socialize. Safiyya and I were just–”

  “If you please, you will not interfere in matters that concern a kingdom which is not yours to worry about yet.”

  Silence fell, Elian’s expression flickering as he realized his error in addressing the prince in that way.

  I bit my lip. I ought to insist the captain apologize to Diyan, probably berate Elian in some way for his outburst…

  Fortunately, Elian’s manners won out before I could decide what to do. He bowed his head in a jerky gesture. “I apologize, Your Highness. I should never have spoken to you that way.”

  “It’s not a problem.” Diyan’s cheeks turned pink. “I’m sure we’re both just concerned about the princess.”

  Safiyya made a sad, strangled noise.

  “Captain.” I tried to sound authoritative, attempting to restore some degree of propriety in front of Safiyya’s betrothed. They weren’t married yet, and although I liked our informal court, they might feel differently in Diyan’s kingdom. “If you’ll let me explain…”

  With some effort, Elian uncrossed his arms and stood straight, albeit stiffly. “Yes, princess?”

  I glared at him, temper rising. “We were here researching this.” I thrust the knife toward him, making him flinch back.

  His expression darkened as he took in the weapon.

  “It’s a Phoenitian blade. It was thrown in the market–”

  “And you thought you’d just research it on your own? Without involving your court?” Elian exploded. “Spirits, Zadie! That’s it. You and I are going to see Namir…now.”

  I swallowed. Somehow, I didn’t think mentioning propriety was going to persuade Elian to forgive me.

  Not looking back at Safiyya and Diyan, I meekly followed the captain out of the library, the Phoenitian knife still clutched tightly in my hand.

  “So, let me get this straight.” Namir put his hands to his temples. “A Phoenitian knife was thrown in the marketplace?”

  I wiped a bead of sweat from my upper lip. The day was already hotter than I would have liked. Not even the faintest whisper of a breeze disturbed the still, heavy air in the training grounds. Namir hadn’t looked happy that we’d interrupted his exercises, his dark shirt clinging to his damp body. He’d looked even less happy when we’d presented him with the knife.

  Elian nodded emphatically. “And instead of trusting the rest of us with this information, the princess took it upon herself to conduct her own research. Not to mention, she involved the Prince of Nahraj who, for all we know, could be involved in this plot–”

  “Hold on, Elian. You said the knife was thrown. Who, exactly, was it thrown by?”

  I couldn’t help feeling a little bit satisfied as Elian floundered. He shot me a furious glance. “The princess didn’t tell me.”

  “Okay.” Namir wiped his curls from his forehead. “What, or who, was it thrown at? Was it an attack? A festival performance? How do you know the knife is of Phoenitian origin?”

  Elian pursed his lips, chest heaving.

  Namir arched an eyebrow. “Elian?”

  “That’s not the point, Namir. Aside from not taking her responsibilities to herself seriously, skipping out on her training session to linger in the library–”

  “I was not lingering in the library,” I snapped, temper flaring. “If you’d asked me just one of the questions Namir asked–”

  “Aside from the fact that she clearly doesn’t trust us enough to bother informing us of this vital information, the princess has put her kingdom at risk–”

  “You’re just mad because I was with Safiyya and Diyan!” I shouted, seeing red.

  Elian’s face turned to stone. “They have nothing to do with–”

  “I’m sorry Safiyya’s engaged to the prince,” I ranted, “but that’s not my fault. And I could tell you I’m sorry I have to spend time with Diyan because he’s betrothed to Safiyya, but unlike others I could point at right now, Prince Diyan actually tried to help me rather than just telling me what a threat to t
he kingdom I am!”

  The captain took a step forward, his expression thunderous. “Zadie, this has nothing to do with Saf– the princess. This has to do with you not sharing vital information–”

  “Spirits!” Namir dropped his hands from his head. “Elian, you’ve said enough. I’m sure Princess Zadie will take the time to reflect on what you’ve said.”

  I resented Namir using my title to dissuade Elian from ranting any further, but at least it seemed to work. The captain looked away, his shoulders set.

  “I expect to see you back here in the training grounds tomorrow, princess,” he said gruffly, moving aside and crossing his arms.

  An uneasy feeling suddenly came over me. I had removed the ring… What would Elian think when I could no longer use a sword? Would I be able to cope in our training lessons?

  I sat down heavily on a low wall at the edge of the training ring, flinching as the hot stone seared through my skirts.

  “Zadie, that doesn’t mean I’m done with you.”

  Uh oh. I looked up at Namir with wide, hurt eyes. “Namir, surely you don’t think I was keeping anything–”

  “Zadie, I’m entirely certain you were keeping it from us, and I’m just as sure this isn’t the only secret you’re keeping.”

  My cheeks burned.

  “But I trust you have Astaran’s interests at heart. And I don’t believe Prince Diyan to be working with the Phoenites. The Kingdom of Nahraj is our ally.” Shooting Elian a warning look, the spymaster flung a towel around his neck and sat down on the wall beside me. “You do have Astaran’s interests at heart, right?”

  “I do,” I mumbled, turning over the knife in my hands.

  Reaching over, Namir took it from me. “So first, could you tell me how you actually came by this?”

  I let out a slow exhale. “It was thrown – at me.” That’s close enough to the truth, right? The assassin had meant to throw it at me, not Lalana…

  Both Namir and Elian turned to me with serious expressions, the captain looking utterly guilt stricken.

  “Zadie…,” he began gruffly, but Namir shook his head.

  “Do you know who threw it?” he asked gently.

  I shook my head.

  “Then how do you know it’s Phoenitian?”

  “That’s what we were doing in the library,” I explained. “It’s quite an unusual blade, so we thought we might be able to figure out where it had come from. And, actually, Aliyah has a second knife and is looking for more information in Kisrabah…”

  “But you beat me to it,” a voice purred from behind us.

  Namir spun around, looking totally outraged. “And just how did you get in here?”

  Aliyah drew a hand out of her pocket, clutching a long, thin key, twirling it between her fingers.

  My jaw dropped. “Is that… Did you steal my enchanted key?” Spirits, when did she even take that back?

  Aliyah’s smile widened. “I think you’ll find this is my enchanted key, princess. You can thank me later for letting you borrow it.”

  “Hi, Zadie.” Lisha sauntered around the corner, giving me a little wave. She shot a grin at Elian. “I’m afraid a few of your guards are going to wake up with nasty headaches, Captain.”

  Aliyah’s gaze jumped from Elian to the spymaster, running over his body with interest. I guessed he was usually pretty covered up, and his bare arms were considerably more muscled than I would have expected from his slender frame…

  Namir clutched at the towel around his neck, cheeks turning pink. “What a stupid thing to do,” he snapped at Aliyah. “Someone’s after Zadie, and you incapacitate our guards–”

  “Don’t you try and tell me how to look out for Zadie!” Aliyah marched forward and pressed a finger into his chest. Namir flinched back, no doubt still sore from the bruises he’d suffered in Hidu. “If your spies were fit for purpose, you would have known about any threat before anyone even got close to Z, let alone attacked her twice–”

  “Twice?” Elian growled.

  “–and we shouldn’t have been able to walk right up behind her just now. You had no idea I was even here until I was right behind the two of you. I could easily have slipped a knife between the princess’s shoulders.”

  I winced. “Thanks, Ali.”

  Namir sucked in his cheeks, glaring at the thief queen for a moment. “All right,” he finally said. “I still want the full story from you about both of these assasination attempts later. But, for now, what do you propose we do?”

  “To start with, the princess shouldn’t head out of the palace again until we’ve caught the assassin–”

  “No!” I blurted.

  Four pairs of incredulous eyes turned to me.

  “I mean,” I met Aliyah’s gaze, my eyes widening emphatically, “I need to be there for the storytelling competition.” I grew hotter, sweat sliding down my back. “Kassim and I are supposed to be there.”

  “Princess,” Elian said, “I’m sure the sultan will understand when we explain why you can’t attend. You can’t possibly go to the festival in the city with an assassin after you. You’d be exposed during the performance.”

  I looked down at my lap, fidgeting with the fringe at the bottom of my top. How can I let Lalana down by missing her performance? Not to mention that if I was there I could influence Kassim’s decision.

  Lisha clambered onto the wall from behind, sitting down beside me. “Well, you have me as a personal guard now.” She shot a lazy grin at the captain and the spymaster. “No one will get near her while I’m there.”

  “Some personal guard,” Elian snapped. “Off incapacitating my men instead of looking out for Zadie.”

  “I only went to fetch Aliyah.” Lisha jerked a thumb toward the thief queen. “And aren’t you glad I did? Now she can help us figure out how to keep Zadie safe at the festival.”

  Aliyah gave an exaggerated shrug. “Between my thieves and your spineless spies, I’m sure the princess will be safer than she would be in the palace. As we just demonstrated when we so capably crept up on you.”

  Namir’s eyes narrowed. “You all seem very keen Zadie attends this performance. Why?”

  “Because that’s the best way to figure out who the assassin is,” I blurted.

  The four of them turned to stare at me again. I fixed my gaze on the spymaster. “You used me once before to keep an eye on a queen you wanted to know more about.”

  Namir gave a low cough, his eyes flicking to Aliyah for a moment. Elian stared at him, looking appalled.

  “Do the same now,” I insisted. “Kassim doesn’t even have to know. With the palace guards, your men, and the forty thieves to guard me, I won’t be in any danger. But if the performance lures the assassin after me again, we’ll be ready for them. If we can capture them, think what we might learn about what the Phoenitians have planned.” Plus, I can make sure Lalana wins the competition.

  Namir crossed his arms, eyeing me thoughtfully. Elian still stared at him, his look of incredulity growing. “Namir, you can’t seriously be considering this.”

  I turned to glare at him. “You said it, Captain. This concerns vital information about our enemy. It’s for Astaran.”

  Elian’s pleading eyes fixed on me. “Zadie,” he said, “you’re going to be our sultanah. You’re part of Astaran now.”

  I lifted my chin. “All the more reason for me to do my duty.”

  Elian and Namir exchanged another glance, but there was a resigned air to their look this time.

  “Well then,” Aliyah said softly, cracking her knuckles, “we’ve got a trap to set.”

  Chapter Nine

  Fires burned wickedly in every corner of the square. Shadows danced, the inconstant flames and billowing smoke making the excited crowd seem to flicker in and out of the world. It was easy to believe that the spirit world and ours must be closer tonight, that djinn must be hiding among us.

  Kassim and I sat above it all on wooden thrones made comfortable with soft pillows, on top of a dais
where we could see the stage on which the storytellers did their best to win over the crowd with tales of fate, foolishness, and fortune. To our left, Safiyya and Diyan sat side by side, the prince occasionally leaning over to whisper something to the princess. Farther away, below the dais, the vizier stood stiffly, her eyes fixed on the stage.

  I shifted, my embroidered pants itching against my waist. It was a long time since I had dressed up in quite so much finery, but in honor of the competition, I had pulled out all the stops. I’d dressed in fiery red silks, allowing my handmaids, Mehri and Jevera, to paint my lips scarlet and dust my skin with gold. Beside me, Kassim glittered in gold robes lined with the same vibrant red silk.

  We made the perfect matching set, and the people of Kisrabah had cheered us as we traveled through the city to the square, admiring the splendor of their sultan and his soon-to-be sultanah. Unlike when I had first been paraded around Kisrabah, I had persuaded Kassim not to cloister me away inside a palanquin. Instead, I had ridden out beside him, my horse, Bandit, delighted with the attention of the crowd. And I had felt proud that I would soon be the Sultanah of Astaran.

  But I couldn’t stop the anxious gnawing in my belly.

  At every corner, my head snapped around for any sign of the assassin who might be waiting for me. My knuckles turned white from gripping my reins so hard, and in spite of the cool evening, sweat gathered on my neck.

  We want the assassin to return, I reminded myself. That’s the only way we’ll find out who they are.

  But my silent reassurances did little to assuage my nerves.

  Even now, with Aliyah and Lisha prowling the crowd dressed as Namir’s spies, who were all positioned strategically around us, and Tarak disguised in a guard’s uniform beside the stage, I couldn’t relax.

  Because even if I could trust my friends enough to look out for me, I had someone to look out for this evening, too.