MISS HUDA WAS WAITING FORย him inside the morning room, unmistakable and severely out of place, clothed in an ensemble so hideous that even Kamran, who did not know the difference between a ruffle and a petticoat, could not help but condemn.
The situation was dire, indeed: she was a broad young woman, the sharp slashes of her chin and cheekbones hinting at a regal bone structure one could only imagine was repeated in the lines of a figure presently swathed in the skin of a deflated sun. She wore yellow from ruff to hem, the billowing folds of her gown inhaling her, occasionally pinching in places he took care not to study. Aside from the tragedy of her costume, the miss looked well enough despite being visibly nervous, her eyes darting around and unable to settle. Kamran watched her a moment from the doorway, noting, with a start, the bulging carpet bag at her feet, the sight of which sent a bolt of feeling through his chest.
Quietly, he cleared his throat.
Miss Huda sprang up at once, curtsying with a grace that contradicted the inelegance of her dress. โYour Highness,โ she breathed, her eyes pinned to the floor. โYou must know how grateful I am that you made time to see me this morning. I know weโve never been formally introduced, but after the events of last night I felt I must breach propriety in the hopes of pressing into your arms an item of greatโ That is, not that I would ever press it directly into your arms, Iโd never dream of taking such liberties, I only meant that I wished to deliver youโ I wishedโย Ohโโ
Kamran had by then already crossed the room and retrieved the carpet bag from the floor. Only when he stepped back did Miss Huda finally look up, after which she gaped at him, her mouth hanging open like a codfish.
โYour face,โ she gasped.
โThank you for the bag. You may go.โ
โBut what happened to your face?โ she insisted, astonishing him with her rudeness. โWas it that terrible king? Did he do this to yโโ
โMiss Huda,โ he said, jaw tensing, โif you would pleaseโโ
โOh but never fear, sire, you are still quite desperately handsome,โ she assured him in a breathless rush, her hands fluttering about her waist. โI didnโt mean to imply youโd lost your appeal, only that youโve a much more tragic look about you now, something some might even considerย moreย attractiveโdepending, of course, on their individual tastes, but then Iโโ
โMiss Huda.โ
Like a tractable childโs toy, she suddenly snapped shut.
Her mouth closed, her hands clasped, her heels clicked together. She straightened as best she could in that travesty of a yellow gown, and pinned him with a look of intense mortification.
โYes, Your Highness?โ she whispered.
โUnless there is anything else of note you wish to impart about the young woman to whom this bag belongsโโhe nodded to the small luggage he still heldโโIโm afraid I must be on my way.โ
โAnything,โ she said nervously. โIโll tell you anything youโd like to know. Iโve already looked through the bag, sire, and while I wasnโt able to discern anything of great significance, I did find a few medicinal salves stamped with the seal of the local apothecarist, who I thought might prove a worthy lead should you choose to pursue an investigationโโ
โI already know about the apothecarist,โ Kamran said curtly.
โRight.โ Miss Huda took a sharp breath. โWell. I suppose all that remains is to ask whether you might return me my gown, which I canโt imagine is of any relevance to your interests, but which I was hesitant to remove from the luggage for fear of tampering with what might be considered a body of evidenceโโ
โReturn you yourย gown?โ Kamran cut her off, dropping the bag to the floor before pinching his nose between thumb and forefinger. First she had the audacity to give him investigative advice, and now she had the nerve to ask him for clothes? Lord, but this woman was giving him a terrible headache. โAre you feeling ill, Miss Huda? What business might I have with your wardrobe?โ
She went slack a moment, still as a pillar of salt before she laughed in a sudden, terrible burst, clutching a hand to her chest as she assured him, with not a small bit of hysteria, that she did not think he would have any business with her wardrobe, that she was only referring to the unfinished garment still stuffed into the carpet bag, and โwhich Iโd dearly love to have returned, sire, for the gown is still pinned quite neatly in all the right places, and I think I might be able to convince my maid to finish the job Alizeh had startedโโ
Kamran flinched.
Her name struck him like a stone when she spoke it, filling his head with the sound of wind and birdsong and a sharp, blistering pain that forced him to turn away. He pressed the heel of his hand against a sudden spasm in
his neck, along the fissures snaking up his skin, trying in vain to understand what the devil was happening to him.
โForgive me, sire,โ said Miss Huda, misinterpreting his abrupt motion. โI didnโt meanโโ
โI donโt understand a word youโre saying,โ he managed to get out, turning once again to face her. โShe was a servant, not a seamstress, and you indicated toย The Daftarย that youโd only met her shortly before the ball, so it doesnโt follow that sheโd even have time to alter a gown for you, and never mind the fact that sheโd have no reason to do such a thing.โ
โI see,โ she said, surprise widening her eyes. โSo youโve already read the article.โ
Kamran scowled in response.
โI am grateful,โ she said carefully, โto understand now why youโre so reluctant to speak with me, though I fear youโve formed a terrible impression of my character, and I must now assure you, sire, that I spoke toย The Daftarย only briefly, sharing only a small part of what I know, and only because I was accosted by a journalist not long after that odious king released me from his fire. I was feeling vulnerable and was caught quite off guard, you see, but I swear to you I told them but a fraction of the truth, for even if you will not accept that I acted on principle, you might believe that Iโd withheld the whole story in the pursuit of protecting my own interestsโ for the truth wouldโve landed me in a great deal of trouble with my parents, sire, so I could not have risked the lot of it being printed in a paper for all to read.โ
At long last, the exasperating miss had piqued Kamranโs interests. He regarded her carefully. โGet you into trouble how?โ he asked.
Miss Huda took a bracing breath. โWell, Iโd quite stealthily engaged the services of Miss Alizehโโ
โDonโt,โ he said sharply, clenching his fists through a fresh bolt of pain. โDonโt say her name.โ
Miss Huda took a startled step back. She blinked at him a moment, then studied her hands. โVery well, sire. I wonโt say her name. But I had engaged her services,โ she said, swallowing, โto design me several new gowns, for Mother is always forcing me to wear some monstrosity sheโs commissioned, and as I have a little pin money from Father, I thought perhaps I might circumvent these little tortures inflicted upon me by finding my own modiste.โ
โOnce again, Miss Huda, I will remind you that the young woman in question worked as a snoda, not a seamstress.โ
โOh, but she did, sire,โ Miss Huda said eagerly. โShe did both.โ
โThatโs impossible. She worked, at minimum, twelve-hour shifts at Baz Houseโshe was in the employ of my own aunt, I saw her working thereโโ โYes, sire, quite true. But she came to me at night, after her shift was
done.โ
Kamran stared at her, dumbfounded. โIf that is true, when did she sleep?
When did she eat?โ
These were such strange questions that even Miss Huda fell silent. She stared curiously at the prince, and Kamran, realizing too late that heโd exposed something essential about himself, quickly appended his questions with another, this one more damning:
โWhen did she find time to conspire with the Tulanian king?โ The spell broke.
Miss Huda nodded, her eyes lit now with a new fervor. โThatโs just it, sire. Sheโthat is, the young woman I shall not nameโcould not have conspired with him. She didnโt even know who he was.โ
Kamranโs spark of interest evaporated.
โNot only is what you allege impossible,โ he said unkindly, โit also contradicts what you yourself told the paperโfor you claimed on record that sheโd been betrothed to the Tulanian king for some time.โ
โI did think it possible, yes,โ said Miss Huda, taking a step toward him before remembering herself and drawing back. โShe did confess to be some manner of forgotten nobility, and often such matches are made in infancy. Royals are all the time betrothed to people they do not know.โ
โNot in this case,โ he pointed out. โThe two were well-acquainted.โ
Miss Huda shook her head vigorously. โI was there the first time they metโI saw the way the two looked at each other, and they were strangers.โ
โWhere was this?โ
โIn my room, sire, the night of the ball. Alizโ That is,ย sheย was meant to have finished the aforementioned gownโwhich you will discover buried in her luggageโahead of the festivities, but had come to me that evening in a bit of a panic, claiming she could not complete the job in time. Only after I pressed did she admit she was running for her life from some unnamed entityโshortly after which the southern king all but magicallyย appearedย in my room, and, Your Highness, she hadnโt the faintest idea who he was.
Neither of us did. He wouldnโt even tell us his name; he insisted she call himย Nothingโโ
โWhat a convenient way to protect his identity,โ said Kamran, leveling Miss Huda with a dark look. โYes, Iโm sure they both did a fine job pretending not to know each other in your presence.โ
Miss Huda paled. โOh, no, I assure you, even when she opened that strange box of shoesโwhich had been delivered to me ahead of her arrival
โshe was entirely shocked, you must believe me, her manners were quite unrehearsedโโ
โWhat strange box of shoes? What on earth are you talking about?โ
Miss Huda bit her lip; wrung her hands. โI do apologize, sire. Iโm more than a little nervous and I fear Iโm telling the story entirely out of order . . .โ Kamran was forced to listen then, with mounting irritation, as Miss
Huda described the delivery of a mysterious package, which had only revealed its contents to Alizeh herself, and had contained in its depths a disappearing note and a beautiful pair of shoes, whose matching gown Alizeh had already possessed upon arrival at Follad Place.
โEnough.โ
The prince squeezed his eyes shut, his headache threatening now to split open his skull. The proof of Alizehโs traitorous behavior was almost too much to bear. He felt sick at the revelations, at the descriptions of her thoughts and movements prior to the ball. While he had been replaying their stolen moments together, dreaming of her like a lovesick fool, sheโd been plotting all the while against him, no doubt laughing at how easily heโd been brought to his knees by her beauty, her charm, her performances of grace and compassion.
Kamran hated himself then, hated himself so thoroughly he thought he might make himself ill.
With tremendous effort he composed himself, saying calmly, โThe series of events you describe to me now present a trail of evidence so clear
โand so incriminatingโI cannot imagine how you might misunderstand it. Altogether these details paint the veryย pictureย of an elaborate scheme and, contrary to what you might believe, the young woman wasโisโconspiring with the king of an enemy nation who wishes to destroy me. There can be no questioning this fact.โ
โI do question it, sireโ Forgive me, but I do question it, for I spent many hours in her presence and I am unconvinced she is, as you imply, an
evil young woman. In fact, I am convinced of quite the opposite, for she was terribly kind to me; she all but offered to defend me with her life, sire, even in the midst of her own life-threatening trials, which Iโm sorry to say is a generosity no other person has bestowed upon me, and I cannot now in good conscience abandon her, not when I fear she might be in great danger, and if thereโs any chance of finding her, Iโd love to be able to assistโโ
โYour inconstancy is maddening,โ Kamran cried, no longer able to control his anger. โFirst you out her to the papers, then you demand to save her? Have I not made it clear that she is a traitor to this empire?โ
โForgive me, sire, I donโt mean to be maddeningโMother is always telling me how maddening I am, and I see now that there might be some merit to her claims, but I confess Iโm also confused by your anger, for Iโd hopedโ You see, I heard the way you called after her last night, and Iโd thought maybe you, too, would worry about what that terrible man might do to herโโ
โYou trouble yourself for no reason.โ Kamran was furious, and he fixed the young woman with an unrelenting stare. โI am not concerned about her well-being. In fact, your confessions this morning have only cemented my certainty that she should be hanged, drawn, and quartered. That she was wise enough to prey upon your emotions is proof only of a tactical manipulation, and certainly not evidence of a generous heart. You have been exploited, Miss Huda. Accept this fact. She is not your friend.โ
This last line seemed to strike Miss Huda with a powerful force, for she took a step back, trembling a little as she looked away. She met the princeโs eyes only briefly before averting her gaze again, her own eyes glinting with emotion.
โQuite right,โ she whispered. โYes, I hear it nowโI hear how it sounds when I say it aloud. What reason would she have to show me kindness if not to mock and abuse me? It would certainly align more closely with all my other experiences. I am hard-pressed, you knowโโshe looked up, attempted a laughโโto find friends among my peers. I was perhaps too eager to believe she meant the kind things sheโd said to me. Forgive me, sire, I am terribly stupid.โ
Kamran did not know what to do with this watery display. He felt frozen in the face of it, uncertain what to do with his hands, where to rest his eyes. He thought perhaps he should deny the unkindness sheโd leveled against herselfโbut he, too, thought Miss Huda was terribly stupid.
โThank you for the carpet bag,โ he said quietly. โYou may go.โ
โYes.โ She took a sharp breath, struggling to pull herself together. Then she unlatched the carpet bag on the ground between them, withdrew an armful of wrinkled green fabric from its depths, and bundled it in her arms. โThank you, sire, for yourโโ
A small insect shot up from the inside of the open luggage with a speed that startled them both. Miss Huda gasped and swatted at her face, but the pest launched itself across the room, knocking itself against tables and lamps as if it might be drunk. Its tiny body ping-ponged off nearly every surface before it suddenly bopped Kamran in the forehead, triggering a flash of memory from the night before.
Hazan.
The insect was disoriented. It was trying to escape, now throwing its hard body against the closed door over and over in a failed attempt to find the keyhole. Cautiously, Kamran moved closer to the exit, and in a swift motion, trapped the tired insect under his hand. He felt the bug struggle against his skin, and carefully scooped it into his palm, where it pelted the inside of his hand with the frenetic motions of a small firework.
โWhat on earth?โ Miss Huda wondered aloud. โHow strangeโIโve been trying to catch that little thing all morning.โ
Kamran turned to her with a frown. โThis bee came from your house?โ โI found it buzzing around my room when I returned home from the
ball.โ She wiped at her damp eyes. โI tried to catch it several times, but it was too fast. And itโs not a bee, sire, itโs a firefly. I saw its little bottom glowing in the dark. I can only imagine it snuck into the carpet bag when I opened it.โ
โA firefly?โ Kamran frowned, then froze, the gears in his mind spinning wildly. Why did this revelation seem so significant? Why did it sound so familiar?
โSire?โ said Miss Huda, her brows furrowed in dismay. โAre you quite all right?โ
But Kamran did not hear her.
โThat lyingย bastard,โ he said softly.