A breeze brushed up Loulie’s arms and made her shiver. She felt, very acutely, as if they were being watched. Qadir seemed to sense this as well. He reached into the bag of infinite space and pulled out the collar Omar had surrendered. The moment he held it in his hands, it flashed a muted silver and the feeling vanished. Loulie did not realize she had been holding her breath until she released it through cold lips.
“It is a good thing you found a way to steal this back. Doubtless, the ifrit would have possessed someone else if given the opportunity. With us, the relic can do no harm.”
“What did you do?”
“I bound its magic.”
“And you couldn’t have done this earlier, before…” Before Ahmed was forced to kill his comrades? She would never forget the agony in his eyes.
“No, even if I had been able to seal it, the relic needs to stay close to me. You saw how powerful the ifrit was. It will take great concentration to keep her contained.” Qadir patted the bag of infinite space. “From now on, this stays with me.”
Loulie stiffened. The bag was a lifeline to her business, and if Qadir had lied to her before, then maybe he had lied to her about other things. She’d opened her heart too much this day. “No,” she said sharply. “Find another way to carry the collar. I’m keeping the bag.”
She frowned at Qadir until he relented, pushing the bag back to her. “If you insist.”
“Forgive me for not trusting you after suffering your lies.”
Qadir’s expression fell. “Loulie, I’m—”
“Yes, I know. You’re sorry.” She hefted the bag over her shoulder. “I am returning to the wali’s manor. I told him I would be back, and…” She sighed. “I need some space to think, Qadir.”
She walked away without waiting for his response.
33
MAZEN
Mazen was listening for his shadow’s heartbeat when Aisha burst into his room like a storm cloud. He flinched back at the glare on her face. Though he’d mentally steeled himself for her rage, he was not prepared for the shame that suddenly overwhelmed him.
Yesterday, he’d been too mortified to admit to her that he’d forgotten the relic in Ahmed’s diwan. And after the battle, he’d been so alarmed by the sight of the black blood oozing from his skin that he’d fled to treat his wound in private. The doctors hadn’t batted a lash when he’d stolen some of their bandages—they’d been too busy dealing with potentially fatal injuries.
He’d managed to avoid Aisha last night, but he couldn’t ignore her penetrating gaze now.
“You gave away a priceless relic yesterday,” she snapped.
“It was never ours.”
“You found it—”
“And I gave it away to the merchant. I would rather not be possessed by a vengeful jinn, shukran.”
“You’re a coward.”
The accusation startled him. It hardly mattered that it was the truth. “You weren’t there when the wali was first possessed. Not even a sliver of his consciousness remained. You would risk that danger?”
“Yes.” Her response was so immediate and sure it shocked him into silence. “I am one of the forty thieves. It’s my job to collect relics for my king.”
King. Mazen hated that title. It gave his brother an authority he did not deserve. He glanced at his shadow and thought of the dream that had plagued him since the shadow jinn’s demise, the one he now recognized as her memory. His brother had killed her—ruthlessly. And the part of her that remained had somehow attached itself to his shadow. Had somehow changed it into a relic.
After witnessing the shadow jinn’s memory and hearing the Queen of Dunes’ words, he had no doubts. He didn’t know how jinn magic worked beyond the miracle of their blood, but this at least explained his new power. He’d briefly contemplated telling Aisha about the shadow, but now he reconsidered.
If she knew it existed, she would try to steal it. Never mind the impossibility of the act. If anyone could find a way to steal a shadow, it was Aisha bint Louas.
He looked at her now, trying to gauge her awareness. “Do you know what they are? The relics you’re collecting for my brother?”
“Speak plainly, Prince.”
Haltingly, he told her about what he’d realized in the diwan. Aisha was completely unfazed by his explanation, which meant she thought he was lying, or…
“So you know,” he said softly.
“Of course I know.” She rolled her shoulders in a shrug. “Our king is the most accomplished hunter in the desert. Do you know how many relics he’s stolen off corpses? He surmised there were souls in them long ago.”