Kamran watched, stunned, as the fly darted straight toward the door and through the keyhole, disappearing into the world beyond.
Had the insect obeyed a command? Or had Kamran lost his mind? He spared his minister a single, strange glance before he quit the room, pulling open the door with forced calm and striding down the hall with unusual speed, his skin prickling with unease.
Where had the blasted creature gone?
“Your Highness—” Hazan called, catching up, then keeping pace. “Your Highness, forgive me— I only worried the child might prove a distraction on such an important evening— I spoke thoughtlessly. I meant no disrespect.”
Kamran ignored this as he barreled down the marble staircase, his boots connecting over and over with stone, the sharp sounds filling the silence between them.
“Your Highness—”
“Leave me, Hazan.” Kamran made it to the main floor and kept moving, marching toward the great room with unconcealed determination. “I find your shadow cumbersome.”
“I cannot leave you now, sire, not with such a threat looming—”
Kamran came to an abrupt, disorienting halt.
Omid.
The Fesht boy was not in the receiving room where he was meant to be. Omid was instead pacing the main hall when they approached and did not wait for permission before he rushed toward the prince, darting out of reach of the footmen who sought to restrain him.
“Sire,” the boy said breathlessly, before speaking in rapid-fire Feshtoon. “You’ve got to help, sire— I’ve been telling everyone but no one believes me— I went to the magistrates and they called me a liar and of course I tried to inform the king, but n—
Kamran jerked suddenly back.
Omid had made the mistake of touching the prince, reaching out a trembling hand in a thoughtless, desperate motion.
“Guards,” Hazan called. “Restrain this child.”
“No—” Omid spun around as guards came rushing from all sides, easily pinning the child’s arms behind his back. Omid’s eyes were wild with panic. “No— Please, sire, you’ve got to come now, we’ve got to do someth—”
Omid cried out as they twisted his limbs, resisting even as they dragged him away. “Get off me,” he shouted, “I need to speak with the prince— I have to— Please, I beg you, it’s important—”
“You dare lay your hands on the crown prince of Ardunia?” Hazan rounded on him. “You will hang for this.”
“I didn’t mean no harm,” the boy cried, thrashing against the guards. “Please, I just—”
“That’s quite enough,” the prince said quietly.
“But, Your Highness—”
“I said, enough.”
The room went suddenly, frighteningly still. The guards froze where they were; Omid went limp in their grip. All the palace seemed to stop breathing.
In the silence, Kamran studied the Fesht boy, his tear-streaked face, his shaking limbs.
“Release him,” he said.
The guards dropped the child unceremoniously to the floor, where Omid fell hard on his knees and curled inward, his chest heaving as he struggled for breath. When the child finally looked up again, his eyes had filled with tears. “Please, sire,” he said. “I didn’t mean no harm.”
Kamran was eerily calm when he said, “Tell me what has happened.”
A single tear tracked down the boy’s cheek. “It’s the Diviners,” he said. “They’re all dead.”
Thirty-Four
ALIZEH STARED BLANKLY AT THE young woman.
“I really can’t believe it,” Miss Huda was saying, her eyes wide with astonishment. “It’s you. How on earth?”
“Forgive me, but I don’t understa—”
“This,” Miss Huda said, rushing toward a chest of drawers. She tugged open one of the compartments and rifled through her things, and not a beat later held aloft a cream-colored envelope. “This. This.”
Alizeh stared. “A letter?”
“I received it earlier today. Go on.” She pressed it into Alizeh’s hands. “Read it.”
Unbidden, Alizeh’s heart began its familiar pounding, nerves crawling slowly across her skin. With great trepidation she tugged free the note from its sleeve, unfolded the paper, and went still at the sight of the familiar script. It was written with the same firm hand as the note she’d received earlier today; the one currently tucked into her pocket.
You will meet today with a young woman with silver eyes. Kindly deliver the enclosed package into her hands.