It made Alizeh wonder whether he carried magical protections on his own garments, too.
“You’ve undone it, just like that?” Alizeh said, staring at him as he approached. His was a disconcertingly fickle character.
“Yes,” he said. Up close, his eyes were a truly shocking shade of blue, all the more so under the refracted light of so many chandeliers. “In exchange, I ask for your word that you will not run away, no matter what happens.”
“My word?” she said, surprised. “But why are you so worried I might try to run away?”
“Because this night will be difficult. I was sent here to collect you, which is my primary goal, but while I’m here I intend to complete certain tasks, in return for which I will be absolved of some rather large debts.” A pause. “Do you frighten easily?”
Alizeh bristled at this. “You insult me even by asking the question.”
“Good. Then I ask for your word.”
“You will not have it.”
His eyes narrowed. “I beg your pardon?”
“I will only grant such a request if you first swear you won’t harm her.”
“Who? The loud girl?”
“Swear you won’t hurt her, or use magic on her—”
“Oh, come now, you ask for too much.”
“You want my word I will not run away?” Alizeh said. “Well, I need to be able to trust you. Give me your word that you will not harm her. That is my condition.”
“Very well,” he said bitterly. “But I must warn you—if you go back on your promise, there will be repercussions.”
“What kinds of repercussions?”
“I will not be nice to you.”
Alizeh laughed. “Do you mean to imply that you are being nice to me now?”
“I will come find you at half past the hour,” he said, scowling. “I must escort you to our transport before midnight, else our ride will fall asleep, and getting things running again will cost us a great deal of time.”
“Our ride will fall asleep? Don’t you mean the driver?”
He ignored this. “Do fetch the girl, and quickly, for I fear she will be difficult to corral.”
Alizeh frowned. “And what will you be doing?”
“As I mentioned, I’ve a bit of business to settle. It shouldn’t take long.”
“A bit of business?” Alizeh felt a flutter of nerves at that. “With Hazan, you mean?”
The stranger blinked. “Hazan?”
“Yes—I have a great many questions for him. Where is he now, do you know? Will he make it to the ball?”
The stranger’s eyes widened, then narrowed, not unlike the focus on a telescope. “I don’t know.”
“Oh.” Alizeh bit her lip. “Well, will y—”
“For now, just fix upon finding that girl. If you need help getting anywhere, your shoes will deliver you where you need to go.”
“If that’s true, why must you be the one to take me to my transport?”
“Because it’s my transport,” he said in a flash of anger, “and you’re only meant to borrow it.”
She recoiled at that, at the venom in his voice.
“And I’ll have you know,” he said, “that while you’re so busy wondering whether I’m reliable, I’m wondering the same about you. I can assure you, Your Highness, that I do not want to be here, either. I am forced into your company only by the order of a merciless master, and I’m not at all pleased about it.”
Alizeh opened her mouth to protest but the stranger turned abruptly away—and left.
She watched him push through the crowd, disappearing into a sea of bodies with ease. How he moved so quickly among so many was both surprising and confusing, though not nearly as much as his last words.
He was forced into her company by a merciless master? That didn’t sound like Hazan, but then, what did she really know of him? Of anyone?
Alizeh stared at the broad back of the stranger as he retreated, at the simple lines of his black ensemble, the peculiar hat he carried in one hand.
She could not take the measure of him, and it worried her. How could she reliably place her life in the hands of someone she could not trust?
With a sigh, Alizeh turned to go, stopping only when she saw her blue-eyed companion intercepted by Hazan himself, the back of his dusty-blond head a stark contrast to the rich amber of the stranger’s copper.
Alizeh nearly cried for relief.
So they did know each other; they had indeed planned her escape together. A crashing wave of calm overcame her nerves, soothing her many worries. The stranger’s methods were unorthodox, yes, but she’d been wrong; he was not untrustworthy. He had undone his hex on Miss Huda, he’d given his word he’d not hurt the young woman, and now she had proof that he’d not lied to her. All this time Alizeh had trusted the nosta to guide her, but there was great comfort to be derived from the kind of proof only her own eyes might provide.