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The Rajput grunted in fury and flourished his weapon.
“Step aside,” Tariq demanded in a harsh voice.
Instead, the Rajput eased low into a fighting stance.
“Stop it!” Shahrzad’s chest rose and fell in a panic.
Another clap of thunder shook the walls of the palace.
“This is your last chance.” Tariq’s silver eyes shone in the darkness.
The Rajput laughed with mirthless humor. He raised his sword across his body and stepped toward Tariq.
“Vikram!” Shahrzad pleaded. “Don’t do this!”
The Rajput ignored her and leveled the talwar at Tariq, preparing to attack.
Tariq loosed the arrow without hesitation. It struck the Rajput in the center of the chest.
“Tariq!” Shahrzad screamed. “Please!”
The Rajput lurched around, his features twisted in disbelief.
Then Tariq brought the wood of his bow down hard across the back of the Rajput’s head, and he collapsed to the floor.
Shahrzad stifled a sob.
Tariq regarded her with grim wariness. “Shahrzad—”
“How could you?” It was a choked whisper.
His eyebrows flattened. “He would have killed me.”
He was right. But she did not know what to say to her past for destroying all hope of a future.
“Shazi?” Rahim’s tone was quiet, his head tilted askew.
“What are you doing here?” Shahrzad’s eyes were fixed on her first love.
“I came to take you home,” Tariq said.
“You didn’t need to come. I—”
His gaze hardened. “I’m not leaving without you.”
A flash of lightning struck close by, and a dark fissure erupted on the ceiling, exacerbated by the ensuing thunder.
“This entire palace is about to fall down around our heads,” Rahim a
“Baba?” Shahrzad’s forehead creased. “Why is my father here?”
Rahim rubbed his palm across the back of his neck. “It’s a long story.”
A barrage of footsteps echoed in the corridor outside her chamber, and Tariq snatched another arrow from his quiver before taking position between her and the doors. He stood at the ready until the sounds faded away.
“Let’s go,” Rahim directed.
Shahrzad took a deep breath. “Tariq—”
“I’m not leaving without you!” He spun around and pulled her against him. “This is not your fight! It never should have been your fight!”
At the next roar of thunder, a piece of the ceiling crashed to the floor. It nearly struck Rahim.
“We’re leaving.” Tariq held her tight. “Now.”
She nodded. Once they were safe beyond the palace walls, she would gather the courage to tell him why she couldn’t leave.
Why she didn’t want to leave.
He clasped her hand in his and began striding to the doors.
“Wait!” Shahrzad pulled free and ran to her wardrobe to remove her cloak and Musa-effendi’s rug, for she did not want it to succumb to a fire. She threw the cloak around her shoulders and whirled back toward the stool beside her bed to retrieve Khalid’s note and her dagger.
At the sight of the now lifeless, pale purple rose, a sudden flicker of remembrance washed across her vision . . . of another rose from her not-so-distant past, coaxed to its tragic demise. Of a well-intentioned gift, falling to pieces, wilting across a marbled floor.
The storm hissed and crackled behind her.
It’s not possible. Baba . . . couldn’t.
She squeezed her eyelids shut for a moment. Then she placed the note and the dagger in the folds of her cloak and hurried toward the doors.
As Tariq took hold of a handle, Shahrzad placed her hand on his forearm. “How were you pla
“Carefully.”
She exhaled in a huff. Elbowing him aside, she peered through a crack in the door.
“Stay quiet and follow me.” She stepped into the darkened hallway.
With her head down, Shahrzad made her way through the corridors of the palace, hoping no one would notice her new bodyguards.
Hoping they did not cross paths with Jalal.
They traversed another series of hallways before turning abruptly down a smaller corridor with an arched ceiling of distinct white marble.
Her heart sank.
Standing before the doors to Khalid’s chamber was a lone guard. He straightened as she approached, but his eyes traveled to her alleged bodyguards and narrowed noticeably.
“My lady,” he began with a bow. “How can I help you?”
She smiled warmly at him. “I just wanted to return this parcel to the caliph’s chamber.” She held up the bundle containing the magic carpet.
“I’d be pleased to assist you. If you would leave the parcel with me—”
Shahrzad shook her head. “I’d rather replace it myself.”
“Of course.” He nodded, stepping aside.
When Tariq and Rahim moved to accompany her, he held up his hand.
“I’m sorry, my lady, but I ca
“You can if I say so.” Her smile turned sharp.
“Again, I’m sorry, my lady, but only you and Captain al-Khoury are allowed in the caliph’s chamber in his absence.”
“I believe tonight is a night for exceptions.” Shahrzad grasped a bronze handle.
“My lady!” He reached for her arm.
She glared up at him. “Are you going to stop me, then? Because you’ll have to use force. I believe you know what happened to the last soldier who touched me against my will. But, by all means, you are welcome to try. I’m certain my husband will be thrilled to learn of this encounter. What was your name again?”
The guard paled. “My lady Shahrzad!”
“That is not your name,” she scoffed. “Now, if you value life and limb, you will let us pass.”
With a clamoring heart, she took hold of the handle once more and pulled the door open.
Her pulse continued thrashing about as Tariq and Rahim entered Khalid’s antechamber. They proceeded without pause through the entrance to his room. It was not until the doors thudded shut behind them that she finally permitted herself to take an unencumbered breath.
Rahim’s laugh was as dry as sand. “You are quite the calipha.” He leaned a lanky arm against an alabaster wall.
She ignored him and walked toward the black chest.
“I must say, the murdering madman has an impressive chamber.” Rahim’s dark blue eyes drifted across the onyx and marble. “For a soulless monster.”
Shahrzad bit back her retort with effort. She could feel Tariq watching her.
“Help me move this chest aside.” She placed her palms against the dark wood.
“Why?” Tariq countered.
“I don’t have time to explain!” She pursed her lips. “Do you want the guard to summon Jalal?”
Tariq’s eyes flashed, but he directed her back before shoving the chest aside with a grunt.
The hidden door Khalid had mentioned less than two weeks ago was visible now. Shahrzad grasped the brass ring and turned it three times to the right, two times to the left, and three more times to the right before using all her weight to push it open.
“My God,” Rahim said. “How did you know about this?”
“Khalid told me.” She tried to dismiss the strange look he gave her. “It’s dark, so tread with care.” Concealing her trepidation, she moved down the stairs leading to the passageway.
The trio hugged the walls of earth and stone as they scurried like vermin under the ground. At the end of the tu
They emerged in a shadowed corner of the palace stables.
And a boom of thunder rattled through the earth at their feet. The horses whi
“Pick one,” Shahrzad stated.
Rahim whistled. “Really? Because I’m told the madman has a black al-Khamsa from the first of the five. That horse is a prize in and of itself.”