First published 2020
This edition published 2020
First edition
Copyright © 2020 by Elm Vince & Helena Rookwood
www.elmvince.com
www.helenarookwood.com
The moral right of the authors has been asserted.
ISBN: 979-8640387957
All characters and events are fictional. Any resemblance to real persons or events is purely coincidental.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the authors, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
ELM VINCE & HELENA ROOKWOOD
Princess of Smoke
Desert Nights Book 3
Elm Vince
Helena Rookwood
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Thanks for reading
Also by Elm & Helena
About the authors
Chapter One
“That mango-minded, sand-for-brains, snake-tongued–”
“Zadie–”
“–can’t tell a priceless work from a djinni’s–”
“Zadie!”
I spun around, hugging my book to my chest, one foot tapping the dusty ground.
The sultan’s eyebrows shot up as he took in my scrunched-up, furious face. His eyes crinkled with amusement. “I take it the head scholar won’t be sitting in a place of honor at our wedding then?”
My scowl deepened as I clutched my dictionary of An Nimivah tighter, shooting a seething glance at the tiny figure watching us retreat from the Order of the Scholars. “He’ll be lucky if he’s invited at all,” I said in a deliberately loud voice.
The door to the tower swung shut with a pointed slam.
So what if I hadn’t been able to explain how I could be sure the book in my arms was an accurate translation of a long-lost language? The head scholar should have been delighted with the rare work I had offered to his order. There wasn’t another dictionary like this in all of the twelve kingdoms. The carefully penned book I held in my arms – which I’d slaved over on our trip to Hidu, as well as in the days since we’d returned – was invaluable. I knew it, even if the scholars apparently didn’t.
The sultan closed the space between us, gently putting his hands on my shoulders. “How about we find a home for it in the palace library?”
“Oh yes. The palace library.” My mouth settled into a mulish pout. “You know, you still haven’t given me the full tour yet?”
“An error I promise I’ll rectify just as soon as we get back to the palace.” Kassim’s hands slid lower down my arms, and he gave them a squeeze.
“Ow!” I yelped, flinching.
A smirk settled over the sultan’s face. “Feeling a little sore, princess?”
I glared at him. Returning to my training sessions with Elian had been hard after such a long time away on our voyage to Hidu. But I wasn’t about to tell Kassim that. “I’m fine. Hasn’t anyone ever taught you to be gentle?”
“I’m sure I could find time to learn...” He reached out for me again, more gently this time, tracing his fingers in slow, light strokes over my skin.
Tingles ran up and down my arms, a heat building in my core. I shivered, my irritation dissolving.
Kassim’s taunting smile widened. “Who knew this was all I had to do to get you to be quiet.”
Batting the sultan away with the dictionary and giving him my haughtiest look, I did my best to ignore the low rumble of laughter in his chest. “Unfortunately for you, you’ll have to cope without my excellent conversation for the rest of the day. I’ve got business in the city, remember?”
“Are you sure? We could go for a swim.” Kassim’s teasing expression turned serious. “If you’re struggling to adjust to your training schedule again, that would help, you know. The captain won’t cut you any slack just because you’ve been away for a few weeks.”
I bit my lip. It was tempting to spend the rest of the morning in the pools with Kassim, but one of the thieves had approached us when we’d left the city to visit the Order of the Scholars. Aliyah had requested I stop in to see her as soon as possible today. The thief had said it was urgent.
Since Hidu, we’d both been trying to find out everything we could about the vizier, to figure out what exactly her motives were. It could be important…
Catching the determined look on my face, Kassim shrugged. “Come find me after you’ve finished whatever business the so-called thief queen has with you today.”
In spite of my lingering outrage over the head scholar’s rejection of my work, a smile spread across my face. It wasn’t so long ago that Kassim had refused to let me out of the palace grounds or go anywhere at all without first concealing me within a palanquin. It still gave me a thrill to have my freedom back. That the sultan trusted me enough to let me visit the shadier parts of the city, where the Queen of Thieves and her accomplices ruled in their own way.
Even if he didn’t know we were investigating his Royal Vizier.
I thrust my book at one of the guards. “Make sure the sultan keeps his promise and takes this straight to the palace library, okay?”
The guard’s cheeks turned pink, his mouth opening and closing as he battled over whether to ignore his princess or direct his sultan.
Shooting a smile at Kassim, I mounted Bandit and prepared to ride back into the city. “I’ll let you know what Aliyah wants. I’ll be back for tea with Safiyya and Diyan this afternoon.”
A slight frown crossed the sultan’s face. “Make sure you are. Safiyya’s arranged for last year’s palace storyteller to perform for us. It’s important to her.”
“I will be!” I insisted.
He rolled his eyes at me. “See you at home, then.”
Home. It was amazing how quickly I’d come to think of the palace in that way.
Accompanied by two guards, I rode on through the streets, doing my best not to get too distracted by the lure of the festivities on my way to the thieves’ den.
The week-long celebration in the run up to All Spirits Day told stories of the spirits, culminating in a competition to become the palace’s new storyteller-in-residence. As I passed performers walking over hot coals, juggling flaming batons, or encouraging children to fling handfuls of colorful powder at one another, which billowed out like clouds of smoke, it was easy to believe the spirits’ realm of smoke and fire had started seeping into the streets of Kisrabah.
On almost every corner I heard snatches of stories about djinn, ifrits, and ghuls that made my heart leap into my mouth. I was wildly excited for the festival. For the stories illuminating the city streets before All Spirits Day. Our wedding day.
Reluctantly, I stopped Bandit outside the thieves’ den, shooting one last lingering look back
at the stalls brimming over with food and fire. Maybe there’d be time to look around after I’d finished with Aliyah.
“You can wait down the street,” I told my guards as I dismounted and handed them Bandit’s reins. Now that the thief queen was cooperating with the palace, she didn’t mind me being escorted here, but I knew she’d still balk at the thought of the Golds loitering outside her home.
The guards nodded and retreated a short distance down the street, leaving me to slip inside alone. I immediately halted at the overpowering smell of alcohol.
“Hey, scholar!” Faris shouted from one of the tables. He lifted a cup and gave a loud hiccup. “Long see, no time.” He frowned, as though he knew something about what he’d just said was wrong, then shrugged and downed the rest of his drink to a chorus of slurred cheers from the rest of the thieves gathered in the room.
“Zeeeeeee!” Gadiel whooped in a high-pitched voice from another table, his thick ponytail swinging. “Come an’ have a glash of thish.” He giggled. “I mean, we’re shupposed to be celebrating the shpirits, right?”
The rest of the thieves started giggling, too.
“Actually, I’m here to see Aliyah…” And, spirits, we’re barely even into the afternoon. I looked around for any sign of the thief queen, hoping she wasn’t as inebriated as the rest of her thieves.
Lisha materialized at my side, making me jump, and greeted me with a jerk of her chin. At least she didn’t seem to have started on the festival wine just yet. “Ali’s upstairs, on the roof terrace. C’mon.” She strode across the room, and I hurried after her, nearly falling over one of the thieves who’d already passed out on the floor.
I wrinkled my nose as my slipper snagged on a sticky patch of spilled drink. “Looks like you’re all getting into the festival spirit. What’s Aliyah got to tell me that’s so important it couldn’t wait?”
At my demanding tone, Lisha gave me a considering look. “You’ll have to wait to speak to Aliyah, princess.”
I stopped mid-step, dread splintering down my spine. Aliyah told her who I am? I supposed I shouldn’t be that surprised she’d told her second-in-command, but still...
“Oh, you can wipe that worried look off your face.” Lisha gave me a smile, showing all her teeth. “The others don’t know. Anyway, Aliyah’s made it clear you’re still one of us. It’d be more than my life’s worth to tell the others.”
My shoulders sagged. “I hope you understand why I had to hide it…”
“We all have secrets, I s’pose.” She ran her tongue along her teeth, then resumed walking. “Aliyah told me about your trip to Hidu.”
Uh oh. “I had no idea Namir had ordered her capture,” I protested quickly. “I was as shocked as anyone to find her on the voyage.”
“She told me you convinced the spymaster to free her from her cell on the ship and that you fought alongside her in battle.”
Lisha stopped at the foot of some pale wooden stairs jutting out from the wall, sunlight streaming in from the door at the top. “To be honest, with the dendan, wild rocs, and the fire Guardian, it all sounds like one of the tall tales from the festival. But I believe Aliyah. And I believe in Aliyah. If she trusts you, I guess I’ll have to as well.”
“You can trust me.”
Lisha grunted. “She’s up there.”
It was hardly a hand of friendship, but I’d take Lisha’s begrudging respect over her aggressive hatred any day. Especially considering she was a skilled assassin. I squeezed past her, and slowly ascended the rickety staircase.
At the top of the stairs, I narrowed my eyes against the bright sunshine on the terrace, the heat shimmering over the hot stone. Aliyah was talking to another of the thieves, the two of them sitting on a low couch at a table overlooking the city streets, their backs to me. They looked strangely at odds with each other. Where Aliyah was tall and long-limbed, like me, the other was smaller and slighter, her posture somehow more feminine. In contrast to Aliyah’s shaved, tattooed head, the other thief had shoulder-length, black hair that gleamed.
The scent of jasmine tea drifted across the rooftop, and I breathed in deeply.
“What kind of thief leaves her back exposed like that?” I called out, grinning.
Aliyah didn’t turn around, just slowly reached to the table for her cup. But the thief beside her startled at the sound of my voice and swiveled in her chair, her dark eyes finding my face and widening in shock.
The world fell out from under me.
My hands started to shake as I stared at my sister, who stared right back.
Chapter Two
Lalana…
What was she doing here? How was it even possible she was here? With Aliyah?
She reached for her black hair, combing it forward in a painfully familiar gesture, although last time I had seen her, it had fallen to her waist. Her pretty face creased with worry, bottom lip trembling.
I swallowed, hard, and took an unsteady step forward.
At my movement, Lalana leapt to her feet, tears spilling as she hurried to my side. She embraced me, her familiar scent of jasmine and honey causing tears to spring to my own eyes. I sniffed loudly and hugged her fiercely.
“Zadie,” she whispered in her sweet, sing-song voice. “I thought I’d never see you again…”
I buried my face in her soft hair, unwilling to let go. Last time I’d held her like this, it had been the night she fled the palace in Satra, leaving behind our home, the promise of a marriage to Kassim, and me. Our parents had told Kassim she was dead. She’d left us for a life she knew she could never return from, all for the merchant she loved – Ambar.
I frowned. When I last heard from Ambar, when he’d replied to my letter, he’d assured me they were both well. So what was Lalana doing back here? And alone?
I stepped back, still clutching her shoulders tightly. “What happened, Lana? Where’s Ambar?”
Her face clouded.
From behind her, Aliyah cleared her throat. “Why don’t the two of you sit. I need to go and check those reprobates haven’t drunk the entire shipment of wine we’re supposed to be storing for the festival.” Silent as a shadow, the thief queen disappeared back inside the building.
Still numb with shock, I allowed Lalana to guide me over to the couch and pour two steaming cups of jasmine tea. I couldn’t tear my eyes from her face. She was still beautiful as a desert sunset, with her sweep of dark hair and glowing, golden skin, but there was something harder about her face than when I’d last seen her. She was thinner, her cheekbones sharper, dark circles beneath her eyes.
“Lalana,” I whispered, “what happened? Why… How are you here?”
I fumbled for her hands, clutching them in mine.
My sister’s wide, honey-brown eyes turned away from me to look across the smoking, colorful cityscape before us, one of her hands reaching for a silver amulet hanging from her neck.
Slowly, I registered the things I hadn’t noticed at first. Lalana glittered with more amulets, talismans, and enchanted brooches than I had ever seen, even on our mother. Beneath those, her clothes were plain and practical, designed for traveling.
And the grief written across her face…
“Lana… Why isn’t Ambar with you?”
There was a long, heavy silence. Then tears poured from Lalana’s eyes as she whispered, “Ambar’s dead, Zadie.”
I flinched at the hollowness in my sister’s voice, so quiet I almost couldn’t make out the words.
“How…” My questions stuck in my throat. What should I ask? How could I comfort her? I gripped her hand tightly, but it felt limp in mine.
“Phoenites,” she continued in the same clipped, toneless voice, tears still flowing. “Yadina is close to the Ossur Mountains. The Phoenites have often raided the hill towns but this time… It was more like an army. When they took over the town, we fought back.” A tremor came into her voice. “Ambar didn’t make it.”
A thousand and one more questions spilled into my mind…most of all,
how had Lalana made it out alone? But I swallowed them all. “Lalana, I’m so sorry. I don’t know what to say.”
I shifted closer, ignoring how hot and sticky it was to sit side by side, our skin damp under the searing afternoon sun, and clamped one arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer to me. She rested her head on my shoulder, her dark hair hot from the sunshine.
“I didn’t think it would end like this.” She cast her eyes to her lap, biting down on her lip. “I thought… I wanted…”
I hugged her closer, my stomach clenching, as she dashed the tears from her cheeks.
“Enough,” she said sternly to herself.
Reaching a trembling hand to a steaming cup of tea, she took a long sip, then exhaled slowly as she placed it on the table. “I got hold of Aliyah through the contacts who’d delivered our letters. They helped me get here.”
I struggled to know what to say. What must it have been like, for her to lose Ambar, and somehow figure out how to travel here on her own...
Lalana took another deep breath, stiffening beneath my arm. “Now, tell me about you, Zadie. Tell me about your life in Kisrabah, about the horrible betrothal I forced you into.” She gave a humorless laugh. “Which was all for nothing in the end…”
My heart beat faster. Once more, I found myself lost for words. How could I tell Lalana what happiness Kassim had brought me, how excited I was for our wedding, when she was still grieving for her husband? I hadn’t wanted to marry Kassim when she’d left.
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