“There’s twice as many guards during the day,” Ryo replied, smacking him on the shoulder. “Not to mention the sun. They’d never fall for that.”
Twice as many guards. The wheels turned in my head as they argued and Naveed signed, all vying for a different scheme.
“I was thinking ‘Pick Your Poison,’” I interrupted.
Ryo scratched the stubble on his chin and mumbled, “That could work.”
Naveed nodded, and no one argued, which was enough for me. “Let’s get to work.”
Chapter 45
Arie
I WAS EXPECTED TO walk down the aisle on my own. I stood at the back of the Great Hall, built to hold a thousand and tall enough to stack the stables on itself three times before reaching the ceiling. King Amir smirked at the opposite end of the long white runner on the dais, next to the holy man in his ceremonial robes. The Mere-girl, Rena, stood next to the holy man, wearing an enormous amount of jewelry, grinning like an idiot. Other familiar faces sat in the audience. Lady Eiena from the northern kingdom of Ahdamon, King Zhubin of Keshdi, Tahran-Shah and Sirjan-Shah from my last courtship tour, and other royals from neighboring kingdoms, were all seated toward the front of the room, while the villagers of Hodafez were seated further back.
I hid my clenched fists in my skirts and struggled to keep my lips from pursing in disgust. I doubted I looked anything like a happy bride. Yet when the guests faced me, every single one of them glowed with happiness.
“Look how happy she is,” King Amir said.
“Look how happy she is,” Enoch intoned.
They beamed.
Only Rena seemed to sense that something was off, frowning from her place by the altar.
Digging in my heels, I refused to move. I stared down the aisle at Amir and wished my Gift could’ve been flames shooting from my eyes instead of this wretched mind-reading, which had grown increasingly out of control.
At this point, bits and pieces of every thought, along with all kinds of images, echoed in my mind, no matter if they were related to me or not. And no matter how important—or unimportant. The number of times I’d listened to someone wish for a restroom since the Summer’s Eve celebration had begun was ridiculous.
Weddings were a solemn and silent occasion—yet I felt as if I was standing in the midst of a raucous crowd, everyone jostling and yelling over each other.
Amir waved for the guards to walk me down the aisle. I dragged my feet, but let them, fighting the urge to curl up in a helpless ball. I imagined a jar to contain the thoughts like Gideon had taught me. But it felt as if thousands of them scurried around, vying for attention. Each time I put one in the jar, five more rose to take its place. There were too many to manage. The mental jar dissolved.
I concentrated my rage on Amir, which seemed to lower the volume of the rest of the room to a tolerable roar. Difficult to ignore, but manageable.
“Where is my father?” I called across the enormous room. Maybe not so controlled after all. My fury broke through the soft enchantment of the crowd, ruining the ambience, but though they murmured briefly, the response was contained. Muted.
“He’ll be here shortly," King Amir replied. “Come to the altar now, Princess Arie.” Though there was no sign he was telling the truth, I nodded. A small part of me protested even as my feet kept moving.
“She’s such a happy bride.” His melodic, Gifted voice soothed those near the front. Faces smoothed over.
“She is such a happy bride,” Enoch repeated, and this time, the wave of assurance passed over the room so deeply that I felt it in my bones.
Everyone’s thoughts united as they repeated his words silently to themselves. Even though Enoch’s words weren’t directed at me, I still had to fight them.
As they listened, the vast number of thoughts around the room dropped to a trickle. I’d never expected to want them back, but I wished for their presence now, for someone to still have enough awareness to resist.
The faces I passed by were all blank. Empty. Void of self-control. Was resistance even possible? No doubt Amir expected me to become docile as well. I didn’t know what to do. If I struggled it would reveal my Gift. If I didn’t...
“Why does she seem unhappy?” Rena asked, unfazed. I could’ve kissed her. Finally, someone was speaking up!
“It’s customary to resist at a wedding.” Amir smiled at her. “If she did not, I would feel dishonored.”
A tiny wrinkle stayed on her forehead as she watched me. Words wouldn’t come. Concentrating, I willed her to be aware of the lies.
“Isn’t that right, Enoch?” Amir growled.
“Princess Arie’s struggles aren’t real,” Enoch intoned. “She will stop resisting now.”
And I did.
As they deposited me in front of Amir, I stopped thrashing, despite my best intentions. Seeing that I’d lost this first battle, I gave in to the Gift, allowing him to think it had removed my free will completely, willing my face into complacency. I still had one last resort.
Chapter 46
Kadin
MY MEN AND I slipped behind the guard house. When one guard left to take a leak, Naveed glided out after him and disappeared. A pair of guards stepped out next, off to take a shift somewhere. I took the lead this time, and Bosh followed.
“Excuse me, sir,” I spoke to the chattier guard, handing him a piece of rolled parchment. “It’s your mother. There was an accident. You’re needed at home as soon as possible.”
“What is it? What happened?” Under the helmet, his eyes were wide and panicked as he took the parchment, but didn’t unroll it.
“No time to explain, my friend,” I urged him. “Just go. Run!”
He took off down a side street and I made to follow, hoping he wouldn’t unroll the sheet and find it blank until a private alley. Behind me, I heard the other guard roar as Bosh did what he did best. “Stop, thief!”
A few minutes later, I returned to our hiding place behind the guard shack to find Bosh already there, tugging a helmet on. “I win.”
I grinned as I pushed back the sword strapped to my waist to sit. “Yes, you do.”
We waited for Naveed, Daichi, and Ryo to trickle back with their new armor as well. The two cousins returned last, bickering as usual.
“No time for that,” I reprimanded them. “Let’s go.”
We stepped out in pairs, making our way through the small town toward the castle where it rose ahead of us. Bosh and I entered the crowd making its way toward the castle courtyard without a problem. A bottleneck at the gate slowed everyone down, but ahead of us, inside the castle gates, the vast courtyard swarmed with people, eating and drinking as they celebrated Summer’s Eve.
Daichi and Ryo slipped into the crowd a few paces back, still muttering under their breath to each other, while Naveed took up the tail. Ryo dropped back to walk with him in a huff. They were slowing to a stop when I heard a guard call, “Where are you headed?”
I tensed, glancing behind me. Of all the people, he’d chosen to ask, he’d spoken to Naveed.
My friend pointed to the castle, but it wasn’t enough. “I asked you a question, boy!” When the guard’s hand clamped down on Naveed’s arm, I slowed, gritting my teeth.
Naveed subtly signed, Keep going.
Behind me Ryo tried to explain, “The lad lost his voice when that last illness was going around. Don’t pay him any mind.”
“I’m going to need you to come with me,” the guard’s strident voice carried. He wasn’t buying it.
I didn’t need to look back to know when they ran. The courtyard erupted in chaos as the guard yelled and took chase, calling others to follow.
Bosh and I ducked through the archway, entering the courtyard. Daichi appeared a second later, out of breath.
“Member of the Guard, coming through,” I called out, pushing forward, and the protests turned to glares.
We moved together through the mass of people. “Should one of us go back to help them?” Bosh asked.
; “They’ll be alright,” I kept an eye out for other guards. “They’re fast. And they’ll shed the armor as soon as they’re out of sight.” I’d worry until we met up with them again, but the others didn’t need to know that. “We should hurry.”
Down to three now, we set a brisk pace. The guards would be wary of any soldiers they didn’t recognize. “Let’s split up. Find the ceremony. Shouldn’t be too hard.”
“Then what?” Bosh glanced back to make sure none of the guards had spotted us.
I shrugged. “Stop the wedding.” I licked my lips, wishing I had a piece of grass or something to chew on. “Whatever it takes.”
We took off, separating until there were a good dozen paces between each of us. The crowds made our job easier. No one looked at a guard twice; they were too busy celebrating. I took the lead, weaving past cheerful dancers and drunks, and didn’t look back.
As soon as I stepped through the enormous castle doors, which were propped open, I found the foyer filled with people from the city. They milled about, chattering in hushed tones, waiting for the feast.
I cleared my throat and commanded the nearest man, “Direct me to the wedding ceremony.”
He blinked, startled, pointing across the room to tall, wooden doors. “In the Great Hall...”
I shoved through the crowd, hoping my men wouldn’t lose sight of me. On the other side, four guards stood at the Great Hall entrance. My uniform now had the opposite affect that I’d originally intended. They spied me coming long before I reached them. Stepping up to the two on the left side of the door, I placed my back to the wall, imitating their stiff stance, and didn’t say a word.
Though I received a sidelong glance, their focus was on Bosh who followed close behind me. I tilted my head toward the opposite side of the door. The kid took the hint, stepping into position beside the other two guards.
Daichi arrived next, and this time the guard beside me spoke. “We don’t need you here. Go guard the entrance.”
Daichi turned to go, but I clapped a hand on his shoulder and shrugged. “We were told to come here.”
“Well, I’m telling you to go,” the guard snapped, stepping out of line. “The ceremony is already started. Now do as you’re told or lose your post!”
Out of the corner of his eye, Daichi glanced at me and I nodded, yelling, “Now!”
He punched the guard in the gut. The clang of his fist hitting armor resounded. His face twisted and he groaned as the guard tackled him.
I spun to face the guard still by my side and threw my full weight into knocking him down. Wrestling on the floor, I pinned him, but he fought back, flipping me off and punching me across the face. I fell back into the crowd. They stared down at me gaping, unsure whose side to take when both fighters appeared to be the king’s men.
The guard who’d thrown me climbed to his feet. Behind him, my men fought bravely with the other three guards. I scrambled to my feet as well. We were outnumbered. Bosh crumpled to the ground, knocked out cold. Daichi roared and rushed his attackers, taking on two at once.
I ducked when a fist came at my face, turning back to the guard before me, narrowly missing the next punch. I swung wildly. The lack of aim had me hitting his shoulder, but it was enough to knock him off balance. One swift kick to the back of his legs and he fell. I used the weight of my armor and dropped on top of him. The breath whooshed from his lungs. Placing my hands around his neck, I cut off his air. Though he struggled, he couldn’t free himself. As I applied more pressure, he passed out.
I stood, only to find that Daichi was also on the ground and both remaining guards were headed right for me. My hand went to my pocket and I gripped Gideon’s talisman. He’d said to call. He’d said he needed an invitation. Well, maybe it was time to invite him.
I rubbed the rock as I jumped to the side to avoid being tackled.
“Finally,” Gideon said, as he materialized in front of me. He reached down to touch the shoulder of the guard at his feet. Both he and the man disappeared, then reappeared at the entrance. A second later, Gideon returned, alone, leaving the guard on the opposite side of the room yelling over the crowd between us. Gideon’s mouth tilted in the slightest smile as he turned toward the remaining guards and said over his shoulder, “I thought you’d never take the hint.”
Chapter 47
Arie
I FELT THE SLIGHT weight of the tiny dagger tucked into my intricate braids—the only place I could think to hide it where it was still within reach. It was barely longer than my finger, but it was razor sharp.
I hoped it would be enough. I’d yet to decide on the timing—whether now, in front of everyone when he least expected it, or later tonight when we’d be alone, but it’d be more of a risk. Either way almost guaranteed my death. A monarch couldn’t be killed lightly.
The guards held me at the altar like a butterfly pinned down, but over the din of everyone’s strangely idyllic and happy thoughts, I realized Amir was speaking aloud. Channeling my rage, I glared at him, and again, it gave me focus.
“You will be a happy bride today,” he murmured with a false smile. The power of his words flowed over the room like a soft gust of air. When Enoch repeated it, the strength of the words hit me like a wave. I smiled up at Amir. Why had I been upset? This was the happiest day of my life. Soft whispers from the minds across the room reached me, of how beautiful I looked, of how lovely the ceremony, the flowers, the sun shining in and blessing this glorious day. I reveled in each thought.
The guards let go and stepped to the side as the king took my hands, pulling me up the two small steps to stand beside him. His beard brushed against my cheek as he kissed it and his hot, moist breath touched my ear. In the midst of my excitement, my skin crawled. Some of the joy faded, leaving behind a strange sense of unease. Something wasn’t right.
When the king pulled back, he faced our guests. The rest of Hodafez celebrated in the courtyard, while others waited in the castle entrance, hoping to be invited to the wedding feast. They must’ve been terribly excited because the noise was growing, even as we began to complete the marriage rituals. My sense of wrongness grew.
Stepping under the arch where someone had woven white roses through the thin wooden slats from top to bottom, we followed the path of the white runner, completing the symbolic matrimonial journey together and returning to the stand in front of the holy man.
She will die tonight, Amir’s thought broke through the bizarre excitement. As I slowly came to myself, my instincts screamed to let go of his hands, but I forced a smile. I couldn’t let the violet-eyed Jinni know his Gift of Persuasion had begun to wear off already.
Amir ignored tradition and gestured to me as he spoke to the room, “Isn’t she a vision?” Everyone beamed and nodded like an ocean of idiots and I listened as he relished his hold over them. Under the influence of a full-blooded Jinni like Enoch, they were primed to obey his every word.
When he turned me to face the holy man, I let him, glancing over at Rena, who had the audacity to wink at me. My fury at my helplessness removed the last traces of the Persuasion, and I forced myself to do the hardest thing I’d ever done.
I pretended I wanted to be there.
Making my body relax and my eyes unfocus, I imitated everyone’s cheerfully vacant expressions, as if his words had touched me too. “And you are a handsome groom,” I crooned, swallowing back bile. “I’m so lucky to be marrying you.”
His eyes widened as his attention returned to me. “Yes,” he agreed and his smirk returned. “Yes, you are.”
He waved an impatient hand at the guards who hovered close by, and they stepped down from the platform, so that it was only myself and Amir, with the holy man before us, a useless Mere on one side, and a chilling Jinni on the other.
Taking my hands, Amir pulled me closer to him and I obeyed as if entranced. The only way I kept the attraction on my face was to imagine Kadin instead. His warm golden eyes. The soft fuzz of a dark beard just beginning on his jaw. The tiny
curls that formed around his ears where his hair had grown a bit too long.
The Jinni shifted behind the king, pulling me from my thoughts. His violet eyes held a touch of boredom.
I let my eyes unfocus even more, so that Amir was just a blur as I continued, squeezing those meaty hands. “I’ve always liked your eyes,” I said, picturing the gold flecks in Kadin’s eyes that I’d noticed from the beginning. “Your skin,” I continued, thinking of the dark golden color of the ordinary boy without a drop of royal blood, unlike Amir—although the King preened at the compliment as I knew he would. I envisioned Kadin’s dark, thick hair in place of Amir’s thin, gray fuzz. “Your hair. And your lips,” I added before I caught myself. That was too far. I was jolted back to the present as Amir pulled me uncomfortably close, flush against his body, his face inches from mine.
“My lips are incredible,” he said, falling for my lies as quickly as I’d fallen from my balcony into the ocean. With all eyes on us and completely under his spell, he savored the moment of his assumed victory. “Kiss me and find out.”
I ducked my head and tried to gather my wits about me. This was my opportunity. If I could stomach it.
Feeling numb, I lifted my face. I can do this. Preening peacock that he was, he simply closed his eyes and made me come to him.
I lifted a hand toward my hair. Hiding my revulsion, I pressed my lips against his and forced myself to hold there, against his cold, fleshy mouth, as I gripped the handle of the tiny blade. When he opened his mouth to kiss me back, I nearly lost the little bit of food I’d managed to eat that morning. I pulled the blade free from its sheath, careful not to slice myself.
The angle made it difficult, but I set it against his throat and stepped back immediately, pressing the blade against his skin so he could feel the prick. Amir tensed, as understanding and then anger crossed his face. “Unhand m—” he began, but I pressed harder and he cut off as blood trickled down his neck.
An Aladdin Retelling: The Stolen Kingdom Series, #1 Page 21