“Sit.” Khalid gestured to the silken cushions across from him.
Barely managing to conceal his scorn, Salim sank down, his generals at either side of him. Jahandar al-Khayzuran shuffled to a corner of the table, under the watchful gaze of Tariq.
Khalid regarded Salim in silence for a moment. “Now that I have your attention—”
“Where is my daughter, you bastard son of a whore?” Salim said.
“Daughter?” Khalid paused, his disdain all too evident. “You should at least have the decency to say daughters by now.”
At that, Salim’s jaw fell open for the briefest instant. Then his gaze narrowed with sudden wariness.
“For you do count Despina amongst your children,” Khalid continued, stone-faced. “Especially after all she’s done for you?”
The silence hung in the space like a specter. Jalal’s fists were balled tight, his body coiled as though he were ready to lunge at any moment.
Ready to render justice.
“I do.” Salim’s response was sharp.
“Good,” Khalid said. “At least you’ve done right by her in one matter.”
“Don’t pretend you care for Despina,” Salim replied. “Not after she lived as a slave in your palace all those years.” He shifted in his seat. “In any case, I knew you would not treat her poorly.” His smile was caustic. “After all, you reserve that behavior for your wives, not your servants.”
Though Jalal uttered an oath beneath his breath, Khalid did not react to the words. Nor did he bother to defend himself. “You do as you always have done—blame others for your transgressions. And in doing so, you reap the same reward—nothing.”
Salim snorted. “I did not come here to be lectured by a boy. Let us come to it—in your letter, you told me you had Yasmine.”
Khalid nodded, then leaned back, placing his hands on the table. He waited a moment. “Did you bring Shahrzad?”
Salim’s expression hardened. “I will give you what you love in exchange for what I love.”
Another pause. “Again, it is good to know you care for something. Besides yourself.”
“Don’t toy with me, you arrogant—”
“And don’t lie to me, you specious coward.” Khalid’s eyes burned bright.
“How dare you—”
“He does dare, Uncle Salim,” a voice echoed from behind the carved screens. “He dares quite often.”
At that, Khalid’s lips curved in a dark smile as Shahrzad glided into view. She was dressed in simple clothing. A cream qamis and pale grey sirwal trowsers. Her wavy hair fell to her shoulders, and she was unadorned, save for the jeweled dagger at her hip.
But she was, as ever, a queen.
Khalid watched as Salim tried in vain to conceal his shock.
“Are you surprised?” Shahrzad asked, her hazel eyes lambent. “I suppose you’ve tasked many soldiers with finding me. Or perhaps you did not think I would manage to find my way out of your city?” She took her seat beside Khalid.
The Sultan of Parthia managed to mask his shock with admirable speed. He tried to smile at Shahrzad, but his smile lacked the odious surety of before. “I continue to be impressed with you, Shahrzad al-Khayzuran. But it’s clear you had assistance in escaping. Perhaps you could regale me with the story one day, so that I can be certain to address the lapses in my security.”
“Oh, it’s quite the story.” Shahrzad grinned. “And I did have a great deal of help. But if you don’t mind, I think I’ll let your daughters tell you the story.”
THE ROSE
SHAHRZAD WATCHED WITH BITTER SATISFACTION WHILE Salim Ali el-Sharif was undone by his daughters. First one, then the other.
As his plans were utterly routed.
Though it did little to fill the hollow left in her chest after Rahim’s death, Shahrzad did feel a shadowed sort of satisfaction to see Salim fall at the hands of women. Especially at the hands of those he’d been so willing to cast aside or use as pawns.
It was time for Salim to learn that his daughters were much more than objects to be used and discarded at his whim.
But the true difficulty had come when Salim had been faced with Yasmine.
It was easy for him to disregard Despina. He’d done so for most of her life. But Yasmine? Yasmine was the daughter Salim had loved. The daughter he’d prized.
She had been his future.
“What would you have me do, Yasmine?” Salim asked once he’d realized the full breadth of her treachery.
Yasmine’s lovely eyes welled with tears. But she did not cry. As Shahrzad had long suspected, there was an undeniable strength to her, even in the most trying of times. “I would have you stop this, Father. Stop this endless fighting. This endless unrest.”
“I did this for you. To ensure your future.”
“No.” Yasmine shook her head. “You did it for many reasons, but if you’d ever paused to hear my thoughts, you would know this was not what I wanted. You do not know what I want.”
Salim’s features hardened. “What do you want?”
“I want to go through life and not regret all that I am.”