The Wrath and the Dawn (The Wrath and the Dawn #1)(23)

“Well, he’s not a very particular man. How many wives has he had in the past three months alone? Sixty? Seventy-five?” Shahrzad retorted.

Despina quirked her mouth. “But he hasn’t gone to see them at night.”

“What?”

“Usually, they’re chosen at random, he marries them, and . . . well, you know what happens the next morning.”

“Don’t lie to me, Despina.”

“I’m not. You were the first bride he sought out after the wedding.”

I don’t believe her.

“In case you were wondering, I wasn’t supposed to tell you that,” Despina admitted.

“Then why did you?”

“I don’t know.” She shrugged. “Maybe I just want you to like me.”

Shahrzad gave her a long, hard look. “If you want me to like you, help me figure out what to wear. Also, where’s the food? I’m starving.”

Despina grinned. “I already laid out a long qamis and matching trowsers. Get dressed, and we can leave.”

“But I haven’t bathed! Where are you taking me?”

“Do you have to spoil everything?”

“Where are we going?” Shahrzad insisted. “Tell me now.”

“Fine!” Despina exhaled. “I’ll tell you while you’re getting dressed.” She shoved the clothing at Shahrzad and directed her behind the privacy screens.

“So,” Despina began, “last winter, the caliph went to Damascus to visit the Malik of Assyria and, while he was there, he saw the malik’s new bathhouse . . . it’s this huge pool of water they keep warm with these special heated stones. The steam is supposed to do wonders for your skin. Anyway, the caliph had one built here, in the palace! They just finished it!”

“And?”

“Obviously, I’m taking you there.” Despina rolled her eyes.

“Obviously. I just don’t understand why this is such cause for excitement.”

“Because it’s amazing. And new. And you will be one of the first ones to try it.”

“So he wants to boil me to death?” Shahrzad said acerbically.

Despina snickered.

“I’m ready.” Shahrzad emerged from behind the screens clad in simple pale green linen with matching jade earrings and pointed gold slippers. She plaited her hair in a single braid down her back and strode to the door of the chamber.

The Rajput was nowhere to be found.

“Where is he?” Shahrzad asked.

“Oh. He was dismissed for the day.”

“What? Why?”

“Because we’re going to the bathhouse. He can’t very well accompany us there, can he?”

Shahrzad pursed her lips. “No. But . . .”

As Despina pulled the doors shut, Shahrzad saw her chew on her carmine-stained lower lip.

As though she were concealing something.

“Despina. Where is the Rajput?”

“I told you. Dismissed.”

“That’s fine. But where does he go when he’s dismissed?”

“How should I know?”

“You know everything.”

“I don’t know this, Shahrzad.”

Why is she lying to me? I thought I wasn’t allowed to go anywhere without the Rajput. Where is she really taking me?

“I’m not going anywhere until you tell me where my bodyguard is.”

“By Zeus, you are a nuisance, Shahrzad al-Khayzuran!” Despina cried.

“It’s good you know that. It will save you time. Now, answer my question.”

“No.”

“Answer me, you wretched Theban!”

“No, you horse’s ass!”

Shahrzad’s mouth fell agape. “Listen to me: we can either stand in the hallways of the palace and shout at each other, or you can let me have my way now and spare yourself the trouble. When I was twelve, my best friend and I were falsely accused of stealing a necklace. The shopkeeper’s fourteen-year-old son said he would let us go for a kiss each. I broke his nose, and my best friend shoved him in a trough of water. When we were confronted by his father, we denied the entire incident, and I had to sit outside our door for a whole night. It was the best sleep of my life.”

“And your point is?”

“I never lose, nor am I afraid to spill blood.”

Despina stared down at her. “Fine! The Rajput is—he’s in a tournament. The men are having a swordsmanship tournament this afternoon.”

A calculating gleam entered Shahrzad’s hazel eyes.

“See! This is precisely why I didn’t want to tell you!” Despina groaned. “And you can’t go, anyway. If the caliph sees you there, he’ll—”

“Is he fighting in the tournament?”

“Of course.”

Then there is no way you’re going to stop me.

“He won’t do anything to me,” Shahrzad announced, though her voice was laced with uncertainty.

“I can’t say the same for myself,” Despina retorted.

“Fine. Is there a way to watch it so no one knows we’re there?”

“Can we please just go to the bathhouse?” Despina pleaded.

“Of course. After the tournament.”