Page 98 of Wild Flame

I considered her words as I took a sip of my tea, loving the warm hints of cinnamon and cardamom that burst on my tongue. I allowed the soft smile that curved my lips of its own accord. “I still miss some things about home, but I have grown to appreciate several aspects of Zehvi since I’ve been here,” I conceded. “The tea and wine, for one thing. The music, for another. The palace gardens put anything at home to shame. The people have also been surprisingly warm and welcoming, for the most part. I absolutely adore Zara. Though I could do without this insufferable heat—"

I halted when I took note of the grin on my sister’s face.

“What?”

She just shook her head. “Is that all? And what about your dashing husband?”

I fidgeted slightly and took another long sip of my drink. “What about him?”

“Oh, don’t give me that, Leida!” she scolded. “I’ve never seen a man as protective of a woman as he is of you. And the way he looks at you.” She pretended to fan herself. “Bless the Nine! He stares at you like you hung the stars in the heavens, and he wants to drag you off to his chambers and devour you all in one glance.”

Her words made warmth suffuse my chest, while at the same time bringing an almost automatic denial to my lips. “You’re exaggerating.”

She laughed and shook her head again. “If anything, I am understating it, little sister. King Malik has been well and truly smitten. It is obvious to anyone with eyes. Mother was positively fuming at how familiar he was with you.”

“Helene,” I protested, mindful of the servants and guards within earshot. But of course, giving in was not my sister’s way.

“AndI see the way you look at him.” She leaned forward and placed her hand on mine, her blue eyes studying me. “He’s the reason, isn’t he, or at least part of it? The reason you’ve changed?”

I opened my mouth to deny it, but then shut it again. Being here in Zehvi, away from my parents, from Silvanus, had allowed me the freedom to explore and experiment with who I was and who I wanted to be. Malik had been there for most of it, and he was even now allowing me the freedom to change and grow into the new role I now found myself in. Finally, I admitted, “He might have had something to do with it.”

Helene’s face split into another grin. But before she could ask another question, I spoke. “How is everything in Halmar? Tell me everything.”

Allowing me to change the subject, at least for now, she leaned back and finally took a sip of her tea. Her eyes went comically wide. “Praise the Nine, what’s in this?” she demanded, glancing down at the cup in wonder. “It’s amazing!” She took another sip.

Reminded of my own initial reaction to the drink, I burst out laughing.

Chapter Thirty-Six

Moving silently, I was careful to stick to the shadows as I ducked down in the alley. The heat thankfully wasn’t too cloying tonight in my tight-fitting outfit.

After I dug my suit out of its hiding place and donning it, sneaking out of the palace had taken longer than I expected—thanks to the Talonar now watching the gardens more closely. FindingThe Red Scalehad taken forever, and by the time I located it, I was afraid I might have missed Nilfren altogether.

I had been surprised to note it was the very same establishment where I had seen the addict sprawled out on the stoop my first night exploring Taveran.

When I brought up investigating the drug dens to Malik, he explained that his men had already searched most of the well-known spots and found nothing. I hadn’t told him about the Nilfren conversation that I had overheard. Perhaps because at first, I had convinced myself it was nothing, but the longer I thought about it, the more I was convinced that the ambassador was up to something. Or maybe it was that he was Halmarish and represented my country and I felt a personal stake indiscovering what he was involved in. And since Fleshfire was our only possible connection to everything that had been going on . . . I knew it was a long shot, but I had to do something.

So, after dinner tonight, I had urged Malik to take some time to go deal with the many issues that needed his attention. We had been enjoying each other so thoroughly the past few weeks that he had been neglecting his kingly duties. I was thankful when he finally left that Azrun hadn’t stayed to guard me since he was out hunting.

Now, as I hunkered down in the alley with my eyes on the entrance to the tavern, the strong smells of burning incense, unwashed bodies, and something bitter drifted down from the broken slats of the small window above me. I was glad my mouth and nose were covered by my mask and hood. Even so, I nearly gagged.

I had been waiting for nearly an hour and knew I didn’t have much longer before I would need to return to the palace, when a man with a familiar mincing gait turned down the alley. I recognized Nilfren instantly, even despite his attempt at covering his features with a cloak. He didn’t hesitate as he stepped into the establishment, and I quickly rose to my feet to watch through the broken slats.

I had a mostly unobscured view of the main room. A scantily clad woman was performing a hypnotic dance at the center, and long flat cushions and low tables filled with people—mostly men—surrounded the space. Most of the eyes in the room were on her and so glazed over and red from using that it was no wonder they failed to notice as Nilfren strode purposely toward a set of stairs in the back.

They were being guarded by a man in a turban who sat nearby. He was trying to blend in with the patrons, but he wasn’t doing a very good job. His posture was too stiff, his eyes too alert.

Nilfren gave the not-so-subtle guard a nod before ascending the stairs without a word.

A spike of adrenaline raced through me. Was the person Nilfren was meeting already here? After all, I didn’t know what they looked like. They could have already entered while I waited for Nilfren.

Cursing, I spun and dashed down the alley. The space between buildings was narrow enough that I was able to leap partially up the wall and push off with my feet to the opposite building and grab onto the short brick jutting out from the stone. Then it was the work of a few moments to climb the rest of the way up the wall until I was situated just under the window I had seen there.

I shifted my hand grip on one of the jutting sandstone bricks and adjusted my foothold, so I was now right beneath the window. Silently, I sent up a prayer to The Maiden or The Assassin or whichever of the Nine was listening that the shadows of the night were enough to conceal me should anyone decide to take a nightly stroll on the street below.

I listened for several seconds. No sound came from inside, so finally I peered over the sill. It was empty. I cursed. My mind spun. The establishment was small, so there couldn’t be more than two or three rooms on the upper level. I pulled myself up and planted my feet on the windowsill, reaching to grip the lip of the roof. Towing myself up and over, I darted across the roof to the opposite side.

Another small window was close enough to the top of the roof that I simply laid flat on my stomach and bent over the edge. Slowly, I gripped the top of the window frame and peeked inside.

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