Chapter 10
For more than an hour, we brainstormed plans on how to get across the world. I kept nervously looking at the door, half expecting Rahil to come barging in to finish what he’d started. Or would he rather not follow me and simply be glad I was gone? He had already been trying to get rid of me.
Zafir kept pacing the length of the room as we talked—or, most of the length of the room. He only got so far before the chain between us yanked taut and dragged me along with him like some poorly trained dog.
“For the hundredth time,” I said through gritted teeth. “Stop doing that.”
He paused, glaring down at the cuffs binding our wrists together. “Then stop falling behind.”
“Aren’t you a delight?” I sneered. “But you’ll still have to haul me across the ocean, and we have no ship, no money, and no one willing to take us.”
He almost sat on the settee but sprang up again once he realized my bloodstains were still there. “Correction: we don’t have anyone…yet. I know someone who we might be able to convince to fund the voyage. Maybe.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Who?”
Zafir groaned and scrubbed a hand down his face. “His name’s Julian. He’s the spoiled son of one of the Parliament members.”
“Great, then let’s go ask him.”
He tapped a long finger on his desk. “It’s not that simple. He and I have a certain dislike for each other.”
“But you just said he’d fund it.”
“He might. If it entertains him.”
I tilted my head. “So how do we make it entertaining for him if he hates you?”
Zafir gave me a tight smile. “Not we. You. You will make it entertaining for him.”
“Me?”
He met my gaze, mouth quirking to the side. “You’re new and pretty, the perfect combination for him. Julian won’t be able to resist.”
“You want me to flirt with him?” I asked slowly.
“I want you to seduce him,” Zafir clarified. “I want you to make him fall all over himself trying to impress you. Convince him this little voyage is exactly the grand romantic gesture you’re craving.”
I stared back at him. “I’ve never even met the man.”
“I’ll introduce you.”
“I’m not good at flirting or seducing.”
He lowered his voice. “Then get good. Julian’s easy for women to charm, at least until he gets bored of them.”
I looked down at the chain between us and arched an eyebrow. “And I’m supposed to do all this while we’re handcuffed together?”
“You can always say you want out and I’ll release you immediately.”
It was my turn to curl my lip. “Then you’d run off and leave me in Pyren while you get the lamp all for yourself.”
Zafir shrugged. “Yes, I would. But it’s an option.”
“I’ll take my chances seducing Julian, though I can’t imagine he’d enjoy having you tag along on our romantic time that ought to be alone.”
He waved a hand, unconcerned. “On the contrary, I suspect that Julian would find it wildly amusing. He’ll love having me dragged along to your candlelit dinners so he can watch me squirm.”
“Will you squirm?”
“If it suits my needs,” he said.
I paced away from him only to be yanked back after a few steps. “I’m not sure this will work.”
He crossed his arms. “It’s a good plan.”
I crossed my own arms and shook my head. “It’s a terrible plan.”
“It’s the only plan.” He leaned forward, and something in his voice shifted. “Julian likes exotic women and he has plenty of money. He enjoys wooing women and showering them with gifts, so we can simply take advantage of that.”
I shuddered. Julian sounded like Rahil, and I had no interest in repeating a relationship like that. “Can’t we just steal what we need? Everything would be much simpler that way, and I’m better at stealing than I am at seducing.”
“Julian isn’t a man whose pocket can simply be picked. His finances are tied up in investments, assets, and businesses. It’s not like he has sacks of gold hidden under his bed that you can sneak in and snatch away in the dead of night, and I won’t be doing any thieving. I’m not a criminal.”
“You act enough like one that I’d believe it.”
“Ah, but everything I do is legal.”
I let out a bark of laughter. “I can’t imagine arresting an innocent civilian is legal.”
Zafir didn’t smile.
“Not much of a joker, are you?” I said.
“We don’t have time for jokes. We need to get to that lamp as soon as possible, so we need you to charm Julian quickly.”
“And then you’ll help me get revenge on my husband?”
“No, I won’t. And we’ll need to do something about you being married. I can’t in good conscience encourage a married woman to seduce a man other than her husband.”
“Even if I’m planning to kill said husband?”
“You’re still married. Annul your marriage first and then go seduce Julian.”
“So, what am I getting out of this deal?”
It looked as though he were chewing on his tongue for a moment, then he said, “When I go to Brisden to get the lamp, you can come along.”
“You’re only saying that because we’re chained together.”
Zafir cocked an eyebrow. “You’re quite an astute little viper, aren’t you?”
“I have my moments. So, when am I supposed to charm him? If he’s a member of Parliament, I assume he’s very busy.”
“He’s not a political figure. He’s the arrogant, entitled son of an important member of Parliament who spoils him rotten and gives him whatever he wants. So Julian is anything but busy, which is why he has unlimited time and money to waste on women instead of doing something useful with his time.”
“I see you hold him in the highest regards. And you think that what you do is more useful? Running around the streets and arresting half-dead women?”
Zafir gave a soft snort. “You’re very fortunate I’m difficult to annoy.”
“I thought everything annoyed you. It’s written all over your face.”
His mouth quirked to the side. “You’re mistaken. Nothing annoys me. This is just my face and I can’t change that. Now, unless you know another way to cross half the world and steal a genie’s lamp, we have work to do.”
I sighed, slumping beside him. “Fine. I’ll do it.”
He smirked. “Excellent. Julian always attends the weekly fire dances, so you need to be at the one tonight.” He cast a critical eye over my appearance. “You’ll never win him over looking like a street rat. Follow me.”
It wasn’t like I had much of a choice. I followed the chain’s pressure as Zafir led me through his study and into his adjoining bedroom.
“There’s a dragon in Rookwyn who enchants wardrobes. This is one of his that I had imported,” Zafir told me on the way. “Such enchanted objects are very rare.”
“My husband had an entire house that was dragon enchanted.” I refused to be impressed by anything of Zafir’s after having lived in Rahil’s manor.
Zafir turned to me, his eyebrows furrowed. “The entire manor?”
“Yes. The table would fill with food, the wardrobes all filled with clothes. The rooms were enchanted to be forests or waterfalls and all sorts of things.”
I didn’t like the long, calculating look he gave me. “I’ve never heard of a dragon powerful enough to do all that,” he finally said.
“Well, now you have.”
His eyes narrowed. “Quite so.” He turned and spoke firmly to the wardrobe door’s handle. “Give me attire to turn this”—he looked back at me—“street urchin into a princess.”
“Can it provide you with better manners?” I shot back.
He smirked. “No. Nor would I let it if it could. Now choose.” He pulled on the handle to expose a wide selection of clothing, all perfectly tailored to my size.
I reached for a pale-green gown, but Zafir pushed it away. “That color wouldn’t be flattering on you.”
“I thought you said I could choose,” I grumbled.
“I intended for you to choose well, not poorly. Never mind, I’ll select something for you.”
He began holding different gowns up to me, his cold black eyes analyzing as his gaze flicked over my face, down to the dress, then back up.
Occasionally he would have me hold the dress up to myself or give a spin before he finally snapped his fingers and handed me a slimming purple gown trimmed with golden thread.
“Wash up, then put that on,” he told me. “You’re still dirty and I won’t have you soiling the gown. There are boilers that heat the water, so don’t scald yourself. I have enough to do without treating you for burns on top of everything else.”
“You really have no empathy for anyone, do you?”
Zafir didn’t answer. He crossed to the washroom to show me where a pool was sunken into the floor, complete with taps of pressurized water.
He explained how water towers forced water through the piping, then spent an additional ten minutes lecturing me on which soaps would be best for my skin versus my hair and how to properly clean beneath my fingernails.
I shot him a scornful expression. “Are you planning to watch me bathe so you can criticize me the whole time?”
Zafir rolled his eyes and murmured a few words, running his hands along the chain so it lengthened enough that he could leave the room.
Thank goodness I still managed to retain some semblance of privacy.
I looked at my reflection in the mirror and cringed.
I was so filthy I couldn’t even recognize myself.
Bloodstains had crusted on my clothing and sand mixed with my sweat and blood, coating my entire body in grimy, discolored streaks.
I wouldn’t be able to charm a snake looking like this.
And now I needed to seduce some pompous rich man I’d never met? I had no chance at all.