Chapter 14
Zafir woke up before me the next morning and was at his desk when I went to find him. True to his word, he had reverted back to his unfeeling, unexpressive tone of voice, complete with lack of facial expressions and the brusque manner in which he treated me.
“You’ll need to get ready early so we can begin lessons.
We don’t know if or when Julian will turn up to issue you an invitation and you need to be prepared.
He usually sleeps in, but not always,” he told me impassively when I entered his study.
He barely even looked up from his notes.
“Show me what you plan to wear before you put it on; I don’t want you to pick poorly again. ”
“So much for the nice, nighttime Zafir,” I muttered under my breath.
His eyes darted over to the empty flask sitting on the desk next to him then he stiffened. “I wasn’t aware there was such a profound difference.”
“Okay, sure,” I said, going to the wardrobe and thumbing through.
“I should find something extra flattering before I go see him,” I mused aloud.
“I need something to get his attention.” From the wardrobe’s depths, I pulled out flowing scarlet pants with a tight, matching top that was almost too small to be considered outerwear.
There was barely enough fabric to earn the name clothing. “This should work.”
“Absolutely not.” Zafir came up behind me.
“What, do you think something like this would be too distracting?” I asked, waving the outfit in front of his nose.
“Very much so.”
“Perfect. I want him to be distracted by me.”
“No, no. You have this seduction thing all wrong, and besides, a duchess would never wear such a thing. A man attracted with only his eyes will be just as easily distracted by the next beautiful girl. You need a man who is loyal and faithful.”
“But you made it sound like Julian is neither loyal nor faithful.”
“Which is true.”
“Then I only need to charm him for a short period of time, right? I don’t need his loyalty. This is a temporary arrangement until he gives us the money for the voyage, so this is perfect to wear.”
Zafir’s jaw locked. He must have already shaved that morning—there wasn’t any stubble coming in around his meticulously trimmed goatee. “I won’t allow it.”
I bristled. “You can’t tell me what I can and can’t wear!”
“I just did.” He snatched the outfit away.
I yanked it back and tried to hold it out of reach. “You can try but I won’t listen. Besides, I won’t get overheated in this. It’s boiling hot outside.”
Zafir, who was a great deal taller than me and had much longer arms, grabbed it and twisted the outfit out of my grip, then threw it back into the wardrobe.
“No. I forbid it.” He slammed the wardrobe door and bopped the handle with his fist before addressing the wardrobe directly.
“What were you thinking, giving her something like that? Pick something for her that won’t make men drool! ”
The door creaked open and waved feebly.
“I mean it,” Zafir warned the wardrobe, holding up a finger.
“Don’t listen to him,” I told the wardrobe. “I’m the one wearing it; I should get to choose.”
“I know Julian better than you do,” Zafir shot back.
“You can only pick my clothes if I can pick yours for you.”
“Fine.”
I looked at him, startled. I’d expected him to immediately reject the idea. “What?”
“I’ll pick for you, then you pick for me.”
I blinked. “I wasn’t serious.”
“Too bad. You offered, and I accepted. Now, let’s see…” He picked through the clothing. “This one.”
It was a long-sleeved woolen black dress with a collar that would reach my chin and had lumpy skirts that dragged on the ground.
“I’ll be roasted alive in the blistering heat out there,” I protested. “I can’t wear that when you won’t even sleep with a shirt on because you complain it’s too hot.”
Sulkily, Zafir put the ensemble back and withdrew another with a lighter, more flowy fabric but would still cover every inch of skin. “Here.”
“Now it’s my turn to pick for you.” I pushed him away. “Move. I need to focus.” I closed the wardrobe doors and whispered to it. “Give me the most feminine clothing you can manage in his size.”
When I opened the doors again, my eyes watered from the glaringly bright fabrics splashed with embroidered flowers burning my vision. I withdrew a violently pink set of robes. “Ah, perfect. This looks like it’s your color.”
“I would rather die than wear that,” Zafir said. “Absolutely not.”
“Isn’t it so fun to have someone else pick your clothing?” I drawled. “How are you enjoying it?”
“I let you use one veto. I get one as well, and I won’t wear that.”
“No problem. Try this instead.” I withdrew flamboyantly yellow robes that would put the sun to shame. “I think it will bring out the color of your eyes.” I wiggled the fabric.
Zafir let out a muttered oath under his breath.
“Didn’t catch that, what did you say?” I asked sweetly. “Were you saying how much you adore my taste?” I looped fabric around his shoulders. “Look, you’re so handsome. You should flaunt that instead of hiding behind all your black.”
“I like black.”
“And maybe I liked that red”—I wasn’t sure what to call it—“thing.”
He let out a snort of disgust. “Julian would like it too much.” He walked over to throw the sunshine-yellow robes into the wardrobe and closed the door. “Give her something… reasonable.”
“Something alluring,” I corrected him.
The look Zafir gave me could have lit me on fire. “Something reasonable,” he repeated to the wardrobe. “A duchess wouldn’t flaunt herself so carelessly.”
The wardrobe’s doors squeaked slightly as they wavered back and forth, torn between whom to obey.
Zafir noticed its hesitation. “I’ll chop you up if you disobey,” he barked at the wood.
“I’ll polish you if you obey me,” I told it, then shot a raised eyebrow at Zafir. “You can’t bully everyone into obeying you. I happen to like this wardrobe. It’s very smart.” I ran a hand over the handle. “It knows you won’t chop it up, because then you wouldn’t have anything at all to wear.”
With a snap, the door closed, then burst open a moment later.
The wardrobe had obeyed me.
I couldn’t hide the smile spreading across my face.
The red outfit had disappeared but there were many more options, including a striking strapless dark-blue gown stitched with silver thread.
“Here we are,” I said, pulling it out. “This looks like a duchess dress. The wardrobe is very clever to give me something that won’t get caught on our chain.
Well done,” I said, patting it. “You’re very intelligent. ”
Zafir pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger. “It’s a piece of furniture. It doesn’t have feelings.”
“Apparently it does. Probably more feelings than you.”
“I—” Zafir broke off and stomped into the washroom. “Fine. Wear whatever you and that hunk of wood cook up. I don’t care.”
I got dressed. At least in this outfit, I wouldn’t worry about getting overheated. With a quick glance at the washroom door, I scanned the potions Zafir had lined up on his shelves, all of which had been labeled neatly. How fortunate for me.
I collected just a few potions and tonics, barely enough to help me so Zafir wouldn’t notice them missing.
I gathered one each of essence of lockjaw, phoenix tears, an Ironblood Tonic, and a truth serum, but hesitated after that.
He didn’t have any scorpion sand, my preferred weapon of choice, and I’d used my last vial on him.
He also had several other potions labeled I didn’t know the uses for and didn’t trust myself to experiment with.
“I’m done getting ready,” I announced when Zafir finally emerged again, then gave a spin to show off the outfit. “What do you think?”
Zafir’s head rose so he could cast a critical eye over my outfit. “I think the only way Julian wouldn’t notice you is if he were blind.”
“Good.” I sat on the three-legged stool in front of the mirror and tried to pull my hair back into the same style I’d worn at my wedding.
I had to keep Zafir’s attention off his shelves.
Was he the sort of man who would notice a few things missing?
“Can you do my makeup again? I liked how you did it yesterday.”
“The only thing I can do right—women’s makeup,” he said grouchily, but still came over. “Don’t say anything while I work.”
“If you’re going to stare at me and I’m not allowed to speak, the least you can do is talk to me,” I informed him.
“About what?”
“Tell me about genies.”
“No. You need to start duchess lessons. And stop moving.”
“Tell me about genies first, and then I’ll be perfectly compliant during duchess lessons.”
He rolled his eyes and sighed. “Genies are magical beings bound to an object—typically to a ring but they can use a variety of vessels like the lamp you described. Whoever possesses that object becomes the genie’s master and can harness its magic to grant wishes.
Unimaginable wealth, long life, fame, power…
I would imagine that if worded cleverly, a wish would be able to grant immunity from the law, say, in the event you were to murder someone like you said your husband tried to do. He could easily get away with it.”
I shuddered.
“Genies are more powerful than phoenixes, and sea serpents and even dragons. They’re rare, too. I’ve searched my entire life, and you’re the first person I’ve met who I know has had first-hand experience with one.” His gaze flicked down to the mark of the genie tattooed on my wrist.
“What do genies look like? Do they come out of the object, or are they trapped inside? Are they big or small?”
“They are said to be some kind of spirit, but records about size vary wildly. A juvenile spirit will appear only as vapor or smoke, but a more powerful genie can briefly hold form to imitate a person or animal when the master calls upon them. But however they look, each is bound to some physical object until released by whoever owns the object and touches it. A genie couldn’t emerge unless the master summoned them or made a wish. ”
“So when I touched the lamp and made a wish, that summoned the genie?”
“I assume so. I expect if you’d stayed longer, the genie would have finished emerging to greet you.
You claimed that your husband’s house was enchanted by a dragon, but I believe he lied to you to conceal that he possesses a genie to do his bidding.
A dragon isn’t powerful enough to create what you described, but a genie is.
Close your eyes. I need to do shading on your eyelids. ”
I closed my eyes and felt the heat of Zafir’s hands on my face as he applied my makeup. “So whoever is touching the object the genie is bound to can control the genie inside?”
“Right. It’s no wonder he kept it locked and forbidden.”
I ground my teeth together. “So I could’ve wished for it to kill Rahil, but no, I stupidly wished to be on the other side of the world.”
“And your wish was granted. Though I’m surprised the lamp didn’t transport with you. I assume you were holding the lamp when you wished?”
I thought back. “No,” I answered slowly. “Rahil stabbed me and I fell back, but I was only touching it, not holding it.”
Zafir sighed heavily. “Then it wouldn’t have come with you. The lamp would be back there, with your ex-husband.”
My blood ran cold. “So he could make a wish to bring me back… or wish to find another wife to kill.” I had already tried to contact Nadia again with the mirror earlier that morning, but there had still been no answer.
If only I could push away all the unpleasant thoughts about what could be happening to Nadia at that very moment if she had gone to Rahil, expecting to find me there.
Zafir’s sharp, angular eyebrows drew together and his lip curled. “How many wives did he have, exactly?”
“I was his sixth wife. As far as I can tell, he marries women then kills them once they find his lamp, then finds another so he can keep his inheritance. I used to work for a woman before she became his fifth wife. She made it about a year or two married to him.”
“What sort of work did you do?”
The stolen vials hidden in my stocking felt heavier, as if they were a type of armor, ready to protect me when called upon. “Oh, I dabbled in a little medicinal work. Treating minor scrapes and bruises, mostly.”
He nodded and didn’t pry into my life any further. “Do you have any idea what Rahil already wished for?”
“I’m assuming health or long life or something like that. His house, probably. Oh, and money. He has more than your tzar, I’m sure. But I don’t know what else. He never told me.”
Zafir leaned in closer as he drew on my eyeliner. “I would assume not. If I owned a genie to do my bidding, I wouldn’t boast about what I’d wished for.”
“What would you wish for?”
“That’s a very personal question. Don’t move while I’m working. If I accidentally stab you in the eye, I’ll experience the same pain and I don’t want to deal with that.” He carefully traced the eyeliner on my other eye. “What would you wish for?”
“I don’t know. Never being hungry again would be nice.
Having unlimited money would be good, too.
I may not have liked Bluebe—I mean Rahil, but I did like his house.
Maybe I’d wish for one just like that. After being stabbed, I wouldn’t say no to being invincible in battle.
I’ve heard that happens if you eat a dragon heart or something. ”
“Which is true. But possessing a dragon’s heart is almost as rare as finding a genie. You’re done.”
My reflection in the mirror showed my best qualities while downplaying my less-attractive ones. My lips were the perfect shade of pink and my eyes looked wide and innocent. “You did a good job.”
“You need to be convincing. It didn’t take a lot of work. You’re already—” He fumbled for words.
“What, I’m already beautiful? What is this, a compliment?”
“Don’t get used to it. It’s strictly objective.”
“Well, objectively speaking, I think Julian might fall in love with me now.” I pivoted and examined how my back looked slim and tapered to a point in the mirror. “If nothing else, he’ll notice me.”
Zafir stared up at the ceiling. “I’m sure he will. But until that happy time comes that he arrives to sweep you off your feet, you have to practice being a duchess. Shall we begin?”