Chapter 24 #2
He cupped a hand to his ear, grinning wickedly. “Louder! Burn, burn, burn it bright! Emberlight! Emberlight!”
The crowd began to rhythmically stamp their feet together and chanted louder with each repetition.
Julian nudged me and stamped his boots on the wooden deck beneath our seats, chanting the phrase along with everyone else and nodding encouragingly at me. I joined in as our chanting rose in a massive swelling. “Burn, burn, burn it bright! Emberlight! Emberlight!”
Glancing over, I saw that Zafir still sat, arms folded across his chest as he looked pointedly away from where Julian and I were seated.
While the tiered seating was crowded everywhere else, Zafir had still been given a wide berth by everyone else, and occasional nervous looks were thrown in his direction by those nearest to him.
My heart gave a sympathetic pang for him. There were so many rumors about Zafir, and they all left him lonelier than ever. I knew better than anyone how painful loneliness could be.
The ringmaster’s voice, somehow amplified so it roared over the crowd’s chanting and stamping boomed, “Now open your eyes and step into an inferno of enchantment. Let the revelry begin!”
A thunderous cheer rang up from the crowd, all of whom whistled, screamed, and applauded.
Acrobats attached to long golden ropes fell from the ceiling, their bodies spiraling through the air as the silk unwound.
Just as they touched the glowing coals on the floor, the ropes caught fire.
The acrobats, all donning that same golden fabric, climbed up the flaming silks and spun again and again in those mesmerizing cartwheels and turns.
A trapeze artist swooped through the air between them as fire dancers flipped around on the arena floor.
Each act was even more mesmerizing than the last. There were tightrope walkers who juggled flaming sticks while balancing high over our heads.
Trained birds of every color flew through fiery hoops and mazes.
Fire breathers exhaled enormous plumes of flame so high that I wondered if the canopy overhead would catch on fire.
At one point, a shower of sparks fell over the crowd. I yelped and covered my head, and Julian, caught up in the performance, didn’t notice. Right before I got singed, Zafir had appeared behind me, holding out his cloak to shield me from the descending embers.
The moment the shower of sparks ended, Zafir retreated back to his original seat, but with more than a few new holes in his cloak.
Next to me, Julian laughed that they should have put up warning signs, and that his clothing was ruined.
“This style was going out of fashion anyway,” he said to me, still oblivious to the fact that I’d nearly been burned.
“It’s good that I have an excuse to get rid of it now. ”
At the end of the show, there was a reenactment of a phoenix rising from its ashes after its death, then a woman shifted into a phoenix before our eyes and flew over the crowd to immense applause.
“What did you think?” Julian asked me as he held out a hand to pull me up from my seat.
I allowed him to guide me through the crowd. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted Zafir watching us closely, arms still folded tightly across his chest and black eyes burning.
The walk back was slow, mostly because Julian insisted on taking the most winding streets so we could “savor the moment.” Which really meant savoring the fact that Zafir was forced to trail ten feet behind us.
“He’s watching,” Julian said in a low whisper. “Shall we irritate him?”
I leaned in to whisper back. “Nothing would give me more pleasure.”
“Starshine,” Julian said in a louder tone, his voice honey-thick as he raised a hand to stroke my cheek. “Yes, that name suits you better than Alia. Don’t you think, Vizier?” He grinned over his shoulder at Zafir.
“I’m not giving any feedback on any disgusting pet names you have for each other,” Zafir replied, his voice clipped and harsh.
I smiled sweetly up at Julian. “Hmm, I like it. Starshine.” I leaned into him. “Say it again.”
“Starshine,” Julian purred, delighted.
The chain jerked taut as Zafir hurried to stride ahead of us, making me stumble a half step before I caught up.
Julian clicked his tongue. “So touchy, isn’t he? Honestly, the way he glares, you’d think he was jealous. Shame no woman is interested in him.”
I felt a jolt of protectiveness for Zafir. “He just doesn’t want to lose his apprentice.”
Julian slid me another sidelong look, his grin widening. “We made quite the picture tonight, didn’t we? Everyone was staring. We were the envy of the whole revelry.”
“Obviously.” I gave his hand a gentle squeeze. “You were there.”
“They were staring,” Zafir muttered, “because Alia was nearly set on fire and you didn’t do anything about it.”
I tilted my head. “Correction, I dazzled them.”
Julian chuckled. “Exactly. And just imagine, Starshine, what we could do together once this chain comes off.” He flicked the golden links connecting me and Zafir.
“You won’t need your shadow then. I’d be more than happy to keep you company instead.
” We had arrived at the palace steps. “And speaking of company,” Julian went on, “Zafir, I need you to get lost so I can give Alia a proper farewell.”
Zafir’s eyebrows contracted so much that it looked like they had joined into one long unibrow. “For how long?” he asked through gritted teeth.
Julian smiled at me and placed his hand on the small of my back. “As long as you’ll give me. I don’t need an audience for this.”
Zafir threw me a tight look, as if he expected me to say something, but I simply raised my hand and made a shooing motion at him.
This was what the flirting lessons had been for, after all, but there may as well have been fire leaping from Zafir’s eyes with the blazing look he gave me before turning his back and retreating behind a pillar.
I couldn’t help but feel annoyed with Julian. He was only doing this because he knew it would irritate Zafir, not because he had any genuine feelings for me. But nevertheless, this was the only plan we had. I needed to at least try.
Now, what had Zafir said to do during our lessons? I placed my hand on Julian’s chest. “Thank you for the evening,” I told him. “It’s been wonderful.”
“I was glad to have you.” Julian tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear. “You always provide excellent company.”
A cool breeze played across my face. I waited for the heated passion to overwhelm me like it had when I’d kissed Zafir, but nothing happened.
I tried to conjure up an image of being locked into a passionate embrace with Julian, but there was only boredom at the thought.
If kissing was supposed to have such a powerful effect, why was I so uninterested in repeating what I had craved so intensely before?
Unbidden, Zafir’s face replaced Julian’s in my mind, and the burning within my chest burst back to life.
“Hopefully we’ll be able to see each other again soon,” I told Julian, trying to bully my brain into forgetting about the stupid, overly stoic vizier.
“I hope so as well.”
Julian leaned in, his hand pressing more firmly at my back, guiding me closer until I could smell his cologne. His eyes were half-lidded, lips parting—
The chain was yanked so violently that I was jerked backward several paces. Julian, pulled off-balance, lurched forward with a grunt, his head whipping around. Zafir had returned, wrenching on the golden links so I was forced closer to him.
“Time’s up,” Zafir said. “I do need to get to bed before dawn. I, unlike some others, have work to do in the morning.”
“You’re as cheerful as a wet scorpion, you know that?” Julian said, sounding rather agitated.
“Don’t mind him.” I swooped around to peck Julian on the cheek. “Thank you for the evening. I enjoyed your company.” I placed extra emphasis on the word your and smiled at him, then turned to shoot a dirty look at Zafir.
“Do you want me to find you different accommodations this evening?” Julian asked me.
“Maybe,” I said at the same moment that Zafir snapped, “No.”
Julian raised his eyebrows.
“She’s my responsibility,” Zafir growled, his eyes blazing. “I’ll tend to her needs.”
“And you report to Parliament,” Julian reminded him firmly, then lowered his voice.
“You may have been able to exile my friend, but you’ll find that I always get my way.
Now, I strongly suggest if you want to keep your position advising my father, you’ll never speak to me that way again. Have I made myself clear?”
Zafir worked his jaw back and forth then very slowly growled, “Crystal clear.”
“Alia?” Julian asked, his voice glossy and polite once more.
“Would you like me to find you other accommodations for this evening? I can post a guard or order Zafir to sleep in the hallway while you’re in a new bedroom.
I’m not sure what has come over my father’s vizier, but he’s not quite himself, and I sincerely apologize for his behavior. ”
Zafir was staring hard at the gently swaying palm trees and didn’t look at me. The temporary surge of protectiveness for him increased to a tidal wave. Even though I needed Julian to like me, I could see why Zafir loathed Julian.
“I do appreciate your generous offer, but on second thought, I think my current accommodations will be fine. Zafir has been a fine host and he’s a dedicated vizier. I’m sure he’s simply tired from overworking.”
Zafir’s head whipped around so fast that he appeared to crick his neck.
“You’re sure?” Julian asked. “I think the Emberlight Revelry rubbed off on Zafir. He’s a little fiery tonight.”
“I’m not worried,” I answered. For the first time since our kiss, Zafir looked directly at me, and I met his gaze with a challenging one of my own. “I’ve played with fire before.”