Chapter 24 #2
It took a moment for me to recognize that Reza was the Viceroy’s name and he was no lot referring to the Viceroy by his title. It felt like an opportunity for him to show me how much power he had here.
Kiyan lifted his ruby-colored glass to his lips and took a liberal drink before setting it back down. “He has access to whatever you need to help him accomplish it.”
My ears perked up at that. I might not have Queen Azari’s haath phool anymore, but right now there was something more important I wanted access to. “Whatever I need?”
Kiyan’s jaw tightened. “Whatever resources you want when we go looking for the vault. I don’t imagine there’s much use to doing more research in the palace, though you are more than welcome to. After all, you found something I didn’t expect.”
He was talking about the very thing I longed to get my hands on again, that stained piece of parchment that had fluttered from the hidden book I’d found. I wet my lips, finding my voice again. “The map?”
He nodded. “The map. Reza’s never been this close before. The map gave us what we needed to find Queen Azari’s vault. Now the Viceroy can go after the crown.” His voice was bitter, almost angry.
“Sounds like you don’t need me at all,” I said lightly.
He shook his head, his mouth pressing into a thin line.
“If your magic holds true, you will be a very valuable asset for the Viceroy.” He rubbed his hand across his chin.
“Ancient peris, especially Queen Azari, were quite maniacal about protecting their relics. It isn’t easy to find what they’ve hidden, let alone get to it once it’s found. ”
The traps in the Golden Vault when I’d found Queen Azari’s haath phool came to mind. If I hadn’t used my power then, I’d be under a pile of rubble right now.
Kiyan was right that my magic could give us a lot more than a map.
He took another sip of his drink, the dark cherry liquid staining his lips. “And besides, you seem to want to find the crown as much as he does.”
More.
But his words and their strangeness struck me. You seem to want to find it as much as he does.
“You don’t want to find it?” I asked, watching the way his eyes slid away from mine and focused on his glass.
That shadow of a smile touched his lips again, like he knew something I didn’t. “I have no need of a power like that.”
“Because you have magic of your own?”
“I have powers like all the peris in the Court of River—a connection to the natural world in some way. There is very little else I need. I have no desire to rule over another Court with my magic.”
The Viceroy did though—Mishah had told me he was from the Salt Court.
The Viceroy was like their version of the Citadel
And here I was, helping him.
Not for long.
I remembered Safiyya with her rusted rifle shooting Winthrop from the trees, protecting our grandmother. Her shouts still echoed in my mind, reminding me of why I was here.
It seemed unfair that I was here, enjoying the most amazing food I’d ever tasted, wearing finery I could only dream of, while my family was running for their lives—or worse.
It was difficult to not lurch to my feet and run out the door.
But I no longer had the Queen’s haath phool—nor the map to the crown.
I couldn’t just abandon them, like my mother had.
I’m going to cross the River, Yaseema. And I’m going to save us all.
My mother’s words were always with me, and though I knew she hadn’t chosen to abandon me, it still ached with a ferocity that stole my breath, knowing that she had tried to come here and find the relic that would take down the wall. And that she had failed.
Because of that, I had to see this through and find a way to take the crown.
To avoid responding to Kiyan, I ate a spoonful of black chickpea soup, the crisp pomegranate seeds on the top popping in my mouth.
But now the food tasted like the dredge of a river when I thought about Nani and Safiyya out there, running from the Citadel. When I was reminded that my mother had likely died here, and I was trying to accomplish what she couldn’t.
I forced myself to chew and swallow, washing the food down with the same dark liquid Kiyan consumed liberally.
“When do we go after it?” I finally managed to ask.
“After the Salt festival,” the Viceroy said, looking up and interrupting our conversation, as if he’d been listening this whole time. I turned toward him, but Kiyan didn’t even look in his direction. Instead, he took another long drink.
“After that, we will use the map to find the dead Queen’s crown. After all, I must have a matching set.” He gestured to his chest, the shirt open again at the collar, the pieces of gold jutting out from his skin.
I was curious about the golden crown that was fused to his chest, so much that it felt physically painful not to ask about it.
They had no idea I was from across the wall, and it might look odd asking questions about a fae crown I was supposed to know about.
I had never seen a relic embedded in the skin of another like that, and it was fascinating in the most macabre of ways.
If I had the power to do something like that, I would certainly make my mother’s bangles a permanent fixture on my arm.
He had mentioned the Salt festival before, and I knew it was soon because we had been preparing for it in the kitchens before I had been arrested. Which meant that I had very little time to come up with a plan to steal the crown and escape.
At the end of dinner, the Viceroy stood and gave me a brief nod.
“You’ll use your magic to search the rest of the books in the palace.
If there is anything else worth noting, you will bring it to me.
” The tone of his voice conveyed a vague threat, as if he were saying to me, or you won’t like what will happen if you don’t.
If we knew the location of the crown, then we usually didn’t need anything else, but knowing the ancient Queen’s vaults as I did, it was always a good thing to be prepared. If I could find any mention of her traps and obstacles, then that would help us.
With any luck, I’d find out more information about the vault, and how it was built. I gave a sidelong look at the Viceroy, but he was already walking away from the dining hall. Instead, it was the captain who caught my eye, our gazes locking with such intensity my arms prickled with awareness.
If you ever try to escape, I will find you.
It seemed like it wasn’t the Viceroy I had to worry about, but the fae sitting beside me. If I managed to steal the crown, something told me Kiyan would not let me go easily.
* * *
While the palace prepared for the festival, I spent most of my time poring over the books and using my magic to have free reign of the palace libraries.
It was almost a dream come true to have unfettered access to tomes of ancient fae books and histories, but all I could think about was the map I’d found and the crown that was waiting for me.
I wanted to take a closer look at the map, but the Viceroy kept it in a small golden locket around his neck at all times.
He also had guards stationed at my door, following my every move, so trying to steal the map wasn’t possible.
And even if I did, I likely couldn’t navigate the River Court on my own.
So that left finding the crown with the Viceroy’s help until I could steal it for my own.
When I started to feel cross-eyed from reading ancient fae texts, I went in search of Mishah in the kitchens. She hadn’t said a word about my confession in the dungeon, and sometimes I wondered if I had even dreamed it all up.
Occasionally I caught her watching me oddly, as if sizing up our differences, and I knew she was thinking about what I’d told her, and that she wanted to ask me about being from the other side of the River.
If she had asked, I would have answered. It was almost a relief to tell someone who I really was, to have someone in this land know me.
And if there was one person I could trust in this place, it was her.
I helped her in the kitchens with preparations for the Salt Festival in my free time, so that I didn’t just have the guards at my door for company.
We prepared spice mixes, marinated river crocodile, yak meat and baby goat for roasting, and rolled out dough until late into the evening, spending the following day filling it with a spiced potato and vegetable mixture that made my mouth water.
At night I was “invited” to dine with the Viceroy and Kiyan, which sounded as if I was his esteemed guest, with the exception that I was escorted by my guards, forced to dress up in an outfit picked out for me, and be gawked at by a hundred members of the Court.
But the food . . . I never got tired of the food.
Seared cubes of salty cheese atop spicy peppers and jasmine-scented long rice filled my dreams. Mango puddings and sticky, sweet desserts laced with cardamom and roses made my mouth water.
Vermicelli rice soaked in milk and garnished with fruit, raisins, and dates, and sweet halva reminded me of everything Astolans didn’t have with every mouthful I ate.
When I felt frustrated or guilty, I had to remind myself that every second at the palace was a second closer to the crown. That every minute I was here, was a chance at getting back to my grandmother and Safiyya and fulfilling what my mother had set out to do.