THE DANCING GIRL

Chapter 16

THE next day, Noor tried to be as unsuspicious as possible.

She did her work as usual, studied with Amir, and gave Sher Rakim only one confused glance during the dance. She was just waiting until the end of the day, when they would finally meet the Rajkumars and figure out what was happening next.

The time came, finally, and she waited with Amir in the library, being a bit more careful when entering the tunnel. Noor was more on edge than she'd ever been. She hadn't heard about a theft from Sher Rakim's chambers, but he must have discovered it by now.

They walked down the tunnel in silence and reached the royal quarters, Amir opening the tunnel.

The Rajkumars were waiting for them, talking quietly. They turned, smiling when they came in.

"Noor," Rajkumar Fayyaz said, greeting them. "Amir."

Noor smiled tiredly, walking towards them. "Should we go inside?"

Rajkumar Vikram nodded, and they walked to their little room. Noor put their books down on the table and sitting on the sofa beside Amir. The Rajkumars sat opposite them.

"I'm sure you're wondering what's going on," Rajkumar Vikram said, his face growing serious.

Noor and Amir nodded in unison.

"Yesterday, the letters we read confirmed a rumor we'd heard," Rajkumar Fayyaz said, clasping his arms together in his lap. "Sher Rakim has indeed been smuggling things from other kingdoms to Al-Yauzha."

"Not things," Rajkumar Vikram said. "People."

Noor sucked in a breath. "What?"

Rajkumar Vikram nodded solemnly. "Enya, after we gained independence, became only a shadow of what it once was. There are plenty of impoverished people, and we've suspected for so long that someone was bringing them here, as slaves."

"Slaves?" Amir breathed.

Rajkumar Fayyaz nodded at him. "It's very discreet. For the rich, the powerful—we've tried to stop it several times. We've managed to send some people home, but—"

"Not enough." Rajkumar Vikram sighed heavily, and in that moment Noor could see the burden of ruling the empire on his shoulders. "To completely end it, we had to find the leader of the entire business."

"Sher Rakim," Noor said, anger flaring through her as she thought of him.

"So what are you going to do?" Amir asked. "Are you going to imprison him?"

"We wish we could," Rajkumar Fayyaz said, "But just one letter might not be enough. And we haven't found anything on Butnam."

Noor pursed her lips, exchanging a glance with Amir. They'd done all they could, what more was possible?

"We've asked someone for help," Rajkumar Vikram said.

Noor narrowed her eyes at him. "Who?"

"The third Enyan Rajkumari—the Princess, Princess Aurelia Elizabeth De Chavanne," Rajkumar Fayyaz said.

Noor raised her eyebrows and blew out a breath.

"It's a lengthy name, we know," Rajkumar Fayyaz said, grinning slightly.

"The point is," Rajkumar Vikram said, "She's agreed to come here. She will arrive the day after tomorrow."

"The Enyan royal family," Amir bit his lip, glancing at Noor. "I haven't studied that much about them, but Princess Aurelia is much younger than her older siblings, isn't she? I've heard more about the future King."