The Serpent's Veil

Glass Petals

Rose petals clung to Khaya's body as she stepped out of the tub. The cool, soothing water was now murky with dirt and dust leeched from her skin. She squeezed the water out of her hair and wrapped it in a towel before peeling the petals off her skin and pulling on her clothes. The essential oils, hair balms, and other ampoules on the dressing table remained untouched – she doubted the Prince would be able to tell the difference.

Approaching footsteps sounded in her ears as she picked up Ibn Fakrid's envelope. The door swung open to reveal the same girl – now clothed – who had been staring at Khaya earlier. She was taller than Khaya thought, towering over her like a horse.

"You must be the Prince's new plaything." Her lips pulled into a sneer as she looked Khaya up and down.

She slowly moved the envelope behind her back. "Who are you, sahiba?"

"I am Nina al-Riyaz, cousin to our dear Prince."

Nina... Khaya recalled the name from her first meeting with Princess Rayta.

"Hm," Nina cocked her head to the side, one hand on her pudgy hip, "You're always wearing a veil, I hear. Why hide such a beautiful face?"

She reached out to pull the veil off, and Khaya stepped back.

Nina's eye caught the envelope in her hand. "What are you hiding from me, little whore?"

The blatant insult shocked Khaya to silence.

"Let me see." She grabbed at the envelope and Khaya stepped back again. Soon she would be pressed up against the table.

"Don't touch me," she said, voice level despite her growing panic.

Nina smirked. "Your very purpose is to be touched, what was it... al-Khayzuran... sahiba." The title was like spoiled milk in her mouth. "Hm... I wonder if the Prince is as much of an animal in bed as I've heard."

Khaya's grip on the envelope tightened, mind scrambling for something clever to say as her cheeks bloomed scarlet beneath her veil.

Nina leered and flipped her hair over her shoulder. "How lucky that you get to experience it first hand." She almost sounded dismayed as she turned to leave. "Let me know how it is..." she said over her shoulder. The door slam jolted Khaya's bones.

Her embarrassment and shock were the only sounds in the room.

X

Prince Rehan al-Mahdi pushed open the doors to his concubine's chamber. There was a spring in his step and a gleam in his eye. Khaya was sitting at the edge of her bed, nose buried in a book. Unsurprisingly, her face and hair were veiled. She tilted her chin up and closed the book, then remembered herself and bowed.

"Good evening, Prince Rehan," she said, gaze falling to the bundle of papers in his hand.

"I have a gift for you." He sat down beside her and spread the papers out on the bed.

Khaya buried her hands in her lap, stiff as bone.

"My cartographers have found your home," he said, and pointed at one of the pages. "Here."

Her heart jumped. "How could they have done it so quickly?!" Blood rushed to her head as she leaned in for a closer look. A simple black dot marked the town of Jorash in small, neat handwriting.

Rehan watched her eyes, shining with mirth instead of tears this time. "They found it in the archives," he finally said. "It saves us a lot of trouble if some other cartographer has already mapped the place we are interested in."