“They call for me, Komizar,” I said gently, hoping to soften his countenance.
“They can wait. All the better to augment their fervor before the wedding. I have a more important task for you.”
“What task is more important than increasing their fervor with visions of plenty?”
He looked at me suspiciously. “Bolstering the governors who will be going home to their provinces in a week’s time.”
“Is there a problem with the governors?” I asked.
He grabbed the red dress I was to wear for the wedding from the chest and threw it on the bed. “Put it on. I’ll be back to take you to the Council session later today. At my signal, you’ll give the governors their own private performance, where you’ll conveniently flutter your lashes and spew words of victory. The right words this time.”
“But the dress is for our wedding this evening.”
“Put it on,” he ordered. “It would be wasteful to save a dress for a few dim hours.”
I hoped to quickly quell his growing agitation so he would leave. “As you wish, sher Komizar. It’s our wedding day, after all, and I wish to please you. I’ll be dressed by the time you return.” I grabbed the dress from
the bed and waited for him to leave.
“Now, my pet. I’ll be taking your riding clothes with me. You’ll have no need of them, and I know how wedding jitters can make some brides impulsive, especially you.”
He stood there waiting. “Hurry. I don’t have time for your feigned modesty.”
Neither did I. I needed him to return to the Council Wing as soon as possible. I quickly shed my vest, belt, and boots, then turned around to take off the rest. I could feel his eyes drilling into my back, and I quickly wriggled into my dress. Before I could turn around, his hands slid around my waist and his lips traced the kavah on my shoulder. I grabbed my shirt and trousers from the bed and turned, shoving them into his stomach.
He laughed. “Now, that’s the princess I know and love.”
“You’ve never loved anything in your life,” I said.
His expression softened for a brief moment. “How very wrong you are.” He turned to leave, but just before he closed the door behind him, he added, “I’ll be back in a few hours.” His lip lifted in distaste, and he whirled his hand in the air. “Do something with your hair.”
He shut the door, and I ruffled my hair into a ragged mess of frustration. And then I heard a growling thunk.
I ran to the door and tried the latch. It didn’t budge. I pounded with my fists. “You can’t lock me in! That’s not our agreement!” I pressed my ear to the door, but the only answer I got was the faint sound of his footsteps receding.
Agreement. I almost laughed at the word. Unlike Kaden, I knew the Komizar honored nothing unless it served him. I looked around the room for something that could pick the lock. I took a bone from my tether, used my knife to split it into a thin sliver, and prodded at the small keyhole to no avail. Every piece of metal in this wretched damp city was stiff with rust. I tried another bone and another, and heard the chants outside growing louder. Jezelia. When would first bell ring? I ran to the windows, but they were too small and too deep for me to call to anyone. And then I heard a light knock.
“Miz Lia?”
I ran to the door and fell against it. “Aster!” I said, relief flooding through me.
“They’re calling for you,” she said.
“I hear them. Can you unlock the door for me?”
I heard her jiggling keys in the lock. “None of these work.”
My mind raced, trying to think what would take the least time. Fetch Calantha? She had a key to everything in the Sanctum. But whose side would she be on today? I took a chance and told Aster to get her. She left and I sat on the floor, leaning back against the door. Time crept by in agonizing beats, marked by the calls of Jezelia, and then I heard first bell. My heart sank, but then the rush of footsteps clattered through the hall, and I heard Aster’s panting breaths at the door.
“I looked everywhere, Miz. I couldn’t find her. No one knows where she is.”
I tried to calm the panic rising in me. Time was slipping away. I’ll be waiting. Was he still there?
The Komizar’s room. There. “Search the Komizar’s room!” I yelled. It was just across the hall. “He’s gone to the Council Wing. Hurry, Aster!”
I grabbed the baldrick from the bed and slipped my knife into its sheath. Next I added my tether of bones and finally my cloak to conceal the knife. If I did get out of this room, I had to look as I always did to the guards who might see me. Minutes passed. I sat on the bed. Leave without me, Rafe. You promised.
“I got it!” Aster called through the door. I heard the heavy bolt slide and the door opened. Her face beamed with her accomplishment, and I kissed her forehead. “You are the saving angel Aster!”