Page 39 of A City of Hearts and Feathers

Kahil thought about it. "I don't know about a good story, but it is a long one."

"You will have to tell me about it sometime. I'm interested to know how you became part of the Order."

"I'm sure I already told you the conditions of me opening up the box that I keep that tale in," he replied, a mischievous grin on his face.

Zoe rolled her eyes. "I am always a good girl, thank you very much."

Kahil's bright laughter filled the kitchen. "You are going to have to do better than that to get my secrets,balim."

"I'll think of something to bribe you with. It shouldn't be too hard," she replied.

Kahil's eyes glowed. "I can give you some suggestions if you like."

"Let's go and check out the Serpentine Column first. I think this one is going to be harder to find than the others have been," Zoe said, her heart stuttering erratically.

It was going to be doubly tricky to follow her father's riddle because the snakeheads were missing. How would she know where they had been looking?

Kahil placed the empty container into the dishwasher. "Oman wasn't about to leave you a riddle that you couldn't figure out. You've been smart enough to follow the clues so far, so don't doubt yourself so much. You are a natural at this. Honestly, it is kind of annoying that you are so good at everything already. You aren't going to need your dear old Virgil to guide you for very long."

"I will just have to find another use for you, won't I?" Zoe said, looking up at him.

"I have many exceptional talents. What did you have in mind?"

Zoe pretended to think about it. "Cooking? Cleaning? I'm going to need someone tall to dust those high bookshelves for me downstairs, and you are so tall."

"You are definitely playing with fire today, sweet Zoe. Keep it up and see what it gets you," he replied.

Zoe fluttered her eyelashes at him. "Hopefully, clean bookshelves."

Kahil chucked her under the chin. "Let's go and check out this column before we lose the daylight, brat."

CHAPTER TWENTY

Sultanahmet Square was beautiful in the golden afternoon sun. Zoe and Kahil got out of the cab near the park's entrance where barriers had been erected to guide the lines of tourists and worshippers into the Hagia Sophia.

As they walked, Zoe tried to imagine how it would have looked as the Hippodrome with its stone seats for spectators and the loud pounding of horses hooves and cheers of the crowd. Kahil guided her around the crowd of people and food carts and further into the square itself.

"I don't know what my father was thinking if he decided that this would be a secret, out-of-the-way place for part of the codex to be hidden in," Zoe said as they crossed the smooth paving stones and headed towards the Blue Mosque.

"Maybe Oman imagined that everyone else would think it a crazy idea as well and never bother to look here," Kahil replied. He was wearing his sunglasses, but Zoe noticed the way he scanned the crowd, like he was always looking for the threat that would jump out at them.

"What's wrong?" she asked, feeling paranoid.

"Nothing. I just don't trust that you're not going to be approached today at least once. With the way everyone's beenacting, all bets are off. The next rude person is really going to regret it," he replied. His attention snagged on a woman dressed in a purple maxi dress, and he stopped walking. "What did I tell you?"

The woman strode confidently towards them, smiling like she knew them. There was something about her that made Zoe's hair stand up on the back of her neck.

"Zoe Kartal, it is nice to finally meet you. I am Sarah," she greeted before purring at Kahil. "War dog, always a pleasure to see you out and about." She stared at Kahil in a way that made Zoe want to stand in front of him to protect him from her lecherous eyes.

"Priestess, can we help you with something?" Kahil asked.

"Lydia would like an audience with you both. She asks that you meet her tomorrow at the temple at sundown. She isn't amused that you threw one of her acolytes into the Bosporus, naughty boy."

Zoe's hand found Kahil's, and she twined their fingers together. If this woman was like the cab driver that had enchanted her, Zoe wasn't going to risk being separated from him again.

"Really? I wasn't fucking amused that her acolyte thought it was okay to enchant and kidnap someone under the Order's protection," Kahil replied. His thumb brushed over Zoe's wrist, reassuring her.

The priestess looked down at their hands, and a snide smile stretched across her face. "My, my… Isn't that an interesting development?"

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