Page 29 of The Wishless Ones
Anticipation thrummed through Jafar’s veins as the sun rose fierce and bright, eager to witness all that was about to happen. They detoured around the bazaar, wary of any guards who might recognize them, and passed a bathhouse, finally coming upon the path leading to the palace grounds. With every step, the palace grew larger and larger, and soon, he saw the House of Wisdom just beyond it.
When they reached the top of the incline, Jafar turned, facing the rest of Maghriz. From here, the kingdom unfurled like the petals of a rose arranged with beautiful precision, and unlike many places, it didn’t darken with decay the farther out from the city one went. As evidenced by the bazaar they’d seen at the outskirts of the capital city—it didn’t reek of a place left to rot, it didn’t look abandoned. Even the dark alleys between streets beckoned with the promise of shade, not a lurking foe.
Jafar and Rohan stopped at a crossroads and a sign. A guard stood beside it, watching them with stoic features. An arrow pointing to the left saidGrand Palace, and another pointed to the right, sayingHouse of Wisdom. Jafar’s pulse quickened. He nodded at the guard and carried forward on the mostly barren road. The few people present were either deep in hushed conversation or rushing past with their heads bowed low.
There were, however, a great many guards.
“Stop fidgeting,” Jafar said. “I canhearyour fingers twiddling.”
“There’s so many of them,” Rohan said beside him.
“Because we’re near a palace,” Iago deadpanned. He was a welcome weight on Jafar’s shoulder today. Strangely comforting.
Jafar nodded. “TheMaghrizipalace at that.”
“I guess I’d hoped a library wouldn’t be as patrolled. Are you sure we can walk in through the front door?” Rohan asked.
“I have more faith in my ability to charm than in my ability to sneak through a window of the palace’s neighbor.”
The caliph’s house was one thing. A library as lauded as the Maghrizi palace? Jafar’s pulse raced even faster. He knew his limits.
Jafar looked behind them to where the sands swirled along the path leading to the palace. It was a lot less vibrant than he had anticipated. A lot quieter. The silence was eerie, filled with a sense of foreboding. Mourning, almost.
Just as he was about to turn back, he saw a young woman with midnight hair and tantalizing curves crossing into the walled gardens behind the palace. There was something about her bold gait that made it hard not to stare.
“Something feels wrong about that place,” Rohan said, picking up on what Jafar had been thinking before he’d gotten distracted.
Right. Focus.
“I know,” Jafar replied, facing the House of Wisdom again. “It feels like someone’s dead.”
The very air reeked of it. He hadn’t shared with Rohan what he’d learned from the caravan leader, mostly because he wasn’t certain it was true, but also because Rohan would be even more hesitant to go through with the plan.
Rohan paused midstep. “Then this is probably not a good time.”
Like that.
“Relax, brother,” Jafar said, glancing back to the palace again. The girl was gone. “Gaze to the oasis. We’re going to the House of Wisdom, not the palace. And we need that lamp, remember?”
That was what made Rohan immediately relax, and for once, Jafar was more relieved than guilty. Rohan had always trusted him. Enough that he had followed Jafar across the cruel sands and braved the perilous seas. Eh, perhaps he ought to feel a little bad, but he was too excited at the moment.
A pair of guards were stationed at the intricate archway ahead. Beyond them, an enclosed walkway meandered to a towering structure, welcoming and imposing at once. The House of Wisdom. Its large domes sharpened to spears cutting through the clouds, and wide windows were set with panes of glass telling a tale of their own.
“Smile,” Jafar said.
Rohan started to protest.
“Don’t think,smile,” Jafar insisted.
Rohan smiled his innocent, boyish smile, and as Jafar expected, the guard on the right softened.
“Marhaba,” the man said.
“Shukrun,” Rohan replied with just as much ease. Jafar hadn’t expectedthatto come so easily when a smile couldn’t.
He continued without breaking stride, compelling Rohan to do the same. The guards said nothing more, returning to their quiet conversation as if nothing were amiss.
Not that anythingwasamiss.
