Aladdin swallows hard, his eyes fixed on the reptile. “Look, even if what you say is true, I don’t have the ring. Maybe Xaxos didn’t pass on the message, but I never had it to begin with. Not that I didn’t try.” He laughs and lifts a shoulder. “I am the best thief in—”
“You’re lying.” The leader stands up and crosses her arms. “Two nights after I had Xaxos hire a thief to steal the ring, Darian rode out like a madman in the middle of the night, his best soldiers with him. He hasn’t been seen for days. There’s only one object he would go to such lengths to recover. You did steal that ring, and now you’re going to give it to me.”
“What do you want with it?” he asks. “Who are you? A revolutionary? A thief? What’s your name?”
The girl only stares at Aladdin, her brow creasing. She seems to waver for a moment, then she looks up at one of her girls and nods.
“Nessa, tell him.”
Nessa, the quietest of the group, steps behind the leader and pronounces in a low voice, “Aladdin rai Mustapha, pay your respects to your king’s daughter, your princess, and your sovereign, Caspida nez Anadredca of Parthenia, Heiress to the Throne, Jewel of the Amulens, the Beloved of the Gods, and First Daughter of the Anadredcan Dynasty.”
Startled to my core, I stare with new eyes at Caspida. I have known an Anadredca before: Queen Roshana Mithraya nez Anadredca. This girl is your descendant, Habiba. Your heir. Could it be, after everything that happened that day, that your bloodline lived on? That your little daughter was saved from the destruction and smuggled out of Neruby and crowned amid the ruins of your empire?
Aladdin goes very still, his eyes unreadable—but I see with more than eyes. My sixth sense picks up waves of shock and anger rolling off him.
“You mean her?” he asks slowly. “The girl I kissed?”
“Almost kissed,” Caspida corrects.
“She is your future queen!” Khavar snaps, and with her foot she shoves him forward, sending him sprawling. “Show more deference.”
“Khavar! Enough.” Caspida holds up a hand. “Step away.”
Khavar shoots Aladdin a dark look as she stands aside. He struggles back onto his knees, his face pale. He stares at Caspida with wide eyes. And then he laughs, drawing astonished looks from the girls, his voice echoing through the warehouse. Raz sticks her head through the door and shushes him, and only then does he break off, coughing a little.
“Sorry, Princess.” He brings his hands forward, and the ropes they’d bound his wrists with fall to the floor. Khavar starts forward threateningly, but Aladdin throws up a hand. “Easy there, snake eyes. I’m not going to run.”
Turning to Caspida, he asks, “What’s going on here? I’m supposed to believe you’re some kind of rebel, only to find out you’re a royal?” He throws a finger toward the door. “There are people out there who leave offerings at the temples in the name of the Phoenix. They believe you’re a guardian, a savior. They sing your praises, wear your symbol—but they have no idea you’re one of them. One of the same oppressive rulers they think you’re protecting them from!”
“I never claimed to be a savior,” she returns coldly. “And believe me, I wish I could tell them the truth. But not all battles can be fought in the light. Those people out there are my people, thief, and I will fight for them. The Phoenix is the only way I have. The moment I step out of the shadows, my uncle will see to it that I never cross him again. Aladdin, I’m on your side! Why do you think I asked Xaxos to hire you to steal the key? I’d heard you were a great thief, yes, but I thought of all people, you’d understand my cause.”
“Well, I guess you don’t know me well enough,” says Aladdin darkly. “I’m not my father. I’m not some kind of rebel or leader. I took the job from Xaxos for the money, nothing else.”
“Enough,” sighs Caspida, holding up a hand. “Thief, the ring you stole belongs to me. It’s been in my family’s possession for hundreds of years, going all the way back to my ancestress Roshana the Wise.”
The fur on my back prickles, drawing a concerned pat from Ensi. You had no such ring, Habiba. Surely I would have known if you had such a powerful talisman in your possession—especially one meant to lead the wearer to me. My interest in this ring expands tenfold, and I wish sorely it had not been lost.
“This is taking entirely too long,” Khavar says. “Just search him!”
“I’ll do it!” Ensi volunteers, her eyes lighting up.