Faiza nodded, her head still bowed. She led Piper from the suite to the elevator. As soon as the doors closed, Piper threw up her hands. “Faiza, I can’t make Coop do anything, let alone this.”

“But the princess has ordered it,” Faiza said earnestly.

“The princess is going to be disappointed.”

Faiza’s forehead puckered. “Can you not persuade him?”

“This is the United States,” Piper said as gently as she could. “I know it’s hard to understand, but we don’t care here about what foreign princesses want.”

Piper watched the play of expressions on Faiza’s face move from despair to fear to resignation. Piper couldn’t bear it. “This isn’t your fault. I’ll go back and explain.”

Faiza regarded her sadly. “Do not trouble yourself. This is my difficulty. If I had not mentioned to my friend Habiba that you work for a famous American football player, none of this would have happened. Habiba means no harm, but she likes very much to talk.”

“But you’ll be the one punished.” Piper knew it was true, and the injustice infuriated her. She was further enraged when the elevator doors opened and the bright light of the lobby revealed what she hadn’t noticed before. Faiza’s dark purple hijab didn’t quite hide a bruise on her cheekbone.

Rage boiled through her. A pair of stern-faced guards stood near the elevator. She grabbed Faiza’s arm. “I don’t feel good. Help me get to the restroom.”

Faiza regarded her with concern, but she was accustomed to serving others, and she immediately directed Piper past the disinterested guards and across the lobby to the ladies’ room. No one was inside. “Who hit you?” Piper demanded. “Did the princess do this?”

Faiza touched her cheek. “No. It was Aya.” The distasteful way she uttered the name spoke volumes. “Aya is in charge of Her Highness’s servants. She likes things done quickly, and I was too slow.”

“And the princess allows her to hit the other servants?”

“She does not notice.”

“She should!” They were alone, but Piper automatically lowered her voice. “Your aunt in Canada... Would she let you stay with her if you could get there?”

“Oh, yes. She has told me this. Every time we come to the United States, I dream of going to her, but it is impossible. I have no way of getting there, and even if I did... If I was caught...” Her dark eyes were as empty as an old woman’s looking at her own death. She shook her head at the futility of such a thing. “I must find my happiness in knowing how deeply my khala keeps me in her heart.”

“That’s not good enough.” The royal family was leaving tomorrow night. Piper hesitated. “What if there was a way to... get you into Canada?”