The water split open and the diver burst through. With strong strokes, he swam to the lip, scurried up the cliff, and once again faced the fall beneath. Toes raised, chest heaving, drops glistening on his body, he plunged back down.

Excitement pounded in her chest and blood rushed in her veins. She pressed her palm to her wild heart. Out there was a world where men had the freedom to defy the elements and were not answerable to higher authorities. Surely the monotony of the palace was alien there. If she ever learned to tame sharks, she could tame anyone, even her grandmadar’s Devil. But the palace walls restricted her.

The urgency to learn the magic of the divers turning into obsession, she went to the royal library and devoured all the information she could find about the River of Dreams. She frequented the Secret Passage, inching her way through the routes that branched from the main hall. She stroked the walls, feeling for hidden apertures and calling out in different voices, hoping the echo would bring back clues from the outside. Her mother went to visit the Shah. Raven followed in the distance. She returned, disappointed that after so many years her mother had no desire to find the way to the outside. How could anyone be content among these walls?

Raven went to Hazel-Boy. He had lived in the palace forever. He was intimate with every dark niche and hidden porthole. She could rely on his help and discretion.

In the gardens, away from curious eyes and surrounded by sunlit mirrors and the rustle of peacocks, Hazel-Boy’s lips brushed against Raven’s forehead. “You have blossomed, my princess. Even more beautiful than your mother.” He was the maturing princess’s ally, encouraging her ambitions, pacifying her outbursts, watching her with interest. He could decipher the longing in her eyes with accuracy. She had her mother’s eyes, only different, mysterious colors. But neither the grandchild nor the daughter had the grandmother’s violet fire, eyes that had once ruffled his innermost soul until they had unearthed all his secrets. He longed to once more embrace Rebekah’s ample body and stroke her brand. He would do anything for her granddaughter, but he would not divulge the hidden way out of the palace, endanger her life, and cause Gold Dust sorrow. “My princess, for safety reasons, there’s no path to the outside.”

Raven flung her arms around his neck. “How can that be? You know this place like the beat of your heart. Tell.”

His unbridled laughter joined the rustle of leaves. “Don’t ever tell a man he knows everything, my princess. He’ll become too arrogant.”

“Hazel-Boy, I’m not here for a lecture. Please, tell me.”

“It’s the truth. I’ve never had any desire to sneak out; neither should you.”

“I’m going on my own, and I won’t stop until I find the way,” she announced, marching toward the Secret Passage.