The Shah heard Gold Dust confirm his own deductions, shape a formidable enemy he could not defeat unless he comprehended his every strength and weakness, and unless his empire supported him as one. But this last intimate detail was beyond his books and strategists.

“How did you find this out?”

“From my mother,” she replied simply, the warmth in his eyes coloring her cheeks.

He, too, had learned a fact or two from Rebekah. Lately, led by the Master of Ceremonies, she had been allowed a few visits. He was beginning to trust her, sometimes more than his own men. She was bold and intuitive and now she had imparted another valuable piece of information to him.

He reclined on massive cushions. Removing the falcons from his forearm and shoulders, he set the three in her lap. She was not prepared for this tenderness and the upheaval it created in her. She could not suffer the love of two men. She pressed her lips on each of the falcons’ heads. She bent toward the map at his feet. “It must be difficult to advance through these passes. Would you explain your plan to me?”

He drew a deep breath. “We will try in simple terms.”

Gold Dust smiled gratefully. Who would have thought a bunch of herbs could soften the heart of her king?

They studied the sketch of Persia—an empire that possessed the manpower for the making of an army even greater than the one his father had boasted of. The Shah set to strengthen and unite his soldiers and was hoping to launch an attack against the invaders in six months.

“Our army will climb steep, rocky passes toward a strategic position from where we will attack the enemy exactly when it sets out to cross the valley toward the opposite stretch of mountains. In case the enemy attempts to advance up the mountains for a direct or flank attack on us, we will stop it at any price.” He uncoiled one of her braids. “Our name will forever adorn history.”

She cast her eyes down as she used to when she was infatuated by his power. “What about the beasts that spew poisonous gasses?”

He waved his hand, concealing the fear that the nameless had instilled in him. “It would be less difficult to destroy them than to fight our way up narrow passes that hardly accommodate a single goat and around a volcano that spews fire.”

As if his words had just sparked an idea, she asked, “Then why not use this fire against the enemy?”

It took him awhile to grasp the significance of a woman, still his favorite, having thought of a complex plan he and his strategists had been devising for months. She spoke with humility, as if the thought of using the rage of nature against the enemy were a simple recipe for halvah. She would have made a better partner than many of the cowards who surrounded him.