“Her legs won’t carry her too far.”

“She’s much stronger than you think.”

Rebekah’s mind raced as she willed her body into action. She needed brave hands and lucid minds to plan her daughter’s escape. Her fingers sprang to her chest, weighing the emerald. Rouh’Allah the Spirit of God would give her daughter refuge. For a short while, until she found another place, another land. “We must wake the merchant,” she announced, racing to toss a chador over her body.

The howl of stray dogs broke the silence of the alleys. Hazel-Boy led Venus by a rope as Rebekah pointed the way. Stripped of his usual trimming and headstand of ostrich feathers, the donkey appeared old and shabby. Rebekah flanked the limping animal with her bare thighs. This was her third trip to the merchant. But tonight she had left behind her pride and the vow to refuse his help.

Despite the late hour, the merchant’s servant did not question Rebekah’s presence, but went into the house to awaken the Agha.

The merchant’s usually brushed hair tumbled down his forehead, hiding the gray and giving him a younger look. Her skilled glance determined he was naked under his robe. “This is Hazel-Boy, a friend of Gold,” she whispered. “Rouh’Allah, my daughter is in danger. She’s fallen in love with Soleiman.”

He held her by the hand and led her in, thinking this woman’s daughter was even braver than Rebekah, certainly much braver than he. “We’ll find a solution.”

His presence, his serene voice, his firm grip, and his unwavering gaze calmed her. She turned to Hazel-Boy. “Will the Bibi Sultana help?”

“The order of execution has gone out,” he replied. “No one can change it now.” Hazel-Boy thought of the possibilities. There were too many jealous women, too many eunuchs loyal only to their own mistresses, too many guards who feared for their lives. Only Honey could be trusted. And she had been warned. Hazel-Boy drew the plan of the harem on a parchment and pointed to all the gardens and gates that led to the outside. The only unguarded part of the palace was the back, which was skirted by the river, where the voracious sharks patrolled.

“Even if we manage to get her out, where will she go? What will become of Raven?” Rebekah slumped, disheartened at the enormity of the task.

“Get Gold Dust out of the palace,” Rouh’Allah said. “Leave the rest to me. My son is familiar with roads that lead to other lands. We’ll send Gold Dust to a place where not even the Shah and his men will find her.” His eyes swept the length of her body.

“What about Raven?”

“Raven will stay behind,” Rebekah said. The Shah would pursue Gold Dust with the force of his pride, but he would hunt Raven with the vigor of his passion, and that was dangerous and infinite.

“I know the way out of the Secret Passage,” Hazel-Boy said. “If we could cross the river, we would lose ourselves in the woods before the guards are alerted.”