Nature reminded her of the princess that she was. She could handle this and all that was to come.

Some days after the arrival of the ambassadors, she gathered the people at court for a walk through the mountains. When it came to hospitality, what better way to be kind than to show the foreigners the beauties of her lands? She arranged for all the ambassadors to join her, along with some Marghazar nobles and a few of her cousins, though not Laila Baji and the baby, sadly. Her niece’s soft giggles would have pacified Durkhanai’s discontented mood, which was even worse because her cousins Zarmina and Saifullah still had yet to arrive.

Durkhanai walked behind everyone, more comfortable with them all in her sight. Gulalai was busy chatting with Palwasha-sahiba—the ambassador from B’rung—about road designs. The ambassador from Teerza, Rukhsana-sahiba, walked alone.

When Durkhanai approached to make polite conversation, Rukhsana-sahiba fixed her with a glare so sharp that Durkhanai spun away with childish spite and refused to speak with her.

That left Asfandyar.

She very purposefully did not initiate contact with Asfandyar, who looked even better against the backdrop of mountains during the soft morning. His wool pakol sat crooked on his head, allowing some curls to sit on his forehead under the cap. He was in black shalwar kameez once more, though this time adorned with a metal gray chaadar.

Not that Durkhanai noticed, of course.

She was far too preoccupied with appreciating her beautiful land. Green grass stretched across the hills like plush velvet. The trees looked like little shrubs one could pick from the landscape like flowers from the earth, so soft and small like moss.

It eased her heart, ever so slightly, until her gaze strayed once more to Asfandyar.

He’ll bring you nothing but ruin, Gulalai’s words rang in her mind. But Durkhanai could handle herself.

Gulalai was also the one to observe that he was one of the only people who might be able to help untangle their questions about what had happened at the summit, so perhaps her advice was contradictory.

If somebody truly was trying to frame Marghazar, Durkhanai needed to find out who and why.

The Badshah and Wali were hard at work trying to draft negotiations and even harder at work trying to find evidence to prove their innocence, but what evidence would there have been?

If it was the Kebzu Kingdom behind the attack, they must have been informed by one of the zilla’s walis. The walis that Durkhanai knew nothing about.

But Asfandyar was friends with them all.

Perhaps she needed to make an ally out of him after all.

If she could get him to trust her, perhaps he could give her information about the summit, which could lead her to figure out who was behind the attack. He didn’t seem bloodthirsty for war—perhaps he wished for peace as well.