They began looking around, and she rummaged through some of the books, hoping to find something hidden between the spines.

After some time, she turned to see how Asfandyar was faring and caught him holding her grandfather’s seal.

“Don’t touch that!” she scolded. It was the Badshah’s mark for his correspondence. He dropped the seal and held his hands up innocently.

“Stay focused,” she ordered. They continued to read through documents, until Asfandyar suddenly stilled.

“Do you hear that?” he whispered.

She didn’t, but before she could even react, he rushed toward her.

“Someone’s coming!”

He grabbed her waist from behind and pulled her toward the bookshelf, hiding in the shadows until they were hidden from plain view. Durkhanai’s heart pounded furiously against her chest, but she reckoned it had more to do with Asfandyar’s fingers lingering on the bare skin of her waist.

“No one is here,” she whispered, taking a step away from him.

But then she heard it, too.

The Badshah and the Wali outside the doors.

Durkhanai pulled Asfandyar toward the passageway entrance, slipping in and easing the door closed just as her grandparents entered.

“This is good,” she whispered. “I wanted to be here for when they met later.”

Durkhanai left the door open a peak so they could listen. It was impossible to hear once the door closed. They pressed against the wall to catch the conversation. She pressed a cheek against the cold stone, but Asfandyar was warm behind her. She suddenly felt breathless, her feet swaying.

But whatever was wrong with her felt deeper than just his presence. Her head was still spinning. She leaned against the wall.

“Are you alright?” Asfandyar asked, hands falling to her shoulders to steady her.

“Yes.”

Durkhanai tried to focus on what the Wali was saying.

“It is confirmed then?” the Wali said. “The Kebzu Kingdom carried out the summit attack?’

“Yes,” the Badshah replied. “Read this.”

Durkhanai couldn’t tell what it was that he was showing the Wali, but no matter. She had been right—it was the Kebzu Kingdom. But they still couldn’t provide evidence as to who informed them.

Durkhanai continued to listen to the Badshah’s conversation, but there was nothing more of substance, and finally, he and the Wali left. When they did, Durkhanai and Asfandyar followed suit and began walking back.

“I didn’t get to show you, but I think I found something,” Asfandyar said. “It was a negotiation draft: Marghazar would help B’rung in the building of roads if they gave Marghazar a tax in the form of soldiers, I suppose to aid Marghazar against the Lugham Empire.”

It was the initial step to annex B’rung into Marghazar. The same thing had happened with Trichmir and Dirgara, when they were smaller zillas of their own before the Badshah joined them together with S’vat to create Marghazar—a hegemony.