And somewhere within the labyrinth of silver and stone surrounding them, Princess Karina was waiting to be killed.

Another wave of dizziness washed over Malik, and he clutched his forearms to steady himself.

Dozens of servants clothed in Alahari silver and red knelt on the tiled path to the Azure Garden’s horseshoe-shaped door, and at the front of the column stood a man dressed in the same colors, though the cut of his clothes was too fine for him to be a mere servant. The man gave a sweeping bow as Malik and his guards approached.

“Solstasia afeshiya!” The man straightened up, clasping his hands before him. “My name is Farid Sibari, steward of Ksar Alahari and adviser to Her Majesty Haissa Sarahel. On behalf of our dear queen, who unfortunately cannot be here to greet you herself, allow me to welcome you to the Azure Garden.”

All the servants prostrated themselves in unison, pressing their foreheads to the ground. Malik, who had already been bowed to more in the last hour than he had every day of his life before this combined, was too stunned to speak. Farid must have taken his silence as approval, for his smile widened.

“My team and I have been working for years to prepare the Azure Garden for your arrival, Champion Adil. Please help yourself to anything on the property, and if you find yourself in need of something we have not already provided or if anything at all is amiss, please do not hesitate to send word at once. Though it is not much, I would like you to consider the Azure Garden as your second home.”

The steward’s tone was welcoming, but it was impossible to miss the deep bags lining his eyes or the way his clothes hung slightly off-kilter on his body, as if he had thrown them on at the last minute. Something told Malik that as bad as his night had been, Farid Sibari had had a worse one, and that was what pulled him from his fear long enough to say, “I am humbled by your hospitality. Thank you so much.”

“The thanks is all mine. However, I apologize for taking up so much of your time. I am sure you wish to go inside and . . . make yourself comfortable.”

Farid’s words made Malik realize just how out of place he and his rags looked among the opulence of Ksar Alahari. Cheeks burning, he nodded, and Farid gestured toward the column of servants. A young man at the front of the row hopped to his feet and ran over to Malik, bowing so low he almost toppled over.

“This is Hicham, your head attendant here at the Azure Garden,” explained Farid.

“Solstasia afeshiya, Champion Adil. I swear by the grace of the Great Mother and the guidance of Adanko that I will devote my life to serving you this week. Please, this way.”

If the exterior of the Azure Garden had been stunning, then the interior was breathtaking. Vines sporting small blue flowers coiled around the railings on the upper level, and down below, a small pool of water shimmered in the center of the courtyard. White curtains fluttered in the breeze, and the Alahari gryphon roared from the decor, a constant reminder of who they had to thank for this luxury.

And yet, for all the Azure Garden’s beauty, there was something strange about the place, and it wasn’t just the albino peacocks squawking in the courtyard. It hit Malik—the grim folk were nowhere to be found. No ghouls, no ifrits, not even a simple wood sprite peeking through the beams. For whatever reason, the spirits avoided this place, and that realization was not as reassuring to Malik as it should have been.

Hicham led Malik into a hammam the size of the magistrate’s house back in Oboure, with walls made of thick tadelakt plaster and enough cakes of soap to clean an entire army. Scented plumes of steam rose off the water, and Malik was so mesmerized that he almost forgot to send the Mark scrambling to the bottom of his foot before Hicham and his team undressed him. Then they lowered Malik into the near-scorching water and went to work.

The servants scrubbed Malik down with thick black soap for his skin and ghassoul for his hair, the clay a welcome relief after months of dirt accumulating on his scalp despite his attempts to keep it clean. Within minutes, the grime and dust of Malik’s journey melted into a dark cloud in the water. The feeling of so many people touching him was more than uncomfortable, but there was nothing Malik could do but bear it. More than once he glanced around, as if Princess Karina might pop out of the faucets, but no such thing occurred.

“What would you have us do with these?” asked one of the servants, holding Malik’s old clothes at arm’s length.

He should have let the servants throw the outfit away, but instead he said, “Can you clean and press them for me, please? But please be careful with the toy in the right pocket.”

The servant nodded and ran off. The other attendants wrapped a towel around Malik’s waist and neck and bade him to sit on a low stool while Hicham hovered behind him, a large pair of shears in his hand.

“How would you have me style this?” asked the man, staring at Malik’s hair in mild horror.

Most people in Sonande had curly or coily textured hair that grew out rather than down, but Malik’s was exceptional due to the sheer difficulty of getting it to stay in any one form. His hair had been hard enough to manage back when he’d kept a regular grooming schedule; now, after months on the road, his locks grew in a jumbled mass he’d given up on trying to detangle.

“Do whatever you feel is best,” Malik squeaked out, and after several minutes of muttering to himself, Hicham started cutting. Dark locks of hair floated before Malik’s eyes, and when Hicham finished and held a mirror up to his face, all Malik could do was stare. That was still his face with all its imperfections and his too-wide, too-black eyes. But the boy who gazed back at him had gentle curls that brushed the top of his forehead and warm tawny skin that seemed to glow thanks to whatever the servants had put in that bath.

“Does this please you, my Champion?” asked Hicham, fear lacing his voice.

Malik blinked.

He looked like a prince.

He looked nothing like himself at all.

“It does,” said Malik, to his own surprise, and Hicham gave a relieved sigh.

The servants gave Malik a purple robe as soft as silk and led him into a wide dining room with tables full of fresh fruit, bubbling stews, and large loaves of bread.

“Life Priestess should arrive at any minute to help you prepare for the Opening Ceremony and the First Challenge,” explained Hicham as he sat Malik at the place of honor. “Please help yourself to this humble meal while you wait.”

Any questions Malik had died when he saw the food. He grabbed a loaf of bread and bit down hard, not caring that it burned his mouth. Tears sprang to his eyes, only partly from the pain. Malik continued to shovel food into his mouth as fast as he could even as his attendants stared. This was the most food he had seen in almost a year, and it was delicious too, so much so that even someone as picky as Nadia—

A wave of nausea slammed into Malik, and he doubled over. Hicham ran to his side in alarm, but Malik waved him off.

“I’m fine!” he coughed. “I just . . . I ate too quickly. Forgive me.”

Hunger panged Malik’s stomach, but he couldn’t bring himself to touch another bite. How could he be sitting here enjoying himself when Nadia was being held hostage by a monster and Leila was nowhere to be found? Mama would have been so disappointed in him.

If anything, the Azure Garden was a perfect reminder of why Princess Karina deserved to die. She could afford to live this life of excess every day because of the suffering of families like Malik’s. She didn’t care whether they broke their backs tilling the fields or their children went hungry from all the taxes her family levied upon them. The only reason he was even here was to find a way to kill her. Anything that didn’t help him achieve that goal was a distraction he could not afford, no matter how delicious the food or how fine the gifts.

Malik mentally took stock of his situation. He had the spirit blade, and being the Life Champion would give him a roof over his head and food until Solstasia was over. Now all that was left was finding the princess.

Farid had told him that Princess Karina wasn’t at the Azure Garden right then, and it seemed unlikely their paths would cross before the Opening Ceremony. The first chance he got, he needed to slip away and figure out how the riad connected to the rest of the palace.

There were also the other Champions to worry about, though Malik had yet to see any signs of them. No doubt their own teams were preparing them for the Opening Ceremony as well. With so many potential obstacles lurking about, this temporary home felt more like a jeweled viper’s nest.

Malik eyed the bread uneasily. Morals aside, starving himself wasn’t going to save Nadia.