Chapter 26 · Chapter 26

The quiet that followed the clerk’s departure lasted only until footsteps struck the marble corridor once more, heavier this time, unmeasured by any pretense of clerkly restraint. A palm slammed flat against the brass studs of the cedar door.

"Majed!" Abu Fahad did not wait for the house man to announce him. His voice carried the rough edge of an elder whose authority had never before been checked by a locked latch. "Open this door. The estate’s ledger does not remain behind a bolted latch while the council sits downstairs. Open it, or I will have the men bring the master keys from the northern gate."

I stood near the low table, the shaila resting over my shoulders, watching the heavy timber shudder once under the strike of his hand. There was no panic in the room, only the cold, sharp tightening of the air that always preceded Majed’s decisions.

Majed did not rush. He set the leather-bound docket upon the dark wood of the console, his movements fluid and deliberately slow. He did not raise his voice to match the shout in the hall.