Chapter 21 · Untitled Chapter

The afternoon sun slanted across the limestone floor of the outer reception room, cutting harsh, pale geometric angles against the deep crimson wool of the carpets. The scent of warm cardamom and roasted beans drifted from the brass dallah resting on the side brazier, competing with the thin ribbon of oud rising from the marble mabkhara on the low console.

I sat straight against the embroidered bolsters, my black silk abaya gathered neatly over my knees, the sheer tarha draped securely over my hair. Though the heavy doors to the private wing remained closed behind me, this shared salon belonged to the family's afternoon callers. My place was set just two cushions down from the central seat of honor—a position Saud had marked as mine before the clerk and the ledgers only hours earlier.

A rustle of stiff, starched linen broke the quiet as an elder envoy from the Al-Dosari branch entered the hall, followed by a young server carrying a tray of dates.