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know…too much at stake, if the machine fails. She pressed her lips together, knowing that she had to face him again, as Nadira, to say the words that had refused to come… I didn’t kill him. I took his place…And now there is only one way out, only one way to change everything…
    “The scholars have prepared for us, Your Majesty,” the voice of the Grand Vizier rose above the dusty braying of horses behind her.
    Scanning across the valley below, she could see that they had, the enormous gates of the temple complex open wide, its cauldrons sparkling with fire, hundreds of robed scholars lining the stone path between the libraries and the Star Tower.
    “Tell the soldiers to construct their camps here,” Nadira said, affecting a sharper accent, a quicker tone to mimic Osman. “Only my personal security will enter the university gates.”
    “Yes, Majesty.”
    “And send a rider ahead to arrange my apartments. The journey has weakened me. I will retire immediately, not to be disturbed. Tell Isban that I expect to observe his first test in the morning.”
    “Of course, Majesty. I’m sure he will be grateful to have a few hours to prepare. His last report was not encouraging.”
    “We have the proper diamond now. The machine will work.”
    “Of course, Majesty.”
    She frowned, seeking the tranquil faces of the guardian statues once again before they slipped out of sight. The desert had fallen into shadow around them, its red canyons leached to purple as stars appeared on the horizon, pilgrim campfires casting a dancing light among the cliff shrines and cave shelters.
    “It will work,” she whispered, feeling her own destiny hanging on the words. “It has to work.”

    Jacob stood on one of the library terraces, gazing at the arrangement of old structures in the square below. Fires blazed between the colonnades, light flickering over statues and fountains, the sprawling complex of great halls and temples shadowed under the moon.
    The soldiers were camped just outside the walls, which would make his task easier, even if it was done in broad daylight. The Sultan would die during the first test of the weapon, when both the man, and the machine, were in exactly the same place. It would be quick, allowing no time for the guards to react. Then an escape along the roof, to the southern wall.
    You’re not really a criminal at all, are you?
    He hesitated at the memory of her voice, that tentative stroke of her fingers on his lips.
    In truth, I have thought about you this way.
    Of course, she’d meant Letoures, the drunken idiot who would have taken everything she offered, accepted her as a gift. It set his teeth on edge, to think of that. The gift, for a man patient enough to wait for it, would be her passion, not just her consent.
    Jacob swore under his breath, trying to bring himself back to the moment, free himself of the dangerous distraction she had become. Let her go. She was born to this world and she knows how to survive in it. Rid her of the man who presumes to be her master. Set her free and don’t look back.
    He was certainly capable of that, but it also felt like he was—like he should be—capable of more. He glared into the dark horizon. Where are you, sweetheart? What happened to you?
    “Mr. Letoures?”
    He turned to see her standing behind him, her face half-hidden under the hood of a thick desert cloak. He found himself searching for any sign of injury, noting the garment’s hem had been torn at her ankles. She was, once again, without an escort of any kind, nervous and out of breath.
    “Are you alright?” he asked.
    “Yes.”
    “And where is your hidden door this time?”
    “It was a window, this time.”
    He stared at her, unsure of whether to believe that or not.
    Her expression grew pained. “I must talk with you. There are things I could not say, before…but we cannot speak here.”
    Jacob flicked his gaze to the glowing corridors of the library behind her. Scholars sat bent over their