The wazir must have busied himself with the sultan’s work and did not seek out the two daughters of the harem. Five of the strangers’ women and three of their children joined them for the evening meal. One lad, a bit younger than Ara with round cheeks, ginger curls and a surly expression, sat arg...
Scritch, scritch. I had almost fallen back asleep when something rancid wafted across my nose, the smell of vermin or decay. I was questioning my own hygiene when the noise came again, a soft snuffling noise and the scratch of claws against a hard surface. I raised my head, listening. These caves...