Princess of Dhagabad, The (41 page)

The metal bracelet on your other wrist
shatters with a sound of a breaking glass and falls into a thousand
pieces—falls like rain on the ground all around you—joining with
the remains of the other bracelet which fell off and broke, being
much too big for her slender wrist… Then you turn your head and
meet her eyes, feeling a great power flow into you, a power you
have never felt before, as you gradually come to realize that the
ancient curse has blown away like a cloud of smoke and that never
again will you be a djinn and a slave. You bow before her power—a
force that tore through your ancient irons like a knife through
silk thread. Now you smile, looking into her sapphire-blue
eyes.

“Are you free, Hasan?” the princess asks
softly.

“I am free, princess,” Hasan answers. “But I
will forever belong to you.”

The sultaness hurries down the stairs toward
them, fighting her way through the chaos.

“What have you done, princess?” she
demands.

“Hasan is free, mother!” The princess is
smiling and tears tremble on her eyelashes. “And I will never part
with him. Can you become a prince now, Hasan?”

Hasan turns to the sultaness. His eyes shine
with such happiness that she feels her heart stand still. And,
wiping away her tears with the end of her white scarf, she embraces
the princess, holding her close.

“You will answer for this insult!” Prince
Amir suddenly appears before them. His eyes are wild with anger, as
his suite unceremoniously clears a space around him with their
sheathed sabers. “You are not even worthy to be a slave girl in the
Veriduan palace, princess! You will never, I repeat, never receive
the forgiveness of Prince Amir!”

“Prince—” the sultaness begins.

“Don’t interrupt me, your majesty! If you
think I’ll marry your stubborn daughter after what happened today,
you are mistaken! Today she has dishonored Dhagabad itself!”
Turning sharply away, he pushes his way through the rapidly parting
crowd as his white and gold cloak flaps on his shoulders.

The roar of the crowd gradually shapes itself
into a ceremonial greeting:

“Hail, Hasan, the chosen groom of Chamarat
Gul’Agdar, the princess of Dhagabad!”

The princess and Hasan do not hear these
words. They are holding hands on the palace plaza, but the noise,
the shouting, and the arms of friends and servants embracing them
cannot reach them.

You walk together in the desert, away from
the temple that holds nothing for you. You tread lightly on the
sand as the secret garden gradually reveals all of its beauty to
your eyes. Never again will the fiery beams, the piercing sands,
and merciless wind be able to harm you, Hasan. Never again,
princess, will you rush about in despair at the base of the temple,
unable to enter. From this day forth this desert will be a garden
to you, because together you are stronger than any force.

ABOUT THE
AUTHOR

Anna
Kashina grew up in Russia and moved to the United States in 1994.
She has a Ph.D. in molecular biology and is a published author of
fantasy and historical fiction in Russia, Germany, and the US. She
lives in Philadelphia, PA, where she is combining her successful
career as a scientist and her passion for
writing.

Also
by Anna Kashina:

The Goddess of
Dance
, Book II of
The Spirits of the Ancient Sands
(Dragonwell Publishing, 2012)

Mistress of
the Solstice,
a dark romantic fantasy inspired by Russian
folklore (Dragonwell Publishing, 2013)

The First
Sword,
a medieval adventure fantasy for all ages (Wildside
Press, 2012)

Also from
Dragonwell Publishing:

The
Chocolatier’s Wife
by Cindy Lynn Speer, a romantic fantasy with
mystery elements (Dragonwell Publishing, 2012)

Once Upon a
Curse
, an anthology of stories and fairy tales for adults by
Peter S. Beagle, Nancy Kress, Patricia C Wrede and other authors.
Step into the world of myth and magic. (Dragonwell Publishing,
2012)

Wishes and
Sorrows
by Cindy Lynn Speer, a collection of stories and
novellas (Dragonwell Publishing, 2013)

Garden on the
Roof
of the World by W. B. J. Williams, a medieval historical
fantasy (Dragonwell Publishing, 2013)