Auburn slipped through the early morning shadows of the palace. Few others were awake yet, but Prince Eli was. Sloth didn’t appear to be one of her new master’s vices.

Nor did lust.

But he’d promised to take her to Tamryn, and by doing so, he’d promised her freedom.

She bit her lip at the thought. Auburn wasn’t sure what being free would mean to her, but she wanted it for her son.

Staring down at her slender fingers, they appeared pale even against the cerulean silk of her skirts. She was different in more ways than her milk-colored skin and red hair. The other harem girls never whispered about wanting anything other than to be the sultan’s next wife. None had ever hinted at wanting to leave the palace, much less earn their freedom by fleeing Qumaref.

Escaping slavery and the harem was a risk. At the palace, she was fed, clothed, and sheltered. Priyanka still beat her from time to time, but it was nothing compared to the stories of hardship told by those who had seen the outside of the palace.

The beatings had diminished as Auburn had grown adept at avoiding the First Wife’s notice, and it helped that Priyanka’s grandchildren distracted her. Auburn thought about the First Wife’s beautiful family, and her throat constricted. Jealousy was the purview of Rashalee, and Auburn steeled her heart against the wicked god’s influence.

But it was hard not to envy a woman who had as much as Priyanka did. She had five children of her own and three grandchildren. Her sisters had married other lords and lived nearby. Even the sultan favored her, calling for her often.

Auburn had none of that and would have to travel across the sea just for a chance to have a family of her own.

Eli was giving her that chance.

What had once seemed an impossibility, might happen. Would happen, she promised herself.

Resolve quieted the fluttering in her belly. Prince Eli promised to take her to Tamryn, and she’d find a way to survive there. While there was little need for her skills as a dancer or musician in the land of the Dragon God, her ability to read and write so many languages might be useful.

She’d figure something out, but there was no use dwelling on it while Qumaref’s sand still crunched under her slippers.

Swallowing back her fears, Auburn snaked through the palace to the harem hidden at its heart. Two eunuchs stood guard outside a heavy oak door, but neither tried to stop her as she slipped inside the chambers.

Sleeping women sprawled across plush beds, their gentle snoring filling the sanctuary as the scent of their perfumes infused the cool air. Colored light from the stained-glass windows trickled down, but the room remained dim. The sultan had commanded all other windows shuddered to prevent anyone from peeking at his harem.

Auburn skirted the pool in the center of the room, its scented waters lapping over intricately inlaid tiles. The ladies of the harem enjoyed baths there and indulged in the cool water during the heat of the day. Auburn seldom joined them, preferring to bathe early in the morning when few would notice her.

She crept past the sultan’s sleeping wives and walked to the far back corner where the slaves were quartered. Property for the sultan to use or gift, but special property given the same protection as the sultan’s wives. But not the same status.

Based on who was sleeping where, Auburn’s trained eye knew the hierarchy among the women. She’d never cared about such politics, and with her new master, it would never matter to her.

Auburn gathered up her garments, a few trinkets, and the book on Dracor she’d borrowed from the sultan’s library.

As she turned, she caught a glance of her strange copper hair and too-pale skin in one of the many mirrors. She didn’t look like any of the other slaves or wives. A constant reminder she had no mother or sisters, no cousins, no family at all. No one that loved her, and no one that had ever been there for her.

Not yet.

She turned away from her image, knowing that even as terrifying as the path she’d chosen was, it was the right one. She’d have nothing in Qumaref. The best she could hope for was to be the sultan’s twenty-third wife. A toy to amuse him a few times that he’d never call for again. No chance at having a home, a family, or a child of her own.

Her visions told her as much, but it didn’t take mysticism to figure it out.

The sultan hadn’t taken another wife in several years, and he always called for the same few. Now that the sultan had many sons, several of whom were adults, Auburn suspected he preferred women who knew how to please him. Something he’d have to teach her or any other new wife.

Taking another wife would also add to the harem politics, and she doubted the sultan wanted to deal with that, either.

If Prince Eli kept his word and took her to Tamryn... She closed her eyes and silenced the doubts. He would take her to Tamryn. He’d said he would, and if he changed his mind, she’d figure out a way to change it back.

Auburn hefted her pack over her shoulder and waved a final goodbye to the rooms that had housed her most of her life. Excitement and a whisper of fear tempered her sadness. She was traveling a path few ever had, and while it was unknown, she had the comfort of what her visions had shown her.

She smiled as she thought of the little boy in the red tabard.

Leaving the harem, Auburn walked to the kitchens where she arranged for the palace staff to bring food and refreshments to Prince Eli’s rooms. She’d learned a lot from watching Priyanka and the other women, and she knew how to get Eli and his men what they’d want.

As she left the kitchens and headed toward housekeeping, a guard sauntered into her path.

Auburn said nothing as she kept her eyes down and tried to step around him. The guard moved, staying in her way.

“You look lost.” A dark smile curled his lips. “Bet I can help you.”

Auburn swallowed as fear iced her limbs. She stepped back to stay out of the man’s reach. “I’m sure you have far more important things to do than make another man’s slave late.”

The guard leered at her. “Don’t belong to the sultan anymore. Looks like your new master doesn’t want you, sending you out here alone when you should be warming his bed. I wonder what Premal would pay for you.”

“She belongs to Prince Eli.” Sligo appeared from the shadows, sword and dagger drawn. “He exacts a high price if angered.”

The guard backed away from the armed and dangerous man.

Sligo nudged Auburn forward. “Prince Eli is waiting for you.”

Auburn sucked in a quick breath and hurried past the palace guard. When they’d rounded a corner and put more distance between them and the Qumarefi, Auburn risked glancing over at Sligo. “Thank you,” she whispered.

“Thank Prince Eli.” Sligo paused and scanned the hallways before hurrying her along the corridor. “Is the Premal he mentioned the same man that sat on the other side of the sultan last night?”

“You’re well informed.”

“I have to be to keep His Highness safe. What I haven’t figured out yet is why a rich and respected Qumarefi lord wants you so badly. He has many slaves of his own.”

She pinched a lock of her red hair. “Makes me different.”

“If that’s all he cared about, Premal’s vast wealth could buy him another slave with red hair.”

“A prize from the sultan’s personal stock.” Auburn lifted her shoulders and let them fall. “Rare and exotic, if ugly.”

Sligo raised a brow. “You’re not ugly by Tamryn standards.”

“I’ve heard it whispered people in Tamryn have hair the color of the sun.”

“Some do. Tamryn is a large kingdom with many races of people.”

Auburn sucked in a breath and pressed a hand to her heart. “Will Prince Eli really take me with him?”

“He said he will, so he will.”

She glanced at the bodyguard. “You heard that?”

“Couldn’t leave him alone with a potential assassin.”

“I’m just a slave.”

“Not anymore.”

She interlaced her fingers. “Let’s get housekeeping taken care of so we can get back before His Highness wakes up.”

“He never went to sleep.”

“But-” Auburn said.

Sligo shook his head. “You’ll learn. Now let’s get to housekeeping before Premal sends someone else after you. I’d rather not kill anyone today.”

Auburn’s eyes widened, and she hurried through the palace.