She ran to the window, but there was so much dust being kicked up she couldn’t see the arriving travelers. She grabbed Brajon’s arm and pushed him out of her room. “Go. I have to get ready.”
“I was just leaving. I have to be out there greeting really important people.”
“Ugh!” With one last shove, Silver sent Brajon into the hallway. She pulled off her dirty clothes from the day before and wiggled into the riding suit. The softness was incredible. So was the heat. She tugged at the collar.
She heard voices in the hallway and quickly dove behind some cushions.
“What are you doing out here?” Silver heard her mother say to Brajon.
“Waiting for Silver. She’s getting dressed. And taking too long.”
“Perfect timing, then. I have something for her to wear.”
Silver heard Brajon’s huge feet shuffle.
“Uh, you can’t go in there,” he said. “She wants to surprise you. She’s doing her own hair.”
In the beat of silence that followed, Silver began to sweat. Everyone knew she couldn’t do more than the simplest plait.
“Oh, that’s…” Sersha’s voice trembled. Was she crying? Sersha cleared her throat. “That’s new for her.” She gave a little laugh. “Silver?” she called.
“I’m almost done,” Silver yelled, struggling to untangle her hair. “I wanted to look my best for the queen’s visit.”
“I can help with that. I’m going to push something under your curtain.”
A square of fabric appeared. Silver walked over and unfolded a beautiful ruby-red caftan, embroidered with golden birds. She drew her finger over the gold threads slowly. “It’s the prettiest thing I’ve ever seen.”
“Your grandparents brought it back from Calidia for me the very first time they visited the royal city,” her mother said. “You’re taller than I was back then. But hopefully, this will fit you.”
With the riding suit beneath, the caftan squeezed Silver’s skin. Once she added her scarves, the heat would be unbearable. But the red silk was so lovely and her mother’s voice was so eager that Silver lied and said it fit perfectly.
“Are you ready? Come out so I can see,” her mother said.
Silver licked her lips. Her nerves sizzled like desert lightning. Would her mother notice the extra bulk beneath the caftan?
Silver pulled the curtain aside.
Sersha’s eyes widened and grew misty. Then she saw Silver’s hair. “Hmm. We’ll keep working on that.”
Her mother worked Silver’s thick hair into two reverse braids and secured them with silk ribbon. She pushed gold combs into the tops of the braids. Then she took Silver’s hands in hers.
“The world’s waiting for you, Silver Batal. I don’t know if it’s quite ready, but when is it ever ready for a storm? The winds come anyway.”
There was a soft pressure on the top of Silver’s head as her mother pressed a kiss to it. “I have to go present my wares. Your father is expecting you in his workshop. Scamper over.”
Silver took a deep breath. Brajon nodded to her. She took one step. Then another. Then she bolted for the road.
Outside, madness reigned. Silver pushed and shoved for many minutes to get to one of the circular stone overlooks, and from there to the staircase that would take her to the family workshop.
Halfway down one set of stairs, she tripped over a sack someone had left on a step. Her body went weightless, shooting into the air, flying down three steps, then toppling head over heels down seven more before landing in a heap. Hands reached for her, trying to help her to her feet. She batted them away and pushed herself to her knees to inspect the damage. Bruises would blossom on her back and legs by the end of the day, she knew. But what she was most worried about was the tear all the way across the bottom seam of her mother’s caftan.
She got to her feet, her bones protesting every move. A slow drumbeat of pain began in the back of her head, matching the rhythm of the celebration drums that were being played on the higher levels.
“I think this is yours?” a man said, holding out one of the gold combs.
“Thank you,” Silver said. She tucked it back into her hair. It didn’t matter if it was crooked. She had to get to the workshop before Sagittaria Wonder. A cry went up from the crowds spilling out over the perimeter of the city and the deep desert. Queen Imea and her retinue had arrived.
The Batal workshop wasn’t far. But not only was the caftan torn; it was covered in dust. The vibrant red now looked flat like jaspers instead of brilliant like rubies.
The crowds began to thin out as people returned to their workshops or storerooms or vendor stalls to put the final touches on their wares. Silver went to another overlook and squinted at the little figures far below. She could make out the white robes of the politicians shaking hands with the visitors. About halfway back in the line of traders and merchants was a vibrant-blue cart, its top and sides curtained with what was no doubt a finer silk than her mother’s caftan. At the front of the cart, a silver dragon’s-head carving glinted in the high sunlight.
Sagittaria Wonder.
The greatest water dragon racer that had ever lived. Silver forgot her aches and pains. She rushed into her father’s workshop with a thrumming excitement in her chest.
“Silver! Are you all right?” Rami Batal gaped at her. “What happened to you?”
Silver wiped her nose. The back of her hand came away with smears of blood. “The crowds. And the stairs.”
“Never mind. There’s no time.” Her father sighed. “Phila, can you help clean her up? Take this brooch and pin it to her caftan. That should hide the tear.”
Phila grumbled but walked over. Silver knew that she must resent that Silver was here at all. Phila was the most gifted of the ele-jewelers and had earned her spot while Silver was just … her father’s daughter.
Silver had never seen her father so flustered before. He fumbled his words as he gave more directions to the other ele-jewelers.
“Put the gold pieces … No, let’s group them by gemstone … Oh, but the mixed gem pieces. By size. Try that. No, some of the finest are the smaller ones. They’ll get lost that way. Go back to separating them by metal … I don’t like that, either.” He faced his daughter again. “Finish getting cleaned up. I need you to model a few things.”
“Model?” Silver yelped. “But I thought I’d stay out of the way…” She pointed to the dark, safe corner where she was planning to sit and watch, gathering her courage until she could approach Sagittaria Wonder and reveal her suit.
“My work looks best when it’s worn. And who better to model it than the future of the Batal jewelers? Silver, you must appear graceful. Be still and be silent. Let the jewels speak, not you.”
Silence was not going to be difficult. Silver’s face burned with humiliation. It was one thing to observe: There was respect in that. It showed that she was an eager and honored student. But to stand there like a mindless showpiece?
Still, there was no time to argue. Her father turned away, and Phila dragged Silver to a basin of water to make her presentable.
Phila curled her lip as she wiped at the dusty caftan. “My parents would be disgraced if I ran around like a filthy herd animal.”
“I’m sure your parents are already disgraced to have a daughter who looks like she’s constantly smelling herd-animal dung. Ow!”
Phila had poked the brooch right through the caftan into Silver’s shin. Luckily, the tightly woven wool of the riding suit had shielded her. Silver growled.
“Silent, remember?” Phila smirked.
Silver had never hated her more, but she held still as Phila fixed the caftan as best she could. “There,” Phila said. “You’re not beautiful, but at least you don’t look like you slept in the streets last night.”