He'd only just vanished from sight, presumably to the safe, when the doors opened again.
Not only had Captain Queria come, so had Ikram, his father's Steward. In the dead of night, his arms bared toreveal his snake scale tattoos, he was a fearsome sight. "Prince Bakhtiar, your mother is highly distressed right now. You reduced her to tears."
Bakhtiar winced. "I didn't mean for that to happen. I thought they'd merely be angry."
"They've already nearly lost you once, Your Highness, and that only a couple of weeks ago. What are you hoping to accomplish here?"
After relating the evening to them, and the amount of money he'd won, he said, "I want their records. Each and every person who has lost money here. I want them tracked down and the money returned. And tell the rest of the gambling halls the same will happen to them unless they choose the path of cooperation."
"Your will be done, Your Highness," Ikram said, bowing. "Now go home."
Queria escorted him personally, with seven other guards alongside. "Reza, I expected better of you."
"He's my concubine now, Queria, you're not allowed to reprimand him."
"I'll do it anyway," she retorted.
"I have nothing to say in my defense, save that under the circumstances it seemed best to stay close and keep him safe."
Queria sighed heavily.
Back in the palace, he'd barely reached the room where his parents were waiting when his mother threw herself into his arms and hugged him so tightly he could barely breathe. "Bakhti, I will kill you myself. I was worriedsick." She drew back, wiping her eyes. Damn it, she really had been crying. Bakhtiar felt awful. "What did youdo."
"Outdid his brother, for certain," Queria said dryly, and spared him having to relate the whole tale a third time.
"I really should have known you'd insist on having your turn," Shahjahan said. "Please, Bakhti, I am begging you, never do something like this again. Please."
"I won't, I promise."
"Then let that be the end of the matter, minus whatever your mother will do to you later," Shahjahan said, and hugged him tightly, something he had not done since Bakhtiar was many years younger. "Clever, Bakhti, quite clever, but also very stupid. I do not know where my children get all these ridiculous ideas from. They called me reckless in my day, but I do not think they know what reckless really looks like." He glanced at Reza, then back at Bakhtiar. "Take your pretty new concubine and go to bed. I hope you enjoy your rooms because after all the strain you have put on your healing body, I think you'll need to rest an extra week or two."
Bakhtiar took the punishment without argument. "Yes, Father. I'm sorry, Mother, truly. I didn't know I would upset you so much."
"You'll be sorrier tomorrow after I've had rest and time to think."
He winced. "Yes, Mother."
She sniffed and tossed her head. "Dismissed."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
In his room, he was assaulted by his siblings. "Not you too."
Jahanara punched him in the stomach. "You deserve more than that."
The two concubines who'd come with her pulled her back. "Nara, he's still healing."
"He's going to be healing a whole lot longer if he doesn't stop doing stupid things!" she bellowed.
Aradishir rolled his eyes, then looked at Bakhtiar more seriously. "Are you all right? What happened?"
"Ugh," Bakhtiar said in reply, and went to go get a bath, shamelessly leaving poor Reza to explain for him, because if he had to tell the story one more time…
Kurosh grabbed him and shoved him into a wall out of sight of the others. "I'm going to wring your pretty little neck, Bakhti."
"I'm sorry."
"Not sorry enough."
