"Hafzi!" Prince Hew called as he burst into my office. "Is everything ready for the Festival of Blades?" I stood, trying to cover Corvus Direnni's "Principles of Conjuration" with a parchment. The Prince's eyes flashed. "Reading Direnni again, eh? You know how I feel about magic in the palace, Petty-Vizier!" "It ... it isn't mine, Your Highness! I confiscated it from Jengesh the page boy." I smiled unconvincingly. "Hmph. And why aren't you wearing your official petty-vizier turban?" I shook my head. "They're Redguards, Your Highness. They don't really go to parties much. Or at all."