Chapter 64

Neither Dusty nor James liked to be the centre of attention.

They found every eye on them when they strolled into the Restaurant. James felt her cringe and thought at her, ‘Suck it up, Princess. This is good practice for you.’

Unfortunately, Dusty knew he was correct. She knew she just had to suck it up. She straightened her back and pulled back her shoulders. She decided to practice her queenly walk. She heard James’ quiet chuckle, but he altered his steps so that she glided along on his arm.

They would have cringed if they had seen how they looked. Not a person in the place believed that they were anything else but royalty. James’ military-style suit and Dusty’s long dark red dress with the white braiding cutting between her breasts like a sash simply made the part theirs.

Plus, the rumour that Hasid was back had already hit the grapevine. Most, however, didn’t know of Fiaz’s demise.

Nothing was too much trouble for the servers, and Mica had already warned the kitchen to double the normal servings for this couple. More than one person in the dining room who was watching the couple wondered where Dusty put the food and how she hoped to keep her figure.

One woman was more daring than the rest. Well, not really. She was just so full of herself that she couldn’t see what James saw in Dusty when he could have her. She wiggled her arse over to their table as they were finishing the main course.

“Mirza Hasid, it has been so long since I have seen you. We met in New York a few years ago,” she prompted him when he gave her a blank look.

She couldn’t believe he didn’t recognise her. She knew she still looked good. Normally, the eyes in the room were on her.

“You were with Delegate Anita Anula, at the UNSEC meeting, I was with Vizier Ishmael and his party,” she prompted him again.

‘If that bitch hadn’t been such a barracuda, I could have stolen Hasid from under her nose,’ she thought.

She smiled sweetly at James and batted her long, fake eyelashes.

“Woman, I have no idea who you are or why you are bothering me,” James replied coolly.

He flicked his eyes to the side as a hint for her to piss off. She wasn’t smart enough to take the blunt hint and put her hand on James’s shoulder.

“Bitch, piss off,” Dusty said quite clearly.

This got several sniggers from the surrounding tables as the patrons watched the little drama unfold. James sighed, but nothing showed on his face. Even he was amazed at the control he had.

The woman sneered. “Cow, you are no better than me. At least I’m not a slut and a slave,” she retorted.

James placed his knife and fork down and then stood. He looked down at the woman with narrowed eyes.

“You will apologise to my wife immediately. Then you will leave this hotel, and I had better not see you near either of us ever again.”

The woman felt a cold dread pulse down her spine. She shook it off; she had been with scarier men, and they excited her. She looked at the woman and then back at Hasid.

“No one told me you were married. Was it arranged by the Shah?”

James knew this was meant as a slur aimed at Dusty, as many arranged marriages at Hasid’s level were for promoting business ties.

“Apologise now,” he said with quiet menace.

The woman felt an itchy feeling all over her skin, and then she felt exceedingly hot. Sweat beaded on her skin, and the itchiness got worse. She looked at her arm, and red spots appeared on her skin. Then she felt her face. It felt like sandpaper, and the bumps seemed to get bigger as she touched her skin.

“What is happening to me?” she squealed as she started scratching at her blistered arm.

“Dus ... Donia, stop it,” James hissed firmly but very quietly.

His eyes didn’t leave the woman, but they did widen, and he became quite horrified as the spots grew bigger, angrier and now looked like huge boils on the skin of the woman.

The woman scratched at one of the blisters on her arm, making it pop. Pus and blood oozed out of the wound. She squealed again in horror before she turned and fled. Her squeals turned into screams as she ran trying to scratch everywhere at once as she did.

The other patrons watched on in amazement, fascination or horror.

“Donia, was that necessary?” James quietly asked as he sat back down.

“Sorry,” she said mildly. “Stupid women like her really get my goat.”

A man who had been sitting with the woman and his wife approached their table and bowed his head slightly.

“My apologies, Shah Hasid, for my sister disturbing you, but will she be alright?” he asked James.

Dusty answered, “Yes, some anti-bacterial lotion will clear up her skin condition. A little heat and the bacteria on her skin were multiplied. Nothing serious; she should bathe more often.”

The man quirked an eye at Dusty and then focused on James.

“You should keep better control of your pet magician,” he stated as a warning with a disapproving tone.

James let out a dry, mocking laugh, “Mister, she is no pet; she is my wife. She also far exceeds my skills with her magical abilities. So, I’d be very careful offending her. She may look pretty and harmless, but she has claws, and she will use them as you just witnessed.”