Prince Ahmad took a moment to decide what to do, then walked over to her side. She must have seen him coming, but she made no move either to turn away or greet him; she simply stood staring at the southern horizon as though it held some great and timeless mystery for her to unravel.
“My finest compliments to you, O brave Selima,” the prince greeted her. “Your quick actions this afternoon saved me from both the lion and the Jinn.”
“It’s easy to be brave when you know you’re dead anyway,” Selima replied in a near monotone. “I’m glad I could save you, of course, but I did nothing extraordinary.”
“Very few would have thought quickly enough to distract the Jinn and give me time to get the sword,” Prince Ahmad persisted. “That was you alone deserving of credit.”
“Very well, I’ll accept that,
