Ihsan clicked his tongue, and when Nesrin turned to look at him, her gaze caught on the Grand Vizier instead, and a smirk disappeared from his face. He caught her looking, and held her stare, one eyebrow lifting. The arrogance of the challenge, the way he bled confidence from every pore, made fury wind up her spine and around her throat. And the answering fire in his eyes made her shrink in fear. Nesrin had never hated anyone. Disliked, certainly. But never this. This coiled tension. This ugly, angry, violent repulsion. She had never felt it a day of her life. But it consumed her now. Spreading from her core to her limbs, blossoming as heat in her skin and teeth and eyes. Like she was burning from the inside out. It stretched and pushed as though trying to break free of her body. [skip] The Grand Vizier smiled as he watched Nesrin, as if he could see her struggle and wished to provoke her more. What could she do after all? She was his, leashed and muzzled. The noise and voices around her became a buzz, a synchronized movement of sound like a cordon of starlings, shifting in unison through her awareness. Swooping once in favor of the Sultana, and back, swinging to repudiation. Nesrin's hate wound tighter and tighter, fed by the look in the Grand Vizier's fervent gaze. And it seemed to her that if she opened her mouth, it would pour forth, made physical. Wheel, if she could choke him with it, she would. The scar around her body ached and crawled, itched as it it would peel away from her in one piece. Vaguely, Nesrin was aware that the Viziers had lost control, were nearly to the point of physical brawling, and that the Sultana was on her feet. Ihsan rose, the air around him and Nesrin plummeting in temperature. Her next exhale was frosty. Ice shot away from Ihsan in ragged lines, and he staggered a step forward with a grunt. The men shouting at each other suddenly cried out in fear as that ice climbed their legs and froze benches. A vase on the far side of the hall shattered, the sound so loud in the cavernous room that it silenced everyone. "Enough!" the Sultana said, her voice made a klaxon by her magic, so loud it left Nesrin's ears ringing. Naime's dark eyes flared in surprise, her mouth closing abruptly. Then she turned her appalled gaze on Ihsan. He shook his head, closing his hands into fists. The magic scintillating on his skin winked out, and the ice melted. For a moment, all Nesrin could hear was the echo of buzzing voices in her ears. She had stood, but did not remember when, and her head was pounding. She sat abruptly, dizzy. Ihsan lowered himself beside her, though the Sultana remained standing. Wheel, she was suddenly so tired. She could barely think.
pg.396-398