Lanterns of coloured glass spilled soft gold and ruby light across the polished marble floor as the music rose, bright and insistent. Musicians in embroidered vests sat in a crescent by the fountains, fingers flying over ouds and drums while a reed flute threaded a high, sweet melody through the hall.
The air shimmered with the scent of jasmine and warm spice, carried in gentle currents from braziers set between the carved pillars. Shadows from the latticework windows patterned the walls like intricate ink, turning each surface into a tapestry of shifting light.
Conversations from the Bedouin's nobles on their silk cushions fell to a hush, replaced by the steady heartbeat of the drums and the soft murmur of water spilling from the marble fountains. Above, the vaulted ceiling glittered with inlaid glass and gold leaf stars, so that every flicker of flame looked like a constellation waking into motion.
