He follows. 

"Any idea what I should be expecting?" 

"Nothing bad. He just wanted my opinion before talking to you again, and he has it now."

"I...see." 

If he'd known Dama's opinion of him was going to be important, he'd have tried harder to be friendly. On the other hand, that's backfired before, so maybe it's better that he didn't. 

"Don't worry, I like you."

"Ah. Well, that's good." 

Follow follow. 

Azan he is in fact waiting for them and wants to know if Zaira is feeling any better than he was yesterday.

"Much better, thank you. It's amazing what a night's sleep and a good meal will do." 

"I'm glad. It seems we are, mm, rather less versed on Sesati culture than we believed. If you would like to stay here and advise us on it, we would appreciate that greatly. You don't have to say yes, of course, we can point you towards others who can help you set up a new life elsewhere."

"...I'm not sure how much use I'll be for that, sir," he admits. "But I'm willing to try." 

'Better the devil you know' is a lesson he learnt a long time ago. This place is good, if confusing; he has no idea what to expect from somewhere new. 

"That's all I can ask."

He's not sure what to say to that so how about he doesn't say anything at all, that's usually safe. 

"Is there anything we can do for you right now?"

 He has to think about it. Not just about what he might conceivably want or need—although that's difficult enough—but also about what he feels confident enough to ask for.

"It...would be useful to know more about...what my situation is going to be here?" 

"You can stay here as long as you'd like and we'll provide for you. My council and I will have questions for you, but you can feel free to leave the palace at any time. If we end up needing you urgently for some reason, we'll send someone to let you know, but I don't expect that will happen. It would be convenient if you could attend council meetings, but I'm sure we can work around it if you'd rather not."

"I don't mind attending meetings."

It's not as if he'll have anything better to do with his time. But, more than that, he finds to his surprise that he actually doesn't mind. It sounds like it might be interesting, even. 

"Wonderful!"

They can work out the rest of the details for that, then.

They work out the details.

Zaira mostly agrees to whatever Azan he suggests; having choices is still enough of a novelty that he's cautious in how he uses them for fear they'll be taken away. Even so, he's fairly happy with the resulting arrangement.

He imagines telling himself a year ago, or even a week ago, that he'd end up an advisor to the Azani king. He doesn't think he'd have believed himself. He isn't sure he believes it now. "Zaira, royal advisor" seems like a fantasy compared to the nameless slave he was until so recently. 

He's excited to learn what being Zaira, royal advisor, is like.