“It was the only way I could think of—”
“Stop, Ramishah.” I shook my head. “We’ll talk about this later. Tell me where she is.” My voice was a low growl and we were both startled to hear it.
“The dungeons,” she whispered.
I turned that information over in my mind, fear filling me as I tried to remain calm. But my chest was a vacant cavity of dread. There was a dull roar in my ears, and a voice, a memory and a reminder all at once flickering back to me.
Run, Kiyan. Run.
My father when they’d caught him, and I’d escaped as a boy. And they’d killed him and laughed as they cut off his hands and slit his throat.
Run, Kiyan. Run.
It was the same voice, but this time telling me not to run away, but toward.
Dungeons. Get to the dungeons.
I left Mishah and took off at a sprint, taking the stairs to the dungeons two at a time.
New guards were stationed at the entrance.
“Let me see her.” I was surprised I could get the words out.
I curled my hands into fists to stop them from shaking.
Was she already dead?
Had Reza taken everything from me?
From her?
Could she still speak, still puzzle out a riddle, still read a scroll?
“Ah, Kiyan. The male I’ve been wanting to see.”
The guards parted, and I stepped through, uncertain of what I was walking into.
I kept my face stone, my body rigid.
If he suspected me, if he knew what I was, I needed to be ready.
Why hadn’t he told me about Yaseema? Why had he used palace soldiers?
“I’ve caught someone of interest to your guard.” He waved his hand at a slumped body in the corner of the cell next to Talal’s. I glanced at it and then to Tal, whose eyes shining in the corner of the cell told me everything I needed to know. His face was grim, his lips white.
I kept my face as still as possible. “Yaseema?”
He nodded. “She is a rebel. I would have fetched you, but it was an urgent matter, and well...” He narrowed his eyes at me. “I believed the two of you had formed an attachment to each other. A shame, then, that she turned out to be a betrayer. I could have used her so much better. Don’t worry, she was leaving you as well. Along with this.” He held up Queen Azari’s crown, the delicate gold glinting in the scant light of the dungeon. “Finally, I have the power to make the royal family’s magic mine. To retrieve the weapon in the Mountain. I will have more power than even that of the King of Salt.”
Dread seeped through me, but I couldn’t focus on anything but the pile of clothes in the corner of the cell that was meant to be a girl.
“You’ve drained her then? How will you use her magic now?” My voice was tight, even to my ears.
Reza smiled slightly. “You must have had feelings for the human, I’ve never seen you so distraught, Kiyan.” He laughed and I gritted my teeth so hard I felt my jaw pop.
“That will make this next part much more fun. Don’t worry, her mind is still intact. She’s in too much pain right now to make sense of anything but I used morevisceralmethods than what I’d normally do. I’m about to wake her, if you’d like to remain. I want her to be questioned further about the rebels that attacked us in the forest. And she will be useful to me when we head to Tirich Mir.”
He gestured to the cell and I felt the sting of bile in the back of my throat.
