Page 117 of Heart of Night and Fire

“We all saw it,” Kindle said, coming to stand next to Row. “Last night, when you released it, you confirmed something I’d wondered about you from the moment I saw you. You looked so much like her, there was no mistaking who your mother was, and I wondered if the prophecy had finally come true.”

“Me?” Zarya asked, her mind reeling. “I have some crazy ancient magic?”

Of course, now they all knew. Knew she could use magic, and that she had been lying to them.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. I wanted to figure things out first,” she said to them all.

Kindle shook his head slowly. “It doesn’t matter now. What matters is you saved us all.”

She sat up straighter. “What do you mean?”

“Your nightfire dissolved every demon between here and the forest. One moment they were there, and the next, they were just… gone.”

Zarya released a shaky breath.

“It only affected the demons?” she asked, wondering about that strange six-pointed star and her new ability. They had to be connected somehow.

Kindle nodded.

“Zarya,” Row said, pulling her attention to him as he picked up their conversation. “Given that you have nightfire, I’m more sure of it than ever. The gift could only have been the product of the two most powerful Aazheri ever to live. I believe your father is Raja Abishek of Andhera.”

More silence as they all stared at her, open mouthed.

“What does that mean?”

“She’s a princess,” Vikram said, a touch of awe in his voice. “Of two realms.”

Row scoffed. “Hardly. You’ve got four older siblings, including two sisters, and all from a pure alliance. You are, at best, illegitimate, and they’d sooner lock you up than recognize you as part of the royal family.”

Even Row didn’t miss the hurt on Zarya’s face.

“I’m not telling you this to upset you, but I know what you’re thinking. You have always craved this. Your half-brothers and sisters may be willing to meet you, but they wouldn’t welcome another possible claimant to the throne. A female Aazheri who can wield nightfire—you are only a threat to them. The king is getting on in years, and your eldest half-sister Dishani has waited years for her crown.”

“I still don’t understand the need to hide her,” Yasen said.

Row looked up at Yasen and then back at Zarya. “You may have no place in Gi’ana, but there is no doubt that if Raja Abishek had known of your existence, he would have hunted you down. This is what Asha feared. Abishek would find a way to wield you to his own ends.”

“What ends?” she asked.

“Magic can be taken, Zarya. It is old and mostly forgotten magic, but Raja Abishek has always had a fascination with the darkness. Has always wanted to release it and use it. What you can do, Zarya, it’s not just a way to channel the stars; some say it’s a way to control the darkness.”

Control the darkness. She shook her head, confused by this onslaught of conflicting information.

“You think he wants to take it from me,” she said. All her life, she’d wanted a family, and now Row was telling her the man who might be her father wanted to hurt her.

“It must be what your mother feared.”

“I knew it.” Suvanna stalked forward. “Didn’t I say it? It is his king who is doing this. The blight is the darkness.”

“Abishek hasn’t been my king in decades, Suvanna.” He sounded dejected, defeated. “But you may be right.”

Suvanna crossed her arms in smug satisfaction.

“Row?” Zarya asked as all eyes turned to her again. “What of my mother? Did you find her?”

Row’s face twisted into a mask of intense pain and longing. He shook his head. “It seems it was another false rumor. I found no trace of her. I fear that what I’ve dreaded for twenty years is true. Though I have never stopped believing for one day, I don’t think I have the strength to hold on to hope anymore. I fear she is truly gone.”

With Row’s hope, Zarya’s died, too.