Page 117 of Storm of Ink and Blood

Perhaps one of the most surprising things was that he could now feel her using it through a small tug behind his navel. He wondered if there was anything he could do but stand here, so he concentrated on helping her control the magic, trying to channel his focus into her.

Her nightfire touched the tattoo on his ribs, and she closed her eyes while he held completely still. He watched as she explored the lines of the dragon covering his ribs.

“Do you feel anything?” he asked, already surmising her plan.

Her fingers flexed against his chest where she still pressed her hand, and he resisted the urge to drag her against him. He could still hear the way she’d moaned when he’d fucked her in that alley. Gods, the way she felt coming around him was transcendent.

He’d told her he loved her. Maybe that was foolish, but why did he need to hold anything back? He’d made what he wanted clear; now he belonged to her, body and soul. She hadn’t returned the sentiment, but he was sure he wasn’t imagining what he’d seen in her expression. Both when they’d been with the mystic and after he’d revealed his heart. She was standing on the precipice, waiting to tip into the promise of everything he wanted to offer her.

“Do you feel anything?” she asked, looking up at him, and he shook his head.

“No. It feels like nothing.”

“I can sense the vibrations of the molecules,” she said. “Just like with the vanshaj collars. There are similarities between this marking and theirs like Thriti said.”

“That’s good?”

She smiled, and his heart cracked at the sight. It was the only light in his dark. “It’s a great thing. I think I can do this.”

He wrapped an arm around her waist and tipped her chin up. “I’m proud of you, Zarya.”

“Even though you don’t entirely agree with what I’m doing?”

“Aren’t I here doing everything I can to help you?”

She nodded, but he knew she wasn’t convinced. It wasn’t that he didn’t believe in the purpose of the Rising Phoenix. He did. It’s why he’d never employed a vanshaj servant himself, but that was only a small act of defiance unlikely to ruffle feathers. What they were all talking about was so much more. So many people would die before this was over.

“You are, but I want you to do it for the right reasons.”

“Which are?”

“Not just following me.”

Rabin shook his head. “I’m not. It started out that way, but I understand what you’re doing and agree with it. I’m just afraid of you getting hurt in the process.”

She pulled away from him and clutched the pendant dangling around her neck. “I can’t stop this. You know that. This is my duty, even if it weren’t also the right thing to do. I was handed this responsibility, and I have to see it through.”

“I know you do,” he answered, meaning it.

“So you’re with me? This is your destiny now, too. Maybe it always was.”

“I already told you I’m with you, no matter what.”

She nodded.

“Then we should return to the house,” she said. “I have to see if this works.”

FORTY

Zarya and Rabin opened the gate to the back of the house to find everything as quiet as usual. She knocked on the door, and it swung open to reveal Ajay, who greeted Zarya before his eyes narrowed at the sight of Rabin standing behind her.

“What’s going on?” he asked, taking in Zarya’s smile. “Do you have good news?”

She nodded and pushed past him with Rabin on her heels. Ajay closed the door, and Zarya swung around. “I controlled my nightfire. I think I can use it to break the collars.”

Ajay’s eyes widened. “Are you sure? How?”

“I think so.” She went on to explain the process of the Bhandan.