Page 23 of Storm of Ink and Blood

She exchanged an uncomfortable look with Rania and Ajay. “We received news from the palace,” she said. “They’re ransacking vanshaj homes and are threatening the entire district if someone doesn’t come forward with information about the Rising Phoenix. They’ve threatened imprisonment… and worse.”

“What could be worse?” Yasen asked.

Farida inhaled a deep breath and then blew it out, her body trembling. “They’re threatening to break apart families and banish them to the Saaya if no one talks.”

“What?” Zarya sat up. “That’s preposterous. That land is completely uninhabitable.”

“I know,” Rania said. “It’s basically a death sentence. Rumors are suggesting they plan to secretly start mining diamonds and using vanshaj labor to do so. It’s the perfect solution.”

“Solution for what!” Zarya cried out in exasperation, recalling the Saaya was unceded territory between Gi’ana and Andhera, where hundreds of abandoned diamond mines lay untouched due to endless disputes over ownership. “What are they all so afraid of?”

Farida shook her head, the threat of tears lining her eyes, while Rania’s thunderous expression could split mountains in half. If these laws passed, they might be separated forever.

“Who will do their grunt work here?” Suvanna asked with disdain in her voice. “Surely they dare not lift a single delicate finger.”

“It’s the influence of the Jadugara,” Rania said, speaking of the Aazheri sect who were responsible for collaring the vanshaj. “They don’t care if the whole city falls apart, so long as they maintain their power. They’re monsters whispering in the ears of the royal family.”

“We won’t let this happen,” Zarya said to Farida.

“How are we going to stop it? The Phoenix has been working for years and has made almost no progress. Nothing has changed,” Farida said, her voice rising.

“That’s actually what I wanted to talk to you all about,” Zarya said. “You remember what happened with the ink when I touched it with my magic?”

“Yes?” Rania asked, and Ajay nodded. Zarya assumed his sister would have already filled him in on this too. The two shared everything.

“Well, I’ve been trying some things, and I might be circling closer to a solution.”

“What kind of solution?” Ajay asked, his brows knitting together.

For months, he’d been extremely curious about her magic and her interest in the vanshaj tattoos. He hadn’t outright asked why, but his growing suspicion was obvious. When they’d arrived in Gi’ana, it was clear the prophecy about her mother was common enough lore that had she revealed it, everything about her would be exposed.

“I managed to… control the ink,” she said, her gaze sliding to Apsara and Suvanna. They both knew about her nightfire and though she hadn’t asked them to keep it secret, they were perceptive enough to understand the need for discretion.

“How?” Farida asked, sitting forward, a mixture of disbelief and hope in her expression.

Zarya swallowed the nervous knot in her throat. “It’s probably better if I show you.”

“Then show us,” Ajay said.

“I would, but there’s a small problem.”

“What?”

“Remember when I dropped the case in the warehouse?”

“You’re all out of ink,” Ajay said, immediately picking up on the issue.

“Right. To show you, I need more. I also need it to test if my theories are correct.”

“And we blew it all up,” Rania said.

“So, I’m wondering if you know where we might find another source.”

“With the ink so heavily controlled, the only place to find more would be at the Jadugara’s Imarat,” Ajay said, and everyone’s gazes met around the table.

“What’s the Imarat?” Apsara asked, sensing the uptick in everyone’s apprehension.

Ajay’s mouth formed into a thin line. “It’s where the Jadugara live. It’s attached to the Taara Den, where pregnant mothers must convalesce near the end of their pregnancies so they can collar the babies the moment they’re born.”