Page 41 of Storm of Ink and Blood

Hoping that faith wasn’t misplaced, Zarya went inside herself before she pulled on the thread of her sixth anchor.

The room was silent as Zarya sent out a tendril of shadow. Farida’s eyes widened, perhaps reconsidering her decision before it gently wrapped around her throat. Her mouth opened, and her back straightened, and she sat completely still, not even blinking as Zarya’s eyes drifted shut.

She spent a few minutes using her magic to trace the markings. She stroked the edges, seeking the tiny particles that formed to make the whole. She felt their vibration. She wanted to take her time with this. One wrong move and… she didn’t want to consider the consequences.

Zarya opened her eyes to find everyone watching her, completely frozen. She forced a grim smile and then sent out a second tendril of magic. She used the first to start the vibrations, forcing the molecules to move and shift. Farida reached for her throat before she stopped herself.

“What is it?” Rania demanded. “Does it hurt?”

“No,” Farida said. “But I feel it.”

Zarya nodded. She wasn’t sure if that was a good sign or not, but she was here now, and the only way through was forward. She continued making the particles dance and then used the other ribbon, forcing it between the layers and spreading them further. Slowly, they pulled apart. It was harder than it had been before—they offered more resistance than her earlier experiments, but she thought it might be working.

She continued feeding magic through the ink as sweat beaded on her brow. Then she let out a huffed grunt as the first star fell apart. She watched in fascination as it dissolved off Farida’s skin and dissipated into the air like a curling ribbon of destiny.

Rania cried out, tears already coating her face as she dropped to her knees and wrapped her arms around Farida’s waist.

“What happened?” Farida asked, clapping her hand over her neck. “I felt… it sort of burned for a moment, and then it stopped.”

“She did it,” Ajay said, a mixture of respect and awe in his voice. “Zarya, you did it.”

“Get her a mirror,” Zarya said, and Ajay produced a handheld one from a drawer. He passed it to Farida, who lifted it up and gasped, covering her mouth as she noted the missing star while she turned her head left and right.

“You really did it,” she said, a tear sliding down her cheek and echoing Ajay. “I can’t believe it.”

“Do you feel anything?” Zarya asked.

“Not really,” Farida said, stretching her neck and examining it in the mirror as she touched the blank spot gently with a fingertip. A bit of redness marked her skin, but otherwise, she seemed unharmed. “I truly can’t believe it.” More tears filled her eyes, tracks running down her cheeks.

“Well, I’m not done yet,” Zarya said. “Do you think you can sit for the others?”

“Yes, gods, yes. I’ll sit here for a hundred years if that’s what it takes.”

“Okay, then let’s keep going.”

Zarya resumed the process, slowly peeling off the stars one by one. Each one resisted more and more, forcing her to use more and more magic. So far, Farida appeared unaffected. She continued feeding in magic bit by bit, peeling away the tattoos. She was about halfway done when she urged in another pulse of magic, and then it slipped.

Zarya cried out as the power crested, slamming into Farida’s neck, seething through the ink, burning off the stars in rapid succession like trees toppling in the forest. The whole thing took less than a second, and that’s when Farida screamed and passed out.

SIXTEEN

“Farida!” Rania shouted, running over. “What did you do!”

“I’m sorry,” Zarya said, falling to Farida’s side. “I lost control.”

“You lost control?!” Rania snapped. “You said you’d protect her!”

“I’m so sorry,” Zarya said. “It was an accident.”

Yasen was already kneeling on Farida’s other side, checking her pulse.

“Rania, she’s alive. I think it just knocked her out.” Yasen gestured to Ajay, and they lifted Farida to the long divan and carefully laid her down.

“But for how long!” Rania asked, her voice rising. “What’s wrong with her? Is she okay?”

Zarya crawled over to Farida, examining her neck. Where she’d slowly removed the stars, there was nothing but brown skin with a hint of red, but on the other side, where she’d lost control, the skin was charred black. Zarya’s stomach cramped with guilt, and she willed herself not to pass out.

Yasen dropped down behind her with a bowl of warm water and a cloth, and he started cleaning the wound.