Page 7 of Storm of Ink and Blood

“And? Who is she?”

This is where Rabin hesitated. He’d told Zarya he wouldn’t reveal her existence until she was ready, but he would need Abishek’s help if there was any chance of convincing her to hear him out.

“You’re keeping something from me?” Abishek asked. The question was pointed and a little cold. He wielded a firm grip on his inner circle and demanded obedience in everything. Of course, Abishek would read the truth in him, anyway.

The king had gifts and abilities Rabin couldn’t even begin to comprehend, and given the king’s expression, he didn’t know how he’d ever planned to keep this secret in the first place. That had always been a fool’s hope. A promise offered in a desperate attempt to regain Zarya’s trust.

“I have many things to tell you,” Rabin said, already wondering how he’d beg her forgiveness for this added transgression. “Of significance.”

“Such as?” Abishek asked.

“The woman in my dreams was… is… your daughter.”

A beat of surprised silence filled the room before Abishek shook his head. “My daughter? I don’t understand.”

Rabin opened his mouth and then closed it before sucking in another deep breath that did little to settle the churning in his gut. “I’m not sure I do, either, but she isn’t only connected to me. A thread binds her to you as well.”

“I don’t have a daughter,” Abishek replied, though his tone suggested he was open to being convinced otherwise.

Rabin peered at his mentor, studying his face for any hints of recognition or deception. Any signs the claims Row had made were the truth. Rabin trusted Abishek, but he would also never do anything to endanger Zarya. “You didn’t know about her?”

Abishek blinked in confusion. “Of course I don’t—please explain the meaning of this.”

Rabin nodded and shared the details of Row’s return to Dharati and his story about the queen of Gi’ana. Of what he’d done to protect Zarya by hiding her on the shore. When Rabin finished speaking, Abishek pondered in thoughtful silence for a long minute.

“This is…” He ran a hand over his head, brushing back dark hair that fell to his shoulders in soft waves. The finest lines bracketed his eyes and mouth, and he appeared like a mortal man in his early forties, though he’d lived through many turbulent centuries on this plane. “I’m speechless.” He looked at Rabin, blinking heavily. “Tell me what else happened.”

Rabin then recounted the events during his return to his homeland, including the confrontation with Vikram and his father and what Dhawan had done to try and earn his way back into Abishek’s fold.

The king wrinkled his nose at the mention of the traitorous old Aazheri. “That little worm never had a chance. There was nothing he could do to earn my favor.”

“Well, he’s dead now, so it’s no longer your concern.”

“How?” Abishek asked as a wicked light entered his eyes. “I hope the cranky old shit received a suitably wretched ending.”

Rabin arched a brow. “Your daughter killed him. A sword through the neck.”

The king’s face stretched into a pleased sort of smile. “Did she?”

Rabin nodded, and Abishek blinked heavily again before tilting his head, a softer smile turning up the corner of his mouth. “And what is Zarya like?”

Rabin hesitated before he continued. He hadn’t only remained in Daragaab to help his brother—he had also hoped he could convince Zarya to hear him out. To understand that while he’d made a mistake in lying to her, he hadn’t done so because he’d meant her harm. But she’d left, and Row refused to tell him where she’d gone, nor would he speak to Rabin at all other than to repeat he was not welcome before slamming the door in his face.

Of course, he’d guessed she’d fled to Gi’ana and had taken Yasen with her because he, too, had disappeared. And though he’d wanted to fly straight there, he was resisting the urge to unceremoniously barge into her life. It would do no good to force his presence on her. Zarya wasn’t the type to be swayed until she was ready, which was why he had to talk to her.

“She’s… absolutely ferocious,” Rabin finally answered after a long pause.

Abishek smiled. “I would assume so of any daughter of mine.” He leaned forward. “And her magic?”

“Powerful,” Rabin said. “The charm you gave me to free her from the binding worked as well as we hoped.”

“This binding that was supposedly placed by her mother? By Asha?”

“Yes.”

“Because she believed I wanted to harm Zarya?” Abishek confirmed.

“Also yes.”