Page 157 of Queen of Shadows and Ruin

Their gazes wandered north, where the ominous sounds of fighting and death floated across the distance.

“We have to get to them.” Zarya struggled to sit up, her limbs like jelly as her legs collapsed under her. Rabin pushed onto one knee with his head bowed and one hand planted on the ground as he inhaled deep breaths.

She touched his face, laying a hand on his cheek.

“Did you…” she asked.

“I almost didn’t make it,” he answered.

She nodded as a tear slipped down her cheek.

“Thank you,” she whispered.

Everyone helped Zarya and Rabin stand on shaking legs.

“I’ll take the two of you,” Row said. “The rest of you follow.”

He held out his hands, and Zarya and Rabin grabbed one each.

A few seconds later, Zarya felt like she was being squeezed from every side. She’d never traveled with Row like this and wasn’t sure she ever wanted to again. The world around her compressed and bent before the pressure released.

They arrived in a flash on the northeast side of Ishaan to witness a sight of chaos.

Hundreds of nairatta battled the armies of Gi’ana and Andhera, but they were bigger, stronger, and far more vicious. The fighting stretched over the plain under a blue sky choked with ash.

In the distance, the Ashvins hovered over the turmoil, surrounded by the same death and destruction they’d unleashed a thousand years ago, changing the face of Rahajhan forever.

Their ghost-like bodies had turned more corporeal, but they weren’t of this world just yet.

Zarya felt a blast of wind at her back as Apsara dropped from the sky a moment later. The winged warrior took in the scene with a grim expression.

“Can you control them?” Row asked Zarya. “That’s what Abishek planned, wasn’t it?”

“I’m not sure,” she said. “I think he planned to take them over first.”

“Try it,” Rabin said, still hunched over with his hands on his knees.

She swallowed and faced the twins. They hadn’t noticed her, so she cast her mind towards them. She could sense a tether still loosely binding them like they weren’t completely free of her yet. Maybe it would work.

Her eyes fluttered closed, and she pushed against the wall of their thoughts. It wasn’t different from the experience of reaching into Rabin’s head. It resisted her initially—her mind slipped against the surface while she searched for a crack.

She became only dimly aware of the screams and the clash of steel echoing around her. Her limbs trembled from the force, and she gritted her teeth against a wave of nausea. She’d been dead only minutes ago.

The tiniest fissure appeared in the barrier of the Ashvins’ mind. She realized they were one—their spirits had joined at some point during their endless lives. This is why she’d seen them both in her visions.

She shoved against the striation and felt the moment she slipped into their subconscious. Their inner plane was a dark and tumultuous place, scattered with ashes and bones. Black forks of lightning flashed against midnight black, sparking like millions of points of brilliance. She ordered them to stand down and felt their shock and surprise and annoyance at her intrusion.

Her eyes peeled open to discover one of the twins scanning the horizon—looking for her. It took him a minute to find her standing half a mile behind the battle. Their gazes met, and her stomach dropped to her feet when his mouth stretched into a wicked smile.

With a toss of his hands, he hurled her from their minds with such force that she stumbled.

“What happened?” Row asked, catching her fall.

“I think they’ve become too strong for me.”

Kindle and Koura arrived a moment later, panting heavily from their flight across the city.

“So, what do we do?” Apsara asked. “How do we fight them off? Is there another way?”