Page 48 of Queen of Shadows and Ruin

She paused, allowing her words to sink in.

Urvi blinked and then blinked again. “They say… they broke their collars.”

Zarya nodded. “And they have magic because you are Aazheri. And you always were.”

Horror crossed Urvi’s expression. “No. That is heresy. We are vanshaj. We have no magic. It is forbidden.”

“I know everyone keeps saying that. And I know that’s the story that’s been fed to everyone for a thousand years, but it isn’t true. The truth was stamped out. It was glossed over, and the lie was repeated so many times that everyone believed it. You do have magic, and there isn’t any reason you shouldn’t have access to it.”

She went on to tell the story they’d uncovered about the Jadugara as Urvi’s face grew paler and paler.

When she was done, Urvi nodded slowly as if rolling the words around her head for their truth. “And what are they like? Those who’ve been freed?”

“Like?” Zarya asked. “What do you mean?”

“Are they different?”

“They’re the same people they always were. But they have more power. More strength. They have their freedom.”

“Do they?” Urvi asked. “Does the removal of the collar mean anything? Does it change the laws? Would it free me from this place? Could I marry anyone I choose? Live where I want?”

She swept out her arms to encompass their surroundings and blew out a long breath laden with a lifetime of exhaustion.

Zarya matched her weary sigh. “It’s a question I’ve been asking myself from the very beginning. The collars are only the first step on a long road. But it is a start.”

Urvi gave her a skeptical look, but Zarya wondered if she spotted the tiniest glimmer of hope in her eyes.

“I could break yours,” Zarya said carefully. “If you wanted. My magic was created for this purpose.”

Okay, that wasn’t really the case. Nightfire existed before the vanshaj if the stories were correct, but the prophecy suggested the magic had been given to her for this.

Urvi shook her head. “No. That is… no.”

She said it firmly, her eyes glossing over with the threat of tears. She jumped up, her hands balled into the fabric of her skirt. “I must go. I’ve lingered here long enough.”

“Wait,” Zarya said. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to pressure you.”

But Urvi wouldn’t hear it. She stormed quickly out of the room, slamming the door behind her.

Zarya stared at it, contemplating the endless challenges of this battle they were facing.

All of this would be so much harder than she’d hoped.

FIFTEEN

Zarya had another dream about her mother.

Tonight, it was more vivid—the colors brighter—and she wasn’t just observing the scene; she was inside it. She saw herself winding up a narrow stone staircase and opening a door, the hinges creaking ominously against the backdrop of a howling wind.

Asha huddled against the wall, cold and barely dressed, bloody lashes marring her arms, legs, and back. She curled into herself, her head pressed to her knees as she shivered with a helpless whimper.

Zarya slowly entered, her shoes ringing against the hollow wooden floorboards, dust kicking up around her feet. She stretched her arm out, trying to reach Asha, desperately wanting to touch and comfort her.

A flash of golden light flared in her side vision, and she spun around to catch a fleeting glimpse of a golden figure. The same woman she’d seen last time. She stared at the empty space for several seconds before turning towards her mother again.

Asha shuddered, her teeth chattering and her chest rattling with dry breaths.

Zarya took another step, and then the world blinked out.