Page 68 of Queen of Shadows and Ruin

Talin came to a stop and turned to address them. “I’ll warn you. She’s in very bad shape. Try not to react. It makes her… angry. Pretend nothing is amiss, and you might leave here with your heads.”

Yasen snorted. “I wasn’t that attached to it, anyway.”

Talin cocked his head in a gesture that seemed to say Fair enough before they entered a palatial suite with windows running the entire length of one wall. The curtains were drawn closed, admitting only narrow slivers of light and casting the space into shadows.

Dozens of people filled the room, speaking in low, hushed voices. Miraan and Yasen exchanged another wary look as their shoulders brushed, almost as if Miraan was seeking reassurance in Yasen’s presence. He wished he could offer something to make this easier.

“Dishani,” Talin said softly. “He’s here.”

They moved deeper into the room and towards the sunken area in the center, where several curved divans lined the perimeter. At least a dozen healers surrounded her.

A moment later, Yasen spied a familiar figure.

Koura turned to look over his shoulder from his position kneeling before a divan. He nodded to Yasen and then stood, bowing to the princes before he moved away to reveal a shrouded figure lying on her back with several cushions propped under her head. Yasen inhaled a deep breath, suddenly nervous. He could feel the tension radiating off Miraan.

Talin looked over his shoulder yet again, then kneeled before Dishani. She wore a long, soft white dress and a white veil over her face. Through the light fabric, Yasen caught the barest shine of her eyes.

“Dishani,” Miraan whispered.

She lay entirely still, studying her brother.

Yasen could make out the inflamed skin on the right side of her face before his gaze wandered to her right arm, where her sleeveless dress exposed a rash of angry red blisters, glistening with a sheen of ointment.

Yasen had been a soldier for decades. He’d seen every injury under the sun, and it had never bothered him, but something about this room and its shadows sent a chill skating down his back. The healers, the pulled curtains, the hushed voices made it feel like they were standing inside a tomb.

He’d witnessed the moment when Rabin attacked with that blue fire, not caring who he hit. Yasen understood. He would have done the same, but he knew Zarya would carry this guilt with her forever.

Despite how Dishani had treated her, Zarya would always look for the good in people and situations. It’s why they were friends. Things would have gone as usual if she’d given up on him the way most people did. He knew he had no one to blame but himself for that, but trusting people was difficult.

“Dishani,” Miraan said again. “How are you?”

She remained still for several long seconds as the tension in the room stretched. Yasen wondered if she could speak.

“You come to ask after my welfare?” came her words a moment later. They were barely whispered, dragged over charred vocal cords. Yasen could distinguish them easily with his rakshasa hearing, but everyone else leaned forward.

“I’m sorry for what happened,” Miraan said. “This is never how I wanted things to turn out.”

Dishani went silent as if gathering her strength to answer.

“And yet… here we are.”

Again, she whispered the words like they caused her immense pain.

“Dishani, I’d like to talk about what happened,” Miraan said. “Perhaps when you’re feeling a bit… more yourself. We need to discuss the resistance. They have demands, and we must hear them out.”

Yasen tensed. He wasn’t exactly the most diplomatic in most situations, but even he was cringing at Miraan’s directness. Dishani was a wreck, and they were arriving to call for reform. It needed to be done, but this room and these people were seriously creeping him out.

“The resistance…” Dishani said after another long pause, “…will be crushed.”

Yasen felt the weight of those words hang in the room. The princess had been bent but not broken. At least not yet.

“Dishani, you can’t mean to keep this up,” Miraan said. “Let’s negotiate with them. Let’s meet them where they are and find something that works for everyone. They know what’s possible now. The collars will continue to come off, and they cannot be caged again. Disband the Jadugara and strip them of their power. The vanshaj are no longer defenseless. If you continue clinging to the old ways, you risk losing everything.”

As Miraan finished speaking, the room fell into absolute silence. Everyone was staring at him with a mixture of respect and fear. Several vanshaj stood around the room, and Yasen noticed a few absentmindedly touching their throats.

Sweat gathered on Miraan’s temples as he stared at Dishani, willing her to listen. To see reason.

“The city is in shambles,” he continued. “You have lost control. Soon enough, they will organize themselves again and storm this palace. Now their secrets are out, and they have no reason to hold back. You have already lost. Show them what kind of queen you can be. It’s not too late to fix this.”