Page 97 of Queen of Shadows and Ruin

“When I first heard the prophecy, I was intrigued. Nightfire.” He said the word like he was tasting it. “I had been seeking it out for so many years and hadn’t heard that word beyond these walls in centuries. Then suddenly, a queen claimed she would bear a child who could wield it. That’s when I took a very specific interest in the queen of Gi’ana.

“When the promised child failed to appear, I grew tired of waiting, so I traveled to Ishaan on the pretense of some diplomatic matter I’ve long since forgotten. It was obvious she was growing increasingly worried that you would never appear. Some called her a liar, claiming she had used the prophecy to bolster her image. Grumblings of dissension had started within the nobility, many of whom planned to withdraw their support and back her eldest daughter, who was already quietly maneuvering to take her mother’s crown.”

Zarya’s mouth pressed together at that information. Dishani truly was the worst.

Abishek sighed. “And in me, she found a sympathetic ear.” He stared at Zarya with a curious tip of his head.

She felt sick, on the verge of fainting. She wanted to cry and scream, though she was already sure she hadn’t heard the worst of what was coming.

“We became lovers, though I knew she didn’t entirely trust me. But we grew close enough that I could execute my plans. When she fell pregnant, I sensed it immediately. But she kept the news from me, and that’s when I suspected treachery.”

Zarya swallowed hard as his casual tone turned cold.

“She disappeared for several months, and when she resurfaced, there was no child. When I demanded answers, she denied everything, but I knew she was keeping things from me. So, I took her. I kept her locked up, and that, dear Zarya, was when she was forced to reveal everything.”

He offered her a bland smile.

“I tortured her. She confessed it all. After her first children were born, the gods revealed that I was to be the father of the prophesized child, and when I showed up, I played right into her hands. She enjoyed sharing that she felt sick at the idea of fucking me, but she needed you desperately. So, in a way, we played each other. Only, I got the last word, didn’t I?”

Abishek rolled his neck as he started walking around her table. She kept him in her view as she slowly rotated her head.

“Asha blocked your magic, and you were useless to me until you came of age. So I let you live peacefully with Row while I got to work on my other plans.”

At that, his gaze fell to Rabin.

“Asha had visions about Zarya and… the man who would become her paramadhar. The very same man who was the reason for her loss of favor. Such a twist of irony. She saw him lying in a cell, abused at his father’s hand. He needed help. He needed a way to escape. He needed a reason to live.”

Zarya met Rabin’s wide-eyed gaze, dread pooling in her stomach.

Abishek stared down at Rabin. “It was nothing to find you over the miles and offer you some encouragement. You didn’t even notice me entering your thoughts, giving you a little nudge to free yourself from your prison and then guide you… north. Guide you to me, where I then nursed you back to health and you everything you wanted to hear.”

He blew out a resigned sigh, almost as if he felt sorry for what he’d done.

“And then, I convinced you to get a tattoo that would mean something to you, yes, but would also be infused with a special type of magic to ensure you sought out your masatara in your dreams when the time was right.”

He inhaled a deep breath. “Somehow, Dhawan found out about all of this and hunted you down so that he might win my approval again. I understand he tried to entrap Asha before you were even born. The fool. As if I didn’t know already. As if I didn’t already have a plan. At least it kept him busy. In the end, he got everything he deserved.”

“No,” Zarya said, the word rushing out as Abishek offered her a cold smile. She couldn’t hold it in any longer, and a tear slipped from the corner of her eye. All those deaths in Dharati had been for nothing. Rani Vasvi might still be alive if Dhawan hadn’t interfered.

And Rabin and Zarya—they had both been played from the very start.

“Row warned you. He told you to stay away from me, yet you ran here, anyway.” He laid a hand on Rabin’s shoulder. “And I have you to thank for it.”

“You want my magic?” she asked. “He was right?”

“In a manner of speaking,” he answered. “I do need your magic, but not for myself. At least not right away.”

She shook her head. “I don’t understand.”

His mouth turned up into a patient sort of smile. “Your visions, Zarya. They’ve puzzled you for months. The darkness. You wondered why it was following you.”

Her blood turned to ice. “You said it wasn’t,” she whispered.

“Zarya. You’re smarter than that.”

She gave him a hard glare as he continued.

“Nightfire. It hadn’t been seen in a thousand years. The last Aazheri to possess this gift were the Ashvins. What your mother and what no one understood is that when it returned, it would also signal their return to our world.”