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“Have you retrieved the book?” the sultan asked, turning to Nasir again.
“No.” Even that simple word made him shrink further into himself.
“I should not have expected better.”
Nasir flinched and Zafira bristled. What kind of father belittled his son with every breath?
“Have you disposed of the others?”
Disposed. As if they were trash in a bin. Nasir’s pause was answer enough.
“You are failing, unsurprisingly. Altair?”
Another pause, and the sultan scoffed. Altair tightened his grip.
“I merely need more time,” Nasir said in that dead voice of his.
It angered her. Why couldn’t he stand up to the man?
“What of the Hunter?”
Nasir stiffened.
Zafira drew in a sharp breath, and Altair held her still, fingers pressing in silent admonishment.
“The Demenhune Hunter is a
girl—a woman.” There was a crack in Nasir’s careful voice.
The sultan didn’t react. “And?”
Silence. Zafira craned forward, desperate for Nasir’s answer.
The sultan laughed, a mocking sound that boiled her blood. “So you thought to spare her. Did you think this was your chance for redemption? Silly boy, darkness is your destiny. You were born for hell.”
Nasir’s shoulders dipped, barely. If Zafira hadn’t been so focused on him, she wouldn’t have noticed. She doubted Nasir even noticed what he had done.
Skies.
The Prince of Death was trying to earn his father’s approval.
“Kill them and bring me the book. Do not return until you do, or her tongue won’t be all she loses.”
Kill them. So that’s what he was sent here to do. Her exhale shivered. Beside her, Altair muttered a curse.
She waited for Nasir to speak. To stand up against the man.
“Did you hear me?” the sultan asked.
Silence steeped between them, and she sensed the sultan’s impatience. Every part of her awaited his answer. Awaited his protest—
“Yes, Sultani.”
—which failed to arrive.
Zafira shook her head, his acceptance bombarding her calmness. Laa, laa, laa. She pulled free from Altair’s grasp and took a step back without thinking.
Something snapped beneath her boots. The Nasir she knew came back to life, tossing something into the fire, ending it without a spark before he turned to the shadows.
