Chapter 34 The Sea
The Sea
Zahra waited in Namir’s room, admiring the embroidery on his sheets. She glanced out the window. The sun was starting its descent in the sky. It was only one Re, but it felt as if so much more time had passed.
A knock came at the door. Zahra looked up. Namir was standing there, his tired eyes watching her. He smiled. “May I come in?”
Zahra smiled, standing to greet him. She took his hands. “How is she?”
“Doing well. Her strength is gone, but she is resting. She will recover.”
“I am glad.” Zahra studied his face. “I still can’t believe she was here all along.”
“Nor I.” He exhaled a shaky breath. “The memory of her death is fresh in my mind, though it happened so long ago now. I sat and talked with her for some time about what has happened since then, about why I chose her that night.”
Zahra rubbed her thumb against his palm. “Why did you choose her?”
“I don’t know,” Namir said, “but I think that in that moment, when I saw her wounded and dying, all I wanted was to save her. And so, the mark went to her.” He looked down, his forehead creased.
“I think if I had had the chance to hold you right after you were struck, it would have gone to you instead, but everything happened so fast. I couldn’t be with you until after the assassins had been detained.
If I had, we would have saved so much time. ”
Zahra wrapped her arms around his neck. “But we wouldn’t have learned what we have. Despite what has happened, it’s good that you chose her that day.”
“I suppose so.” Namir wrapped his arms around her waist, swaying.
Zahra followed his movements as she stared into his eyes.
She could recall the first time she met him—not in the garden, but on the steps of the pr-aa.
His eyes were so alive during their first dance.
Now, his face was tired, and deep, purple bags hung under his eyes. But he still had his bright smile.
Namir lifted his hand to her chin, tilting her head up as he leaned down. Zahra smiled as they kissed, glad for the safety they had behind the pr-aa’s walls. These past few days had been some of her longest, but she was thankful for this chance to slow down.
Namir pulled away, resting his head against hers as he stroked her cheek. “I should have known it was you all along.”
“I think you did,” Zahra said. “Despite my best efforts, you did your best to keep me. I was the one who was stubborn.”
Namir chuckled. “I had my fair share of stubbornness.” His face grew serious, and he dropped his hand to the place on her chest where the arrow had struck her all those nights ago. “Despite knowing what could have happened, I wish it hadn’t hit you. It was aimed at my heart.”
Zahra took his hand in hers, moving it over her heart. “I am alive. We are alive. We have all we need to end this day for good.”
Namir smiled softly. “I couldn’t have done this without you.”
“I know.” Zahra moved her hand back to his neck. “There is still one more thing, my King.”
“Of course.” He pressed his forehead against hers. “Are you ready?”
Zahra smiled and nodded. Namir placed his hands on her cheeks, cradling her head as he pulled her in for another kiss.
Her body buzzed with energy as the marks on his chest glowed.
The mark with the wings disappeared from his chest, and there was a burning feeling on her own chest. She pulled away, wincing as the mark appeared on her skin.
It glowed for a few moments before vanishing.
Namir stepped back, pulling her with him. “Now that that’s finished, there is somewhere I want to take you.”
Zahra’s eyebrows raised. “Where would this be?”
“It’s a surprise,” Namir teased, “but it’s outside of the kingdom.”
Zahra’s smile faded. “Namir, you know I can’t—”
“It will be only us,” Namir promised. “Zosar and the assassins are detained. Nothing can harm us.”
Zahra thought of an excuse, but Namir was right. Iset could send nothing else their way. “Only if I can ride my own horse.”
Namir smiled. “I would not have it any other way.
The sun followed their journey, growing closer to the horizon as they drew nearer to the edge of the kingdom.
They rode through the gates of Rhakotis, following the river until they moved west toward open land.
When Namir finally came to a stop, the sun was setting.
Zahra slid off her steed, and Namir tied both horses to a tree.
Their view was obscured by a small hill.
Humid wind that smelled of salt swept her curls from her face.
Namir removed his cloak and took her hand, his bare shoulders shining in the setting sun. “Close your eyes.”
Zahra laughed, amusing him by obeying his instructions. “I can hear it.”
He hushed her, taking her hands and leading her away from the horses. Her weak sandals slipped on the rocks and wet sand as they climbed the hill. The ground began to level out, wet sand penetrating the spaces between her toes.
Zahra laughed as she slipped, and Namir caught her in his arms. After several more steps, Namir stopped. He released her hands, whispering in her ear, “Open them.”
Zahra sucked in a breath as she opened her eyes. The beautiful Sea danced before her, its sweet song rushing over her. The sun was setting over the horizon, painting delicate purples, pinks, and oranges over the sky. The colors dipped into the Sea, blending with its magnificent blue.
Zahra breathed like she had not breathed in years, savoring the air’s salty flavor. The Sea lapped at her feet, and she stepped forward, letting it touch her ankles. It seemed to beckon her in, and she could almost hear it speaking to her. Come in. Come home.
She dipped her fingers into the sand, letting the water wash over her palms. The hem of her dress drifted in the water, and she gladly let it as the sun shone on her face.
“I forgot how endless it is. It is as if there is nothing but water for the rest of the world.” She looked up and found Namir standing over her, watching her with a joyful smile.
“Well?” he asked, smiling with a boyish grin. “Are you going in?”
She laughed. “It is a little cold.”
He shrugged. “We can build a fire.”
Namir scooped her up, holding her legs and shoulders as she let out a gleeful squeal. With one jump, he submerged them both.
Zahra breached the surface, pushing her wet curls from her eyes. Namir popped up, holding one of her sandals. She had not even realized it had slipped off her foot. She laughed, reaching for it. “I need to get new ones.”
He held it out of her reach, flashing a cocky grin. “I think I shall hold onto it.”
Zahra smirked, a competitive gleam in her eye. She lunged for the shoe. Namir stepped back, struggling to run against the current.
The two shrieked and laughed, chasing each other through the water.
Zahra managed to grab the sandal from Namir’s hand, but he tackled her and took it back.
Her other sandal was lost somewhere along the way as they played.
Finally, Zahra sat on top of Namir on the beach, holding the lone sandal in the air. “Ha!”
Namir surrendered his arms to the wet sand, defeated. Zahra crawled off of him and looked at the horizon. The sun had dipped just below the Sea, and the last remnants of light and color were disappearing with the rise of the moon.
Namir stood. “I’ll go build a fire.”
Zahra stayed by the Sea, letting it brush her feet as Namir gathered wood.
The moonlight shone upon her, reflecting on the water’s surface.
She reached into the Sea, plucking out a few small shells from the sand.
One of the shells was bigger than the other—a scallop shell—and this was the one she held to her heart as she looked out at the horizon.
Somewhere, beyond where she could see, stood the ruins of Ionia.
Parsa had surely made good use of the land Zahra had once called home.
Her friends that had chosen to remain were likely numbered among Parsa’s slaves, if they were alive at all.
Her heart ached for them and for the people who had been cast from Aur.
Here she was, the future Queen, and everywhere else her people suffered.
She hoped that, somehow, her people would be freed.
“Zahra!” Fire burned on the hill behind her, and Namir gestured for her to come. “Let’s get you warm.”
Zahra took one last look at the Sea before making her way up the hill.
Namir draped his cloak over Zahra’s shoulders. “Take this.”
She looked up at him as he sat beside her. “You will be cold without it.”
He shrugged. “I am already warm.”
She smirked, noticing he was still wet. “You lie.”
He grinned and retrieved the bag of food.
They ate in silence, watching the Sea.
Zahra held out the shell to show Namir. “My mamá and I used to collect these. We would string them into necklaces and give them as gifts to those in our village we thought needed them.”
Namir took the shell from her hand. “How big was your village?”
“Small, I think,” Zahra said, lowering the last bite of her bread to her lap.
“My parents were very involved in the community, what with my father’s role as a physician and my mother as a sibyl.
From what my father told me, my people relied on her wisdom to plant crops or keep themselves safe from thieves.
There were other villages, of course, but ours was a fishing village.
We traded with other villages, and I think some of our fish made it all the way to Ionia’s king. ”
Namir leaned forward, curiosity in his eyes. “Will you tell me more of your home?”
Zahra smiled at his request. She spoke for hours as the moon moved across the sky and began to grow dim, telling him of her home.
She described the times her father took her and her mother sailing, and the games she would play with the other children.
She shared her people’s culture, and how she would worship with her mother and father every morning. All the while, Namir listened quietly.