Chapter 27 #2
Joy lit up Zafir’s face. “It really was. The worst part was it ending.”
“I never took an infatuation elixir that day, did I?” I ran my fingers along his neck. “You lied and said you gave me one to spare me the embarrassment of admitting my feelings.”
“You have no idea how hopeful I felt after that. I worried if I hadn’t lied, you would’ve run.”
I let out a breath of laughter. “I couldn’t have gotten far, being chained to you.”
“You aren’t chained now.”
“And I didn’t run.”
The corner of his mouth quirked up into a smile. “I’m planning to give up my quest for the lamp. I won’t cross the world to make a wish when I already have everything I want right here. Forget your revenge. Stay with me.”
I touched his face. “I would, but I can’t leave Nadia, and you know I’m going to prison.”
“I’ll send for her. We can find a way to get her on a boat and bring her over. By the time she gets here, I’ll find a way to bail you out. I told you—we’ll figure it out.”
I could hardly breathe. “You mean it?”
“I mean it. I’ll send for your sister and try to alert the authorities to what Rahil has been doing. I’ll take care of everything.” He paused. “I really do care about you. So much.”
Something inside my chest cracked open at that.
Before I could overthink it, before fear or logic or the looming weight of my impending prison sentence could pull me back, I lifted my head a little and closed the small space between us.
Zafir sucked in a breath as our lips met.
The kiss was nothing like the frantic desperation from before.
This one was slower, steadier, as if we were both afraid that if we moved too quickly, the moment would vanish.
His hand slid to my jaw, warm and sure, his thumb brushing my cheek as though he were memorizing me.
I melted into him, the world narrowing until there was only the press of his mouth against mine and the way my heart felt dangerously full.
For one impossible second, I let myself believe this could be enough. That we could stay right here, wrapped around each other, pretending the rest of the world didn’t exist.
But then, the sound of boots came, heavy and purposeful, and the sound sliced straight through the warmth between us.
“They’re early,” Zafir said under his breath. All softness drained from his expression.
My stomach dropped. Panic rushed in, cold and fast, stealing the air from my lungs. They were coming to take me to prison.
Zafir cupped my face, forcing me to look at him. “Listen to me,” he said urgently. “Whatever happens next, just go along with it. Don’t argue and don’t provoke them. Don’t drug anyone. I’ll get you out. I swear it.”
I wanted to believe him. I wanted to cling to that promise the way I’d clung to him seconds ago. But all I could do was nod as the knocking came—sharp and final—because some things couldn’t be kissed away.
Not even by him.
Zafir went to answer the door and I scrambled out of bed, bare feet hitting the floor as my gaze snagged on the mirror resting on the desk. It was foggy—Nadia was trying to talk to me. This would be our last chance to talk for who knew how long?
“Nadia,” I said, snatching it up with shaking hands. “I need to tell you—”
The glass shimmered, and a face formed, but it wasn’t my sister.
“There you are, dear wife,” Rahil purred. Light spilled across his features, illuminating the lines of his face and the blue in his beard.
I couldn’t breathe.
It felt as if invisible bands had cinched tight around my ribs, squeezing until my lungs refused to expand. The room tilted. The sounds of boots and voices in the other room faded, drowned out by the roaring in my ears.
“Where’s Nadia?” I demanded.
“She’s with me.” His smile broadened. “How else do you think I got this mirror?”
“Don’t touch her!” I shouted. “Let her go.”
“No, I don’t think I shall. See, since you tragically died, I need a new bride, and now, the woman I originally proposed to is of age. She’s mine now.”
Ice flooded my veins and I became paralyzed by fear. My limbs went numb, my fingers curling around the mirror as terror locked me in place. I had offered myself to him so Nadia wouldn’t have to. I had married him to spare her.
“No,” I whispered. “No, you can’t.”
“Our wedding’s in a few days. Shame you won’t be here to witness it.”
“You can’t!” I shouted. “You can’t have her! Nadia, can you hear me?” Fear like I had never known tore through me, sharp and absolute, hollowing me out from the inside. “I’ll kill you,” I choked out. “If you touch her, I swear I’ll—”
Rahil leaned closer to the mirror, his voice dropping to a whisper meant only for me.
“Thank you for all the potions you left in the alchemy room. The truth serum was very helpful. Nadia told me everything and now you’re too far away to stop me, and you won’t be able to talk to your sister ever again. ”
I watched helplessly as he put the mirror on the ground, raised his boot, and stamped on it. A jagged spiderweb of cracks fractured his image, then as his boot descended again, the mirror went dark.
“NADIA!” I screamed. “No, no, no!”
Guards flooded into the room, holding a length of rope between them. “Come on, girl.”
Zafir was right behind them. I grabbed at his sleeve and gasped, “Zafir, he has her. Rahil has Nadia. He’s…he’s planning to marry her.”
The guards shook their heads and pulled me away to bind my arms behind my back.
“They always have some story,” one of the guards said to the other.
“He broke the other mirror,” I told Zafir, starting to struggle.
“Don’t fight it,” Zafir told me. “I told you, I’ll handle it.”
“We can’t send for her! We’re out of time,” I said, and began to sob. “Rahil has her. She won’t be able to get away.”
I couldn’t even see Zafir any more. The guards had begun to march me to the door.
“Alia of no confirmed house,” one of them stated, voice flat and practiced.
“By order of Parliament, you are hereby arrested and remanded into the custody of Pyren for crimes including impersonation of nobility, lying under oath, and the administration of an illegal infatuation elixir upon Julian, son of—”
“Zafir!” I cried again, not even bothering to listen to my charges. “Nadia’s in trouble. Help her!”
The panic exploded as they searched me for weapons and discarded the vials I’d stolen.
“I hear you,” Zafir said urgently, gripping my shoulders before the guards could pull me away completely. “But you can’t fight or they’ll add more charges. I’ll find Nadia.”
“How?” My voice shattered. “They’re taking me. Rahil broke the mirror. I can’t get back to Brisden, I can’t protect her—”
The guards wrenched me away from Zafir and dragged me through his study.
“Don’t fight,” Zafir called to me. “I swear I’ll find a way to get you out. Both of you.”
I wanted to believe him.
I wanted to cling to the certainty in his eyes and to the promise threading through his words, but hope felt like a luxury I could no longer afford.
The corridor blurred as they dragged me away, the polished floors and gilded walls mocking in their elegance. Servants stared and whispers followed me.
Criminal. Fraud. Imposter. Thief.
My crimes echoed in my head.
I was guilty of them all but I didn’t care in the slightest.
Nadia was in trouble and it was impossible for me to help her.
As we descended the steps of the palace and got into the waiting carriage, my knees buckled, not from fear, but from the helpless certainty that my sister was out there, trapped and terrified, while I was being locked in a cage.
The door slammed shut behind me.
Darkness swallowed everything.
I gasped for breath that wouldn’t come, the image of the cracked mirror burned into my mind.
Hold on, Nadia.