Chapter 43 #2
I turned my head, feeling her behind me, close but not touching, and I reached out to take her hand.
‘I can’t tell her what to do. Don’t you know your daughter?
Some birds can’t be caged… and some women will never be pushed into following others’ expectations.
’ I brought her hand to my lips and kissed it.
‘Sana will decide where and whom she wants to be.’
Some of the tension left his body when Roksana moved closer, placing her other hand on my shoulder.
‘Let me heal you one last time. I want my father to see my wedding.’ She was haggling with death, and I bet she’d hold the wedding tomorrow if her father indulged her wish.
Regret and determination entered Boyan’s eyes.
The look of a man who knew he was going to die and had decided to go on his own terms.
‘No, child. I miss your mother. There isn’t enough aether in the world to heal me.’
Sana’s hand tightened on my shoulder. She exhaled slowly, turning away from the ailing man.
‘I’ll bring you something for the cough.
If you don’t want my magic, you’ll drink my potions,’ she said, rushing out of the room, leaving me alone with him.
Boyan’s gaze followed her until the door snapped shut, then it returned to me.
‘My desk, behind the second drawer – and be careful of the poisoned needles,’ he said, and it took me a moment to realise he’d commanded me to retrieve something for him.
I needed Irsha’s help, but soon, I returned with a small box.
Boyan’s breathing was even more laboured.
He nodded for me to pass him the box, and when he opened it, the smell of pine and moss filled the room.
‘You promised, yes? That it will be her choice?’ Boyan’s voice grew stronger as he stared at me. ‘Swear on your soul that you won’t keep her against her will.’
‘You know I will!’ I said, unsure where this conversation was going and offended that he didn’t believe my words.
‘Her mother left this.’ He pulled out an emerald with a light trapped within.
‘No, not left. I stole it from her. I clipped Dobra’s wings.
’ He watched the light swirl like a man possessed.
‘I couldn’t let her leave.’ He pushed the gem into my hand, and it pulsed like a slow-beating heart.
‘Give that to Sana; be a better man than I was. Dobra…’ The coughing started again, leaving him breathless.
I wished I could push the jewel into his throat for burdening me with a task he wasn’t strong enough to carry out.
‘You can do it yourself,’ I said, but he shook his head.
‘No. I couldn’t bear to see the hatred in her eyes when she realises I trapped her mother on the mortal plane.
That she had to die here because of my greed, because I loved her more than I feared the gods.
Please…’ He couldn’t speak any longer, but his gaze held the plea that forced me to push the damned gem into my pocket.
I listened to Boyan’s death rattle as it grew more pronounced when Sana rushed in with a small vial.
‘Drink it!’ She rushed to the bed and pushed the rim of the vial between his lips.
‘Drink it, you stubborn son of a bitch.’ Boyan turned his head, and the liquid splashed on the pillow, mixing with the spots already marked by his blood.
‘No, that’s it. You’re not thinking clearly.
’ I felt the aether shift, and an emerald haze coated Sana’s fingertips.
I took her hand and pressed it to my chest. ‘No, my love,’ I whispered when she struggled in my grip. ‘Please let him have a dignified death.’
She struggled until, with a silent step, Irsha stood by her side.
The assassin wore a black tunic and trousers, but I frowned at the long dagger reflecting the candlelight each time he moved his hand.
The weapon was crudely made, but the simple steel blade was deadly sharp.
The handle was thickly wrapped in countless leather strips.
I wondered why he carried such a bizarre weapon when I heard her gasp.
‘Irsha… please, no. We still have time.’ She pulled free from my arms, grabbing Irsha’s wrists, but he shook his head. More people poured into the room, silent dark witnesses waiting for the end.
Irsha cut a leather strip from his belt and wrapped it around the dagger’s hilt, then leaned over the Grand Master.
‘He requested this, Sana.’ Blade’s voice was flat, his eyes fixed on Boyan.
The old man smiled, radiating contentment despite the bloody froth on his lips.
When she reached for the strap to pull it away, he snapped.
‘I am following the Grand Master’s command. Step away, poisoner.’
The inhuman sound that escaped Sana’s throat covered my skin in goosebumps.
Even worse was the raw pain in Irsha’s eyes.
I knew this feeling all too well. Blade was seeing to the will of his master, following him to the bitter end, even if it shattered his heart.
He looked at me with eyes dark as the pit, begging for my help.
I reached for Sana, but she pushed forward, leaning over Boyan and taking his hand.
‘I love you, and I forgive you… I wish we’d had more time as a family, but if it cannot be, know that in my heart you will always be my father,’ she whispered, and I had to swallow hard to push the lump down my throat.
‘Vivere Mori; to live is to die. Do it, Irsha.’ Her words circled the room, repeated by others and spread down the corridor, building to a crescendo.
It was a wave that threatened to drown us, repeated by the unyielding voices of the Dark Brotherhood harmonising in wordless grief.
‘I challenge you for the position of Grand Master. Do you accept?’ Irsha said through gritted teeth. He drew one of his long daggers, placing it in Boyan’s listless hand. I shook my head before understanding dawned. Boyan nodded, his fingers twitching on the handle, muscles straining to raise it.
Irsha’s strange dagger struck out like a viper, the blade embedding itself in the Grand Master’s chest to the hilt.
A muffled groan escaped, and for a heartbeat, his head dipped as if the burden of his deed was too heavy to carry.
Sana reached for Irsha’s hand, and they’d never looked more like siblings than now, mourning the man who was father to them both.
‘Dobra…’ Boyan whispered. He reached out as if he could see Sana’s mother before he fell back onto his pillow, his pupils widening at the touch of death.
Irsha withdrew the bloodied dagger, turned to the Brotherhood, and threw it at their feet. ‘Anyone who feels worthy to give challenge, speak now… or bend your neck.’
One by one, the men and women dropped to their knees, bowing their heads in a sign of respect.
Sana placed Boyan’s hand on his chest, covering the gaping, still-bleeding wound, before she picked up the bloody dagger and turned to Irsha.
His breath shuddered, eyes widened in shock as she stared at him, tears flowing down her cheeks.
‘You want to challenge me, Trouble?’ he asked; I’d never seen a man so broken.
Roksana raised the dagger, then slowly, my queen sank to her knees. ‘May your dagger stay sharp and your heart true. The Brotherhood welcomes its Grand Master.’
The chant rose again while Irsha exhaled, taking the dagger from Sana’s hand before helping her stand. The chant spread as more people entered the room. They bowed to the body and congratulated Irsha, already trying to get into his good graces.
Sana stood motionless in the middle of the chaos. I reached for her, pulling her to my chest, just as a shuddered breath escaped her. ‘Tell me, how can I help?’ I asked, confused by this mix of mourning and celebration.
She placed her hand on mine and whispered, ‘Rey, please take me home.’