Chapter 16
SIXTEEN
“Farida!” Rania shouted, running over. “What did you do!”
“I’m sorry,” Zarya said, falling to Farida’s side. “I lost control.”
“You lost control?!” Rania snapped. “You said you’d protect her!”
“I’m so sorry,” Zarya said. “It was an accident.”
Yasen was already kneeling on Farida’s other side, checking her pulse.
“Rania, she’s alive. I think it just knocked her out.” Yasen gestured to Ajay, and they lifted Farida to the long divan and carefully laid her down.
“But for how long!” Rania asked, her voice rising. “What’s wrong with her? Is she okay?”
Zarya crawled over to Farida, examining her neck. Where she’d slowly removed the stars, there was nothing but brown skin with a hint of red, but on the other side, where she’d lost control, the skin was charred black. Zarya’s stomach cramped with guilt, and she willed herself not to pass out.
Yasen dropped down behind her with a bowl of warm water and a cloth, and he started cleaning the wound.
“Why is she burned?” Rania asked. “What did you do?”
“I don’t know,” Zarya said, her throat raw with the press of tears.
“It appears to be a standard burn,” Yasen said. “I think it will heal over without any issues.”
“You think?!” Rania asked. “You think!”
“Rania, calm down,” Ajay said, placing his hands on his sister’s shoulders. She shook them off.
“Don’t tell me to calm down. We let this woman into our lives, and she’s been lying to us this whole time. She just used dark magic on the love of my life and practically killed her. Don’t fucking tell me to calm down!”
Rania screamed so loud that Zarya’s ears rang, and her neck flushed with awkward heat from the shame and hurt of being spoken about this way. Yes, she hadn’t been entirely forthright with them at the beginning, but couldn’t they understand why that was the case? They would have shunned her instantly if she’d started with the truth.
“Rania, you’re being really unfair right now,” Yasen said, and she whirled on him.
“Don’t you dare! You’re also a stranger. You came here with her . Of course you would defend her. Why should I trust either of you?”
Yasen’s mouth pressed together, his dark eyes flashing with anger before he resumed his attention on Farida. “If we can get her to a proper healer, then I think she’ll be fine.” He placed his fingers against her throat, feeling for her pulse. “Her heartbeat is strong.”
“I’ll send for Rishi,” Ajay said. “He’ll come right away.”
He looked around the room. At Zarya, who sat in her chair, with her hands clasped between her knees and her head down. At Yasen, kneeling next to Farida, doing everything he could to help. At Rania, who stood in the corner, with her arms wrapped around her midsection as though she couldn’t bring herself to get too close to Farida.
“Will you be all right if I leave you here for a minute?” he asked, directing the question at his sister.
She returned it with a glare and then dipped her chin. “Yes,” she said. “Please hurry.”
Ajay looked at Zarya. He opened his mouth as though he was about to say something else and then shook his head.
“I’ll be right back.”
After the door closed behind him, everyone waited in a discomfort that felt physical. Like it was a blanket of iron slowly crushing their organs. Zarya chanced a glance at Rania to find her glaring like she was trying to melt her into the floor.
Zarya turned away and scrubbed her eyes with her palm, whisking away a guilty tear. She’d only wanted to help. But she’d slipped, and she’d messed up. What would she do now? The only way to get better was to keep practicing, but she couldn’t risk hurting anyone else. The success of the Rising Phoenix counted on this. She was sure of it.
The moment seemed to stretch into forever, the tick of a clock on the wall so loud it sliced through every strained second.
Yasen settled back, leaning against the sofa, his knees propped up and his wrists draping over them. He shared a look with Zarya.
“It’s okay,” he mouthed, and she pressed her lips into a thin line, willing herself not to break down.
Rania paced the length of the room, muttering to herself and occasionally throwing dark looks at Zarya and Yasen. Eventually, she stormed over to a cabinet against the far wall and pulled out a bottle of liquor. She poured herself a healthy glass and then tossed the entire thing back before she returned to Farida, resting a hand on her forehead. She sank onto the sofa and leaned forward, whispering something to the other woman that Zarya couldn’t hear.
They all waited like that, stewing in uncomfortableness.
After what felt like a hundred years, the door to the flat finally swung open, and Ajay appeared with Rishi in tow. He hailed from Svaasthy and was gifted with Niramaya healing magic. After meeting Ajay at a university function, he’d joined the resistance and was often called upon to tend minor injuries.
Both men took in the scene, and Rishi’s eyes shifted to Ajay, clearly picking up on the tension sagging between them.
“What do we have here?” he asked, his voice warm. He always reminded Zarya a bit of Koura, whose calm nature draped a soothing blanket over every room he entered. Maybe this was a key trait in being a Niramaya healer.
He approached Farida, and both Rania and Yasen scooted out of the way as he placed one knee on the floor.
Rania started pacing again, and Ajay went to speak with her in soft, hushed tones, but it was clear barbs edged all of Rania’s replies.
Zarya felt herself folding inward. She wished she could take it back. She wished she could melt into the floor.
Rishi examined Farida, and after a few minutes, he stood up and wiped a hand across his forehead. “There doesn’t appear to be any permanent damage, though I can’t really determine what’s wrong with her, either. Can you tell me more about what happened?”
Everyone’s eyes met across the room. Now what?
“Rishi,” Ajay said. “What we tell you cannot leave this room. It has to do with the resistance efforts.”
“You know I’d never say anything,” he replied, pressing a hand to his heart.
Ajay took a deep breath, his gaze sliding to Zarya.
“Do you want to tell him?” he asked. “Or should I?”
She inhaled a sharp breath. She was grateful he was considering her feelings in this, but could she get these words out again?
“I’ll tell him,” she said. With her knees pressing against her clasped hands, she recounted everything she’d already shared. Keeping her secrets was secondary to helping Farida.
Rishi’s expression remained impassive during her explanation. Mostly. She could see the slight widening of his eyes a few times. He wasn’t Aazheri, and the impact of knowing about the sixth anchor probably meant less to him, but he knew enough to understand its significance.
“I see,” he said after she was done. “This is…well, to be honest, I’m not sure what it is. I have no idea how to treat a magical ailment such as this.”
Rania glared at Zarya again, and she felt herself wither even further.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered again. “I was only trying to help.”
Rania scoffed, and Zarya felt it like a knife through the heart.
“I will have to seek further assistance,” Rishi said. “For now, she’s stable and breathing, and with any luck, she’ll wake up on her own. But I’ll need to consult some literature to see if I can find anything about curing her.”
He turned to Rania and bowed with his hands pressed in front of his chest. “I’m sorry, but it’s the best I can do for now.”
“Thank you,” Ajay said. “We appreciate it.”
“Of course,” Rishi said. “I’ll come and check on her this evening, and I’ll let you know immediately if I come across anything.”
With another quick bow, he departed, leaving everyone to stew in their awkwardness once again.
“I don’t want her here,” Rania said, her lips pressing into a thin line.
“Rania,” Ajay said.
“What? Just because you’ve got the hots for her doesn’t mean I have to tolerate her presence.”
Ajay’s cheeks turned pink, and Zarya, who thought things couldn’t be more awkward a moment ago, realized they had entered a new level of hell.
“I’m not—” Ajay said.
“No,” Rania said. “She showed up here and is meddling in shit that isn’t her business.”
“It is my business!” Zarya snapped back, her nerves finally breaking. “I’m supposed to be here!”
“You’re not even from here,” Rania answered. “You think because you claim to carry our dead queen’s blood in your veins, you have a right to any of this?”
Zarya’s nostrils flared in rage.
“The prophecy says this is my destiny! And I will remain here to help as long as there is breath left in my body!”
Rania glared at Zarya, her mouth pressed into a line so tight it was a wonder she could breathe. Then, before Rania could say anything else to hurt her, Zarya turned and stormed out the door.