Chapter 44
FORTY-FOUR
Everyone continued talking well into the night before retiring to their sleeping quarters, agreeing to meet in the morning to continue discussing their plan. Row returned to the flat to check on Koura and see how he was faring with Farida, while Apsara and Suvanna returned to the palace, lest they arouse any suspicion with their absence when it was discovered that Zarya and the others had gone missing.
Miraan insisted no one would suspect him, nor would they miss him for a few nights. It wasn’t uncommon for the prince to take off for days or sometimes weeks to attend to clandestine royal matters. He sent a note to his staff, letting them know he’d departed on such a journey and would return when he was through.
They set him up in one of the manor’s empty bedrooms, and Ajay, Yasen, and Vikas all retired to their usual beds. Zarya and Rabin were the last ones up. She stood on the bottom step with her arm on the railing when he came up behind her.
Brushing her hair to the side, he whispered in her ear, “Would you like me to sleep somewhere else?”
She looked up at him and then shook her head. “No. I want you with me.”
And that was it. He swept her up in his arms and carried her up the stairs as she directed him to her room. Still filthy from their nights in the dungeon, they spent a generous amount of time “cleaning up” in the shower and then fell into bed, exhausted and wrapped in one another’s arms.
While her eyelids grew heavy just before she drifted into sleep, she couldn’t help but think how right it felt to be here in this bed, cocooned in his warm skin and his comforting scent.
After getting some rest, they met again in the kitchen to discuss the problems and pitfalls plaguing every level of their plan.
“How do we convince the vanshaj to come?” Ajay asked Vikas, who sat across from him at the kitchen island. Ajay had woken early and picked up breakfast while Yasen made tea and coffee.
“I’m out of ideas,” Vikas answered. “My friends and I have explained what Zarya did. We’ve shown them the collar is gone. We’ve shown them some of us have magic.” He shook his head. “They’re too scared. Magic caged them. Why should they trust it to free them?”
“We need to find a way to prove ourselves,” Zarya said. “How do we mount a revolution withoutsoldiers?”
Everyone fell into silence as they stirred spoons in their mugs and chewed quietly, lost in their thoughts.
When a soft knock at the back door broke through the quiet, everyone sat up. That wasn’t their secret knock, and their gazes met with worried looks.
“I’ll go see who it is,” Vikas said, sliding off his chair and disappearing around the corner. Zarya also followed, tiptoeing behind him as if that might shield any of them from royal soldiers standing on the other side of the door.
Surely they wouldn’t knock, though?
Vikas bent down to check the peephole while Zarya clutched the wall, holding her breath. He made a noise of delighted surprise and flung the door open.
On the other side stood two young vanshaj women, both looking extremely uncertain.
“Mina! Kajal! Come in,” he bellowed, taking each of them by the arm and closing the door behind them.
He herded them down the hallway to where Zarya stood. When she stepped aside, they eyed her warily, and Vikas directed them into the kitchen.
Perhaps that wasn’t the best move because as soon as one of them recognized the prince, she screeched and stumbled back, bumping into Vikas.
“Mina, it’s okay,” he said. “He’s on our side. Please, I promise you are perfectly safe here.” Vikas smiled at her, and after a moment, she slowly nodded.
“Okay,” she whispered before Vikas turned to everyone.
“These are two of my best friends. This is Mina, and this is Kajal.”
“We’re so glad you’re here,” Zarya said, pressing a hand to her chest. “Have you come to remove your collars?”
Mina nodded. “I think so.”
Zarya slowly approached. “I understand why you’re nervous, but I promise we only want to help.”
“We saw you trying to save them in the square,” Kajal said. “My sister is also in the dungeons. It’s why we’ve come.”
The two women’s expressions remained guarded, but at least they weren’t running away.
“Maybe we should take them to the salon?” Zarya asked Vikas.
“Right,” he answered. “Come this way.”
When they didn’t move, he grabbed each of them by the wrists and towed them down the hall, keeping up a stream of encouraging chatter.
This was a chance to try her nightfire, but she would have to explain the risks first.
She spun around to address everyone left sitting in the kitchen. “Miraan, you come and see how it’s done,” she ordered. “Rabin, I need you, and the rest of you stay here. I don’t want to overwhelm them.”
Rabin’s expression was smug as he lifted off the stool and passed her by, but not before saying, “I need you, too, Spitfire,” in a low voice that did indecent things to her insides. She shook her head.
The three of them joined Vikas and his friends in the salon. Zarya sat down and explained everything, including her fears and what might happen, and then asked if they were comfortable with proceeding.
After some consideration, Kajal nodded. “It’s all true? You can break it?”
“I can. We all can.” She gestured between Vikas and Miraan.
“But he is a prince,” Mina whispered. “He’s the reason we’re in this place.” Her gaze flicked to Miraan as if fearing his ire, but the prince only dropped to a knee, one arm propped on his thigh.
“You are absolutely right,” he said solemnly. “And you have every reason to distrust me, but I have realized how wrong I’ve been and now want to do everything I can to make amends. I understand that nothing I ever do will be enough to make up for the life you’ve been forced to live, but I will never stop trying.”
Mina and Kajal traded looks as an unspoken message passed between them. It was hard not to be moved by the passion and sincerity in Miraan’s voice.
“He’s also responsible for this whole house and the fact that any of us are here with the means to help you,” Zarya added, “if that helps ease some of your hesitation.” She shot a glance at the prince. “And I wasn’t expecting help from any of the Madans, either, but extreme circumstances sometimes produce the most unlikely allies.”
She hoped he was sincere and that he wasn’t simply a very good actor.
“Okay,” Mina said. “We’ll do it.”
Zarya exhaled a relieved breath. “Okay, then—who wants to go first?” she asked gently.
“I do,” Kajal said, raising her hand. “I want thisgone.”
Zarya dropped to her knees as well. “You’re sure? You understand the risks?”
“I’m sure. Please. Just take it away.”
Zarya nodded and then held out her hand for Rabin. He immediately settled next to her, clutching it. She wasn’t sure if she needed to be touching him, but she wanted as much control as possible and thought this might help. Even if it had little effect on her magic, having him near made her feel safe and confident in other ways, too.
She looked up and he gave her a small nod. “You can do this,” he said in a low voice. “I have every faith in you.”
She squeezed his hand tighter, called up her nightfire, filtering out that thin tendril she’d been practicing, and reached for Kajal’s collar.
The woman held so still that Zarya didn’t think she was even breathing. That was probably for the best. Any sudden movements might throw her off.
Zarya touched Kajal’s marking and ran through the usual steps to find the spaces between the magic and ink. This felt smoother and lighter, and she was sure she was on the right track.
With another small surge of magic, she broke through the enchantment, and the collar disappeared instantly, small puffs of black ink dissipating in the air. Zarya stared at the woman’s throat, hardly daring to believe it. That had been so easy. So quick.
This changed everything. This gave them a fighting chance.
Kajal widened her eyes as she clutched her throat. “What happened?”
“What did you feel?”
“Only a tingling.”
Zarya exhaled the single most relieved breath of her life. “It worked. It took only seconds, and it worked!” She began laughing. She’d done it. All those years locked away, all those nights wondering if she’d ever have a purpose, and this destiny had been awaiting her all along. This felt right . She looked at Rabin, and the small smile on his lips was so full of pride that she thought she might burst.
Kajal was crying as Mina and Vikas wrapped their arms around her, and they all laughed and wept.
“Okay, next,” Zarya said, overcome with emotion and wiping her eyes, but Rabin laid a hand on her arm.
“Don’t do it here,” he said.
“What do you mean?”
His gaze moved around the room. “You need to show them.” He swept an arm out towards the vanshaj district. “If Mina is willing, you must do this with witnesses where everyone can see no harm will come to her. A demonstration to convince everyone of what is possible.”
He looked at Mina, who sat back with wide eyes as she regarded him warily.
“I understand this is asking a lot of you,” he said in his rumbling voice. “You were very brave in coming here today, but this is for your people. This is a chance to change the course of a thousand years of wrongdoings committed against you and everyone like you. We are on the cusp of something so much bigger than any of us, and I’m asking you to be brave again. Perhaps braver than you’ve ever been in your entire life.”
He laid a hand on Zarya’s arm. “This woman is destined to free you. I know those words might not mean much on their own, but trust me when I say this is meant to be. You can be this change. We are all fighting a war, and you are its newest soldier. Will you have the courage to stand in front of everyone and be the catalyst for a brighter and better future? Everything rests on this moment, but I see so much strength in you, Mina. I see the opportunity you bring.”
When he finished, everyone was silent. Zarya didn’t think anyone could speak even if they wanted to. She understood then why he’d been such a formidable army commander.
Who could resist those words and that impassioned plea?
Who wouldn’t fall to their knees and tear down mountains if he asked?
Mina looked at Vikas, who took her hand and squeezed it. “He’s right. You can do this. We all believe in you, and it might be the only way to end this.”
“Okay,” Mina whispered, nodding quickly. “I will do it.”
She turned to look at Zarya with a determined set to her jaw.
“Let’s show them what’s possible.”