Chapter 46
FORTY-SIX
It was then the real work began.
The demonstration in the square had lit a fuse, kindling a fire that had been waiting to ignite. After all the years and months of planning, the setbacks and the futility of their actions, the Rising Phoenix finally had a direction and a purpose. An end goal with a possibility of success in their sights.
They discovered Mina also carried six anchors, and Zarya’s hope grew with that knowledge. If they could keep moving forward, this endeavor might have a chance.
Everyone had their jobs. Suvanna and Apsara traveled between Operation Starbreak and the palace to keep an eye on the prisoners. They were also frequently active in the vanshaj district with Row, discreetly directing people to the manor via the city’s alleyways.
Rabin was in charge of security and, along with Yasen and Ajay, began recruiting freed vanshaj and other members of the Rising Phoenix to patrol the streets to ensure no one came near the house, or if they did, they’d have fair warning.
Miraan also trekked between the manor and the palace, doing whatever he could to discover any useful information while funneling gold into procuring weapons for their growing army. This required a careful chain of orders that filtered down from him and through a twisting network of contacts so the purchases could never be traced to a single person.
If Dishani were to ever get wind of what he was doing, they’d lose him and his money. The fact they were generously funded was one of the only things working in their favor.
Miraan had returned a few days ago with news that construction of the ink factory had also resumed. They were also attempting to pass the proposed laws that would see many vanshaj banished to the Saaya. The incident during the execution had shaken another piece loose, rattling the careful hold the Madans had been clinging to for centuries.
They, too, must have felt the shift around them.
The air was charged with the promise of a different tomorrow, and the winds of change howled through the city streets with the whispers of rebellion.
The good news was it would take at least another month or two before the construction would be complete.
Zarya, Vikas, Miraan, and Mina’s job consisted of using their magic to break the collars day in and day out. Thanks to their efforts, a stream of willing vanshaj now came and went all throughout the day. Zarya’s magic was effortless, even when Rabin wasn’t even in the house, and Vikas and Miraan were both becoming faster with every passing day. Mina was also catching up, and every once in a while, they’d encounter another vanshaj with a sixth anchor, who was immediately recruited to the cause.
Despite their progress, Zarya was constantly on edge, worried about discovery. More and more people were arriving daily, and hundreds of vanshaj were wandering around wearing false collars. No matter how hard they tried to hide it, someone could slip up.
They’d impressed the need for discretion on everyone, but the more widespread their success, the more they risked exposure.
Still, all they could do was press on and hope.
Three weeks after the demonstration in the vanshaj district, they were finishing up for the night. The last few people of the day sat with the artists applying the temporary tattoos while Zarya and Vikas cleaned up.
She heard the back door open, and then Yasen and Miraan came around the corner. Their expressions suggested something dire had happened. Vikas and Zarya closed up the drawers they were tidying and then rounded the corner, where Yasen and Miraan waited.
“We have news,” Miraan said.
“Let’s just finish up here and then you can share,” Zarya said. She didn’t want anyone overhearing and panicking before they discussed how to deal with whatever disaster awaited them next.
“Sure,” Yasen said before Zarya and Vikas helped finish off everyone for the day and then walked them to the back door. Rabin stood outside, peering into the shadows with a hand resting on the hilt of his sword.
They bid everyone goodnight and then Zarya gestured Rabin inside. After giving the order to another man guarding the entrance, he followed Zarya in.
They all gathered in the hallway as Miraan shared what he’d learned.
“They raided another part of the vanshaj district tonight,” Miraan said as Zarya felt her blood turn cold. “It was violent, done purposely to instill fear, of course. When everyone awakes tomorrow, they’ll see what’s happened and understand they could be taken even when they least expect it.”
Zarya’s breath turned to lead as she listened.
“I went to see them,” he continued. “Some bear the false collars and I worry how long they can hide them from the guards and my sister.”
“We have to get them out of there immediately,” Vikas said as Zarya laid a reassuring hand on his arm.
“That’s not all,” Miraan said. “They’re keeping this quiet for now.”
“What?” Rabin demanded when the prince hesitated.
“They’re planning to stage another execution in two weeks’ time. They’ll conduct more raids to gather as many vanshaj as possible and then make a statement of their own.”
Zarya clutched her stomach, sure she was about to be sick.
“Why in two weeks?” Rabin asked.
“That is when they expect the factory to be complete,” Yasen said.
“Two weeks? But there’s still so much to do! How can they possibly be finished by then?” Zarya asked.
“They’ve poured every resource into it,” Miraan answered. “Spending more money than you can conceive. The Jadugara are threatening harsh consequences to the workers if they don’t complete the project on time. They’re doubling and tripling the shifts, working everyone around the clock. They want their position made clear. The Rising Phoenix will not stop them.”
“So we’ll use that as our standoff,” Rabin said, already thinking six steps ahead. “We keep going. We continue breaking as many collars as we can over the next two weeks. We train as many as possible to defend themselves. Then we mount a raid on the palace.”
“We don’t have enough people,” Zarya said. “You said tens of thousands. Plus, they need training.”
“In an ideal world, but we don’t have that luxury. We have to act. Once that factory is done, it will only bolster their position.”
“So we’ll work longer,” she said.
“Zarya, all of you are running yourself to the point of exhaustion,” Yasen argued.
“I’ll be fine.” She looked at Vikas, who nodded.
“Whatever it takes,” he answered.
Her gaze met Rabin’s, and she saw his worry, but he didn’t try to argue with her. He already knew there would be no talking her out of it.
Zarya turned to Vikas. “We’ll extend our hours. We have eight people helping us now. We’ll extend the shifts. What do you think?”
Vikas nodded. “I’ll ask whoever is willing.”
“Then we get back to work,” she said. “And hope it’s enough.”
For the next week, Operation Starbreak moved at full tilt, working through every hour of the day.
They devised a system of assigning groups to the house in batches. Each one spent about thirty minutes inside, having their collars broken and their temporary tattoos applied. Then they left one by one, and the next group was welcomed in. In this way, there were no lineups or clusters hanging around outside that might attract too much attention.
It wasn’t a perfect system, but the Madans were distracted with their raids and the factory and were paying little attention to the operation happening under their noses.
Miraan also reported the royal soldiers were hunting for Zarya, but he’d done his best to steer them away from this area, offering up false tips delivered by his network of contacts that placed her anywhere between the Dakhani Sea and the Pathara Vala Mountains. She kept to the house, relying on others to run any necessary errands.
Thanks to Miraan’s intelligence, they could also predict what areas the royal soldiers would hit each night and warn the residents. Of course, the royals would catch on to this coincidence soon enough, if they hadn’t already, but the Rising Phoenix had to press any advantage they had.
Rabin had moved on from security, putting someone else in charge as he, Yasen, and Row started training their new recruits, now dubbed the Army of Ashes.
With a steady supply of weapons thanks to Miraan, they spent hours in the courtyard training freed vanshaj in the basics of fighting and the use of their magic. None of it was ideal and what they all wouldn’t have given for months instead of days, but it would have to suffice.
Vikas kept up the stream of communication between Operation Starbreak and the council, making collaborative decisions to the greatest benefit of the movement.
It was a delicate house of cards with the potential to topple on every side, but all they could do was keep going, holding their breath.
While Zarya worked on a young woman one afternoon, Rabin came in and sat down next to her. “The factory is nearly complete. The Jadugara are using their magic,” he said in a low voice. “They’re sparing nothing to speed up its completion.”
Zarya sent out a tendril of magic as the woman watched, her gaze flicking to Rabin as he spoke. Zarya nodded. They tried to keep bad news between them, hoping to alleviate everyone’s worries. They all had enough on their minds.
“Will they finish early?” she asked.
He shook his head. “I don’t think so, but they won’t be much longer.”
Zarya turned to the woman and affected her most reassuring smile. “You’re all done. You can go see the artists now.”
The woman hesitated for a moment, her gaze flicking between them.
“Thank you,” she said before she stood.
“Come to me in the courtyard when you’re done,” Rabin said to her. “You look like you’d be good with a spear.”
The woman paused again, jerked her chin, and threw her shoulders back. “Okay,” she answered before heading for the room’s opposite side.
They continued in the same way for the next week until there were only two more days before the proposed execution. Miraan had returned earlier, confirming the plan was still the same. The Madans would announce it that morning: the execution would be taking place in the palace square. They’d chosen to give little notice, hoping to catch the resistance off guard while also gathering as many witnesses as possible.
They, too, were walking a delicate line as their control slipped further and further.
When Zarya had finished the last person of the day and could barely sit in her seat any longer, she tidied her station and trudged up the stairs, her eyes on her feet, willing them up one by one.
She rounded the corner with a hand on the wall when she came to a stop.
Miraan had Yasen pressed to the wall, their mouths locked and their hands roaming all over each other. She opened her mouth in surprise before it morphed into a mischievous smile.
She could have quietly slunk away and pretended she’d seen nothing. But where would be the fun in that? Yasen would never walk away from an opportunity like this.
She crossed her arms and leaned against the wall with a smug look, wondering how long it would be until they noticed her standing there. She was pretty sure a royal parade could have wandered through here, and they wouldn’t have noticed due to the way they were nearly eating each other’s faces.
When Yasen tugged on the button of Miraan’s pants and thrust his hand under his waistband, she decided she should probably make her presence known.
She cleared her throat as loudly as she could. That did the trick. They both went entirely still and turned towards her. Yasen with a grin and Miraan with a rabbit-caught-in-a-trap look on his face. She watched his cheeks heat and the tips of his ears turn pink. It was probably the first time she’d seen him be anything less than one hundred percent composed.
“Zarya…we uh…were just discussing…” he stammered.
“How far you can get your tongue down his throat?” she asked innocently, and he turned even redder.
“Yasen and I… you see… we…”
Zarya laughed. “It’s okay, Miraan. You’re both big boys. You can do whatever you like.”
She glanced at Yasen, who was smiling in a way she’d never seen before. His eyes sparkled and his cheeks were flushed. “Do you mind?” he asked.
“You and I will be talking later,” she said, and he gave her a salute.
“Yes, boss.”
“Maybe find a room, hey?” she added before turning down the opposite hall in search of her own bed.
As she entered, she found Rabin half-dressed, sitting under the blanket reading a book.
“What are you smiling about?” he asked.
She slipped out of her dress and tossed it on a chair before undoing her braid and running a brush through her hair.
“I just caught someone making out in the hallway,” she sing-songed.
“Who?” he asked.
“Oh, look at you,” she said, pointing her brush at him. “My big tough warrior wants the gossip.”
He laughed softly as she climbed on the bed and crawled up to him.
“I know you’re dying to share, so don’t put this on me,” he answered in a dry voice.
She laughed, rolled onto her back, and tucked her arms behind her head. “Yasen and Miraan.”
Rabin snorted as he flipped a page in his book.
“That’s the only reaction I get?” she asked.
“I’ve already walked in on them twice. They can’t keep their hands off each other.”
“What?” she asked, her voice pitching high as she sat up. “How dare you not tell me?”
“It is not my place to spill a man’s secrets,” he said, his eyes still on his page.
“Yasen is my best friend, and you are my…”
He looked up at that.
“Your what?”
She shook her head. “My…” She stopped and frowned, scanning him up and down. “I don’t have the right word for you. But you aren’t supposed to keep secrets from me.” She gestured between them. “We have a bond, remember?”
Suddenly, Rabin’s eyes darkened. He tossed the book aside and grabbed her hand.
“Marry me, Zarya.”
“What?” she sputtered, tugging her fingers out of his hold. He crawled up onto all fours and leaned over her.
“Before we storm the palace. We might die in there, but I want to die knowing that you were mine. Yes, we are paramadhar and masatara, but we are so much more.”
He sat back and pulled her up, cupping the sides of her face with his hands.
“I love you. The more I’m with you, the more I love you. I want a name for us. I want to be the world to one another, and I want everyone to know it.”
Zarya inhaled a shaky breath. How had their light and fun conversation turned to this? But the signs had been there for the past weeks. The way he looked at her. The way he rarely left her side. Every night, he told her that he loved her, and every night she went to sleep with those words lodged in her throat.
They kept bubbling to the surface, and she didn’t know what was stopping her from saying them. Until now. When she looked at him, she did see the whole world. She couldn’t have done any of this without him. He’d saved her over and over and never asked for anything in return. All he wanted was her heart, and he had it. He’d had it ever since that night she’d fallen asleep on a lonely beach and dreamed of a bigger life.
“I love you, Zarya,” he said in that low, growly voice that spread through her chest, filling up the space behind her heart and the one between her thighs. He made her feel everything. With him, she was fearless and bold. Stronger than iron. Nothing could stand in her way. “I want to be yours in every way possible. I want you to be mine. Masatara. Friend. Lover. Wife .”
He lowered his hands and stared at her, silently willing her to let go and stop being afraid of what she wanted.
“I love you, too,” she finally whispered as her heart squeezed and her stomach swooped. “I love you, Rabin. Thank you for waiting for me.”
His eyes lit up, those golden flecks growing brighter as he touched her cheek, sweeping aside a lock of her hair.
“I would have waited until the sun burned out of the sky, Spitfire. I thought I made that clear.”
She smiled and nodded, tears prickling the backs of her eyes. “I love you,” she whispered again, suddenly desperate to say those words over and over.
He wrapped an arm around her waist and hauled her against him, tipping her chin up.
“Then marry me. Tomorrow. We’ll find somewhere quiet. Just the two of us.”
“What about my father?” she asked. “Won’t he be angry with you?”
Rabin shook his head. “It’s our lives and our choice. I’m fine with it if you are.”
“I owe him nothing.”
“Then say yes,” he implored.
She opened her mouth and paused. Were they really doing this?
He cupped the back of her head and slanted his mouth over hers. Her back arched into him, his warm chest pressing against hers as he devoured her with hungry kisses.
When he pulled away, she could feel a flush creeping over her cheeks.
“Okay,” she whispered. “Let’s get married.”