Chapter 51
FIFTY-ONE
Zarya awoke to a pounding in her head, her vision blurring and smearing against grey light. She lay face down on a hard surface, and if she listened carefully, she could hear the muffled din that signaled thousands of panicking voices.
She groaned and attempted to move, only to find someone had tied her hands behind her back. She wiggled numb fingers and twisted her wrists against the bite of rope.
Blinking heavily, she waited for her sight to clear before she took in her surroundings. The floor was marble, inlaid with colorful patterned tiles, and a long row of windows curved around the room in a gentle arc. She watched rain pelt the surface, tracks sliding down the glass.
The sky swirled with angry, grey clouds and a clap of thunder mingled with screams and shouts and the clash of steel against steel, shattering glass, and the roar of explosions.
Her chest tightened. Everything they’d been planning had gone completely wrong. This wasn’t a protest, it had become a riot. A boiling pot that had been bubbling for a thousand years, finally spilling over to consume everything in its path.
They knew success had always been a thin hope. Everything they’d done had been pieced together with tattered thread and a whispered prayer. She just hadn’t expected things to go quite this poorly.
The sharp click of footsteps drew her attention and she shifted, whimpering as a sharp stab of pain flashed over her scalp.
She looked up to find her half-sister standing over her.
“You are responsible for this?” she asked.
Zarya grunted, refusing to answer as she glared up at Dishani. A swift kick to her stomach had her crying out. She gasped for air as she curled into herself, partly from pain but also from the shock that her own flesh and blood would treat her with such naked viciousness.
“Answer me!” Dishani hissed. “You think you can show up here, take my crown, and upset my queendom. Who the hell do you think you are?” Her voice reached a fever pitch, echoing off the marble floors and ceiling, ringing in Zarya’s ears. She coughed, gagging as she writhed on the floor.
“Answer me!”
Zarya sucked in deep breaths, any words she might conjure lodged in her chest.
Dishani circled her with slow steps as Zarya tried to scoot around, attempting to keep her sister in her line of sight. She was like a fish trapped on the beach, out of its environment, gasping for air on the scorching sand with no rescue in sight.
“ Who are you?” Dishani asked again as she continued walking with her hands clasped at her waist, her pointed shoes kicking up the hem of her skirt. “Why do you wear my mother’s necklace? Why do you possess nightfire?”
“She was my mother, too,” Zarya finally choked out.
“Liar!” Dishani screamed.
Zarya shook her head as tears of frustration leaked from the corner of her eyes. “I’m not lying. You know I’m not.”
Her sister crouched on her heels, her teeth bared and her gaze sparking with fire. “Understand this, you little worm —you will never use that power ever again. I will kill everyone who knows. You will not get away with this.”
Zarya struggled against her restraints as she met her sister’s glare. She would not be cowed by this spineless princess.
“You came to Ishaan to incite this rebellion against me? I want the names of every member of the Rising Phoenix. I want to know where you operate from. I want to know every one of your plans.”
“I will tell you nothing,” Zarya said.
Dishani raised an eyebrow, her gaze turning from fiery rage to ice-cold pellets. She lifted a hand and sent out a tendril of magic. Zarya tried to get a sense of what was about to happen, noting the ribbon of spirit twisting with earth as it wrapped around her body and tightened.
Zarya screamed as acid lashes of pain ricocheted down her spine, her back arching and her feet scrambling against the smooth tiles. She screamed and screamed as her voice cracked, but Dishani never relented. Zarya felt like her organs were being squeezed, her bones crushed, and her skull compressed until her vision began to smear at the corners, the world tipping out from under her.
After what felt like an eternity, it stopped. Zarya panted heavily, a line of sweat dripping down her cheek and down the side of her throat.
“I will tell you nothing ,” Zarya valiantly gasped out once more. “Torture me all you want.”
“Oh, we will see about that,” Dishani said softly.
The venom in her sister’s voice was the most chilling thing Zarya had ever heard.