Chapter 44
Rami
Iwas going mad.
Flitting nervously between the wall and Huriyah, I clasped my trembling hands behind my back. My footsteps had carved a literal path in the sand, marking the first anxious hour of Nahlah’s absence. When she hadn”t returned by the second, unable to remain grounded, I’d shifted into my genio form, aching for any sign of her success. There was no howling wind, no rumbling ground, no disembodied voices to suggest she’d found the Heart.
As I nervously dragged my fingers through my hair for the hundredth time, Huriyah trotted over and nudged my chest, nickering reassuringly.
“I hope she’s okay too,” I answered, running a hand down his neck, my heart heavy with dread.
The starllion chuffed, a warm breath against my face. “I know,” I admitted, with a sigh. “I can only imagine the Sultan’s fury too. His mental state... if he breaks, the destruction he could cause is unfathomable.”
With a sympathetic whinny, Huriyah nudged me again, suggesting a simple solution. I chuckled despite the situation. “No, my friend, blush pears won’t make this better, but it was a nice try.”
He grumbled, flipping his long mane as he turned away, settling near his water trough with a defiant huff. Though his attempts to get more treats were amusing, they couldn”t ease my worry for Nahlah. To distract myself from the temptation of tearing down the building separating us, I summoned my sketchpad and charcoal.
The movements of my hand were automatic—drawing lines, crafting arches—each stroke slowly bringing Nahlah’s smiling face to life on the page. Over the next two hours, I steadily lost my mind, drawing page after page, glancing up every five minutes, dreading that she might’ve come and gone, and I”d somehow missed her. When it hit the four-hour mark, I scowled in frustration, snapping my fingers and swapping the charcoal for a gold pencil to capture her unique eye color.
At the six-hour mark, when the ground trembled, and I lost my balance—even in midair—I dropped to the ground, swiftly shifting from my genio form. When she emerged, I was moving, running toward her with a desperate speed, my boots barely touching the sand before I enveloped her in my arms.
She clung to me as fiercely as I to her, her body shaking. I showered her with kisses—her face, her head, her hands, her lips—seeking to reassure us both. When I finally pulled back to look at her, she had dark circles under her eyes, looking exhausted and drained.
“What happened?” I demanded, brushing wild strands of hair from her forehead. ”Why did it take so long!?”
”It seems there was a lot more I needed to learn about the Heart,” she shook her head, sighing. ”But the good news is that I found it.” She lowered her collar, revealing an amethyst pendant clasped around her neck. The ancient strength emanating from it was immense and unsettling, its presence so overwhelming that it made my own powers stir uneasily, as if recognizing a formidable adversary.
As I pressed my fingers against it, a shock surged through me, and I gasped as my powers amplified beyond measure.I felt invincible, as if the entire cosmos should bend to my will. The raw, intoxicating rush made me reel with the possibility of retribution. Sultan Ghazi, Sultan Farris, every tormentor—they would regret their attempts to bind and break me.
Every wound they inflicted, every moment of solitude and despair, echoed in my mind, stoking a fury so fierce it threatened to consume me. I envisioned tearing through time itself to return to the past, exacting vengeance on each of those who dared chain me, who thought they could control a being as formidable as I.
More. I needed more power. The Heart was withholding its full might, teasing me with a taste but denying the totality. Driven by a desperate need for dominance, I reached to seize it wholly when a touch—soft, unexpected—halted my grasp. Stunned, I looked down at the small hand covering mine, the simple contact sparking a different, perhaps more profound, energy.
Confusion clouded my thoughts as I looked up, meeting her golden gaze. “What happened?” I rasped out, my body trembling from the intensity of my thoughts.
“It’s the power of the Heart,” she explained gently.
“Is it corrupted?”
She shook her head. “No, it magnifies the soul of its wielder, amplifying our innermost traits and desires a thousandfold.”
“Does that mean my soul is corrupt?” I asked, recoiling in horror.
“No, no, no,” she hastened to reassure me. “It happened to me, too. The Heart doesn’t create darkness or light; it reveals and amplifies what’s already present. It’s a test, Rami. It pushes its us to confront their deepest impulses, yet still pass through to the light at the end of the tunnel. It’s easy to let darkness guide us because it’s a path often less resisted. But the Heart seeks balance. If fed only darkness, it reflects that, magnifying it until it overwhelms its wielder.”
Understanding dawned, and a sobering thought struck me. ”So, if Sultan Ghazi possesses it?”
Nahlah’s expression grew grave. “It will reflect his own malicious ambition tenfold until it will eventually turn against him, destroying him entirely.”
I shook my head, dread growing in my stomach. “I’m worried it will destroy us all.”
Lying on our feather bed under the canopy of stars, I stared into the endless abyss above, Nahlah’s warm, bare body nestled securely across mine. I’d been awake for hours, my mind relentlessly spinning through ways to keep her safe from the Sultan’s wrath.
Last night, after a thorough exploration to ensure she wasn’t hurt—twice, to be sure—we’d both succumbed to exhaustion. We seemed to have slept through the entire day, given that night was once again surrounding us. Yet, I couldn”t be sure, as time had become a mystery since passing throughthe Zephyr’s Lair. Without my genio bond to anchor me, for all I knew, years could have slipped by since we left Nephria.
Exhaling slowly, I rubbed my hand over my beard, my anxiety mounting with every second. The simplicity of our life here, this brief respite we’d carved out, was the last thing I wanted to leave behind. Yet, returning was imperative—not just to obey the Sultan’s command, but to ensure he never harmed Nahlah—even if it spelled out my ruin.
Nahlah stirred slightly in her sleep, her black curls a dark cascade around us, her brow furrowed. Gently extricating myself from her embrace, I covered her with the blanket, watching as she instinctively curled into a tighter ball, seeking warmth in my absence. The urgency I felt was unexpected, almost frantic, and I hastened to prepare for our departure. After packing up a majority of our camp, I conjured fresh water, hay, and honeyed apples for Huriyah, and fresh khubz and a steaming pot of thick bissara for us.
Just as I laid out honey, jam, olive oil, and olives to go with the bread and porridge, a horrible, searing pain shot through me. It was so severe that I crumpled to my knees; the realm turning black before I even hit the ground. When I came to, Huriyah’s anxious breaths puffed across my face, his chuffs riddled with concern.
I sat up blearily, taking in the still-steaming food, grateful I hadn’t been out long. But what happened? My gaze flicked to Nahlah, still deep in sleep, before a terrible realization dawned on me. I snapped my fingers, and my jellaba vanished, my heart sinking as I spotted the festering black line spreading from the failsafe band on my biceps.
Panic surged through me as I recalled the Sultan’s last words to me.
“Rami?”
I turned, striving to maintain composure. “Yes, sayyidi?”
Sultan Ghazi”s approach was almost predatory. “I’d like to make another wish.”
An ominous chill swept through me. “Of course,” I replied, keeping my voice steady despite the dread tightening its grip around my heart.
He tilted his head to the side, his eyes wide and unblinking. “I wish for you to kill her the second she finds the Heart.”
As the memory faded, I gasped for air, sweat soaking my body, my skin burning. There was no force in all the realms that could compel me to fulfill such a monstrous command. This wasn’t just a warning to abide by his commands; it was a grim realization of what defying that direct wish meant for me. Hastily, I conjured a jar of blackseed salve, applying it generously over the painful mark before wrapping it tightly and donning a long-sleeved jellaba to hide the evidence.
Huriyah whinnied; his movements edged with alarm as he nudged my bandaged arm. I attempted a reassuring smile. “It’s nothing,” I lied. He stomped his hoof, clearly angered by my dismissal. But I couldn’t dwell on the pain or the implications of my disobedience any further. Returning to Nahlah, I placed my hand on her arm, shaking her gently. ”Hayati.”
She stirred, murmuring sleepily. “Rami?”
Her voice was soft, vulnerable, and as I brushed a lock of hair from her face, my resolve to disobey the Sultan only strengthened. “We should probably return to Nephria.”
“Oh,” she sat up, keeping the blanket tucked around her bare chest. “How are we going to find our way back? We didn’t have a straightforward journey here.”
“I can take us directly there. I couldn’t transport myself to the Heart or bring it to the Sultan before because I didn’t know its location, and clearly, the wards protecting it were designed to only allow a Heartseeker through,” I explained, reaching out a hand to help her up.
Ducking her head shyly, she murmured, “I’m naked, Rami.”
“Mmm,” I murmured. “I’m not objecting.”
She shook her head with a laugh, a flush coloring her cheeks. “Huriyah is here!”
”Okay, okay,” I laughed, snapping my fingers. Smiling, she let the blanket drop, getting to her feet and shaking out the emerald-colored kaftan I”d dressed her in.
“So, we’ll be back in Nephria by tonight?”
“Actually, it’ll take only a few moments if we choose to leave immediately.”
“Oh,” she murmured, her voice tinged with a hint of disappointment that mirrored my own. “I’m glad we found the Heart, but I’m not entirely ready for this to end,” she smiled. “I like it being just the two of us.”
”Me too,” I admitted. Huriyah let out a highly offended whinny, stamping his hooves indignantly, and Nahlah spun, clasping her hands to her face.
“Huriyah!” she laughed, her eyes sparkling. “Of course, I meant the three of us!” As she approached him, he tossed his head to the side as if to avoid her. Undeterred, she threw her arms around his neck, pressing her forehead against his neck. “You’re more important,” she cooed, before lowering her voice to a mock whisper. “I just didn”t want Rami to know I love you more than him!”