Chapter 16
The ceiling was low, so low that I could touch it if I stood on my tiptoes. The walls were exposed slate, resembling a hut or an unfinished house, the space furnished minimally. The bubbling of a samovar in the corner of the room was all I could hear. That was until my mother spoke.
Her face was thunderous, but it was her, my sweet mother. How I had longed to see her again. The problem was, Rabiya was in control, not me. And she kept her distance from my mother, staying on the other side of the room, by the door, her pose that of someone ready to flee.
“You have been incredibly foolish,” my mother said.
“Where is he?” I asked, my voice cold.
My mother snorted. “He’s the least of your concerns.”
“What have they done with him?”
She took a step forward, face pinched. “You have only yourself to blame for your lover’s demise. You were given one instruction: Stay away from him. And yet you ignored us.”
“Where is he!” I roared.
A sigh. “In Persia, at the castle. They have him,” she said. I turned my back to leave, but she continued. “Don’t go—there’s no point.” Her voice was small, much quieter.
I turned back. “If Baba was in danger, wouldn’t you go save him?”
She shook her head. “You’ll only get yourself killed.”
I scoffed. “They can’t kill me.”
She took another step forward, her eyes locking with mine. “Why not? It’s bigger than you now. Nothing will ever be the same after what you’ve both done.”