The Bodyguard
Wild men. I stiffened. They were not people of the South or North, but castoffs, vagabonds, and mercenaries. They were everything they needed to be to survive. And when they came across what they believed to be a huntable group, they attacked.
“I will ride away,” Shahzadeh Bahir said, sweat trickling into his beard. “Give me a few of the men, and we will take the shahdokht while you distract the wahshi with the rest.”
He would leave his brother to fight alone. Another sign of the Northerners’ cruelty, even to their own kin. Shahzadeh Dayyan’s chin brushed over my chadar as he shook his head. “They are too close. We stand a better chance together.”
“Dayyan!” Shahzadeh Bahir shouted, forgoing the formality they had been using. “Your duty is to protect me. Do not forget it.”
I looked behind me. A muscle tensed in Shahzadeh Dayyan’s jaw.
I glanced at Shahzadeh Dayyan’s bodyguard, a smaller man with the features and build of a Southerner from what I could make out.
His turban concealed his face, but something about him was oddly familiar.
I marveled at how he sat at ease on his horse, watching the shahzadeh with expectation and the calm a soldier had when they had ultimate trust in their commander.
I hadn’t expected such loyalty of Shahzadeh Dayyan’s warriors.
The shahzadeh leveled a look at his bodyguard before saying, “Halqe.”
Tension gripped the group, and gasps rang out from among some of the men, including Shahzadeh Bahir. But Shahzadeh Dayyan’s bodyguard gave him a determined nod.
“As you command, shahzadem.”
The wahshi were nearing, riding fast and hard, their hoots loud and clear.
“Dayyan,” Shahzadeh Bahir growled. “Don’t you dare do what I think you’re going to do.”
Shahzadeh Dayyan didn’t reply, his arms tensing around me as his grip on the reins tightened. He clasped my waist and flung me over the saddle. I gasped at the suddenness, barely catching my balance as my feet hit the sand. Shahzadeh Dayyan leveled a look at one of his men.
“Stay behind and watch the shahdokht. You are entrusted with her life.”
The guard bowed his head, his features shifting with determination as he dismounted and drew his shamshir, coming to a guard position before me.
Shahzadeh Dayyan returned his focus to the nearing riders.
My stomach flipped, queasiness enveloping me at the thought of the oncoming confrontation.
The horses pawed at the ground. Anxious seconds elapsed.
“Now!”
At Shahzadeh Dayyan’s shout, they shot forward.
The horses galloped to meet the coming opposition.
Shahzadeh Bahir reined in his mount at the last moment, watching the others ride off.
He dismounted to stand beside me. More disgust for him rose within me.
He was such a coward. He didn’t bother to say anything to me, his focus entirely on his brother.
There was a gleam in his eye, almost as though he yearned for his demise—anticipated it, even.
I frowned, tearing my gaze away. I should have wanted Shahzadeh Dayyan’s death too.
The Northerners were determined to continue their conquest to claim our lands.
My uncle’s orders had been clear. If they continued, I would ensure they met a timely end.
The shahzadeh dying at the hands of someone else would spare me the duty.
But instead, I wished he would survive, just so I could see the devious expression Shahzadeh Bahir wore dissipate.
The wahshi reared their horses, watching in astonishment as Shahzadeh Dayyan and his men charged toward them rather than in the opposite direction.
The soldiers formed a line behind Shahzadeh Dayyan as he raced around the wahshi.
They encircled them while yanking something on the backs of their saddles.
Sand-filled bags hit the ground as they galloped around the wahshi.
Cries of confusion sprung from the entrapped wild men.
Their confusion grew as the trailing bags shot up clouds of dust and sand, creating a man-made sandstorm.
I couldn’t see through the haze but imagined they were batting their faces and screaming in rage as they struggled to see.
I spotted Shahzadeh Dayyan among the line. The turban wrapped tight around his face repelled the sand. He whistled so loudly it reached us where we watched. His soldiers pulled bows from their saddlebags. Then arrows raced through the storm, striking the blinded open targets.
The dust settled, and the horses ceased galloping. The wild men lay in motionless forms in the tiny space, arrows sticking out from their bodies. The man Shahzadeh Dayyan had entrusted to guard me observed with awe.
“Is he insane?” were the only words I could manage.
The guard glanced back at me. “He is Shahzadeh Dayyan, prince of death. Nothing and no one can escape him.”
I heard a hiss and glanced back to see Shahzadeh Bahir scowling, but then the sound of flapping wings stole my gaze.
Through the open desert behind us, a shining silver altizar appeared.
The storm clouds melted in the distance as her presence spilled light over us.
She whinnied, her wings spreading wide as she soared forward. Gasps slipped from the onlookers.
“Barakat,” I whispered.
A gust of wind blew my chadar and dress back as she landed.
I raced forward. The guard and Bahir were too stunned to stop me.
Barakat was an angelic sight, too beautiful for the eyes of my enemies to bear.
They watched dumbly as her hooves settled into the sand and her wings tucked into her sides.
I reached out, stroking her face and running my fingers through her mane.
“You came for me.”
She whinnied, her head bobbing in agreement.
My lips trembled, emotion overwhelming me.
I could escape the horrible future awaiting me.
It would be so easy. I could mount Barakat and fly off, never to be seen again.
But even as the thought raced through my mind, I knew I couldn’t betray the promise I’d made my uncle or the remaining free Southerners who relied on me.
Even so, the thought of tearing away on Barakat’s back was a beautiful dream.
And then the arrow struck. Barakat wheeled back, a pained wheeze escaping her. I stood frozen, my eyes rooted to the arrow piercing her side. Then came another, mirroring the first. She reared up, hooves touching the air as she screamed in pain.
“No!” The shriek ripped from my throat.
I turned to the Northern soldiers with their bows drawn and more arrows trained on Barakat. Shahzadeh Bahir looked on with a heinous smile.
“Fire!”
The arrows loosed, thudding into Barakat. The agony I felt was nothing compared to hers; I knew that. My altizar reared back so far she crashed onto the ground. I raced to her side, heedless of the flying arrows.
“Please, Almighty,” I whispered in prayer. “Do not take her.”
Tears blinded me, stinging my skin as they slipped free. My fingers shook over Barakat’s coat. She peered up at me with a large golden eye. Her pupil was so dilated. A sliver of wetness covered her iris.
“No, no, no,” I mumbled.
A tear slid from her eye and fractured my heart.
I leaned down and pressed my head to hers.
Barakat released labored breaths before finally falling still.
But she couldn’t be gone. I wouldn’t accept it.
The years I’d spent with her flashed before my eyes.
Her unbalanced gait when she was a filly.
How we had learned to find our balance together through endless training.
That heart-melting whinny that erupted whenever I teased her with a treat.
Footsteps approached.
“Is it dead?” Shahzadeh Bahir questioned.
“It seems so,” Shahzadeh Dayyan replied. “Why did you want it killed?”
Their voices bubbled distantly against a shield enclosed around me.
“The altizar are only beneficial when they serve us. This one clearly served the shahdokht. An altizar in the hands of a Southerner is one more altizar to slay. Besides, the shahdokht would’ve escaped.”
Anger pulsed in my chest, spread through me, and filled me with a rage like never before.
I rose, turning slowly. The princes still faced each other and took no notice of me.
I flashed forward, reaching for Bahir’s belt.
My fingers closed around his dagger hilt and drew the weapon.
Just as I swiped for his neck, he overcame his shock and gripped my wrist. While we wrestled for the upper hand, my chadar loosened, slipping from my nose.
He managed to break my hold on his dagger and struck me across the face.
My teeth cut into my tongue, and the taste of iron filled my mouth.
I stumbled into another form. Calloused hands gripped my arms. I seethed, attempting to wrench away from him.
Spit flew from my mouth, but I couldn’t care less.
I wanted to strip the skin from Shahzadeh Bahir’s face.
The shahzadeh brushed himself off, lip curling as his gaze raked over me with distaste.
“Tie her up. Let’s get moving.”
He walked away, then called the soldiers. “Cut up the altizar. We can sell the mane and tail for a good price and the feathers and meat. It is not every day we slay such a legendary creature.”
Blazing fury clutched me, and I fought the man holding me.
A scream ripped from my throat, ear-shattering and filled with pain.
The man swung me around, shaking me until I snapped from my anger-filled haze and saw a pair of sorrowful eyes.
Blue as the cloudy sky. Shahzadeh Dayyan had no right to look at me that way when he was the one who must have issued the order.
Shahzadeh Bahir may have wanted Barakat’s death, but without his brother’s support, he could never have attained it. He was a vile, horrid man.
I shoved his chest. “I hate you.”
He didn’t reply, his lips thinning as I continued to slam my fist to his chest.
“I swear I will kill you. I will murder you all. You are evil. Heartless. It is no wonder you do not marry in the North. You are all sick and twisted. You are unworthy.” I leaned in, tilting my chin up to stare him in the eyes. “You. Are. Unworthy. Of. Love.”
I stabbed a finger into his chest with each word. A muscle jumped in his jaw. He grasped my wrists in his hand, keeping them before me. Someone handed him a rope and he wound it around my wrists.
“Let me go, you monster! Release me.”
But he continued until my hands were secured. “It’s for your own safety.”
He gave me a push forward, and I stumbled. I looked back, seeing the soldiers approaching Barakat’s limp form wielding daggers. My heart clenched. I felt so entirely powerless. All my anger seeped out, and the world faded around me.