The Prince
I’d heard whispers calling the chamber the Tower of Light.
It was the one place in the entire palace other than the throne room that allowed the sun to pour in through large curtainless windows instead of the meager frames in the other chambers.
The rays painted the gold-engraved furnishings, setting them alight.
And yet despite the shimmering warmth, despite having felt the frigid dungeon stone, I never felt cold as deeply as I did here.
A haunting chill hung from my bones every time I left.
“It would be a simple task. Torture the girl and learn the whereabouts of the roots.”
I had been avoiding looking at my father but turned toward him when he said this. He reclined on his toshak. Two jawahar fanned him on either side.
“But I see you object to it.”
“She is grieving the loss of her father and many others. But with time, she will see aiding us is the only way forward.”
“Time we do not have. We must vanquish the South before they regain enough of a force to repel us again.”
Shah Jihangir examined me. I fought myself to remain still and ignore his lingering gaze.
“You care for the girl.”
I stiffened. “I do not want to harm an innocent.”
“And yet the blood of countless innocents rests on your hands.”
My eyes snapped up, meeting his. A satisfied smile carved his mouth.
Because of you. The words raced through my mind, but I couldn’t speak them.
“You do not want your woman harmed, but she caused a scene before my high officials. She refused our wish before everyone. That cannot go unanswered.”
I recalled Farani’s bravery during the breakfast. A part of me had been proud of her courage, even envied it. She’d stood up to the shah of the North, who could’ve had her beheaded with a wave of his hand. Yet she hadn’t batted an eye.
“If we do not punish her, someone must pay for her insolence.”
Someone. Who would take the burden of the shahdokht on their shoulders?
“Perhaps Delara’s next shipment of medicine can be delayed. Perhaps that will be the key to her recovery.”
“Give it to me.” The words slipped out without further thought. “Whatever your punishment is, give it to me.”
Shah Jihangir nodded, a gleam of satisfaction seeping across his features. Exactly what he’d wanted. This was another of his ways to show me how little power I possessed.
“Send up the prisoner.”
The guard by the chamber door touched his shamshir and then his chest, paying his respect to the shah before he slid a hidden door in the wall aside.
A wooden wheel was revealed. The guard reached for a lever beside it and heaved it down.
The ground shuddered beneath my feet. The rumbling continued.
I retreated just before the floor collapsed, exposing a hidden chamber beneath.
I stepped to the edge and peered down into the darkness.
The guard turned the wheel, the wood creaking as it spun.
Trepidation gripped me as something rose from the darkness below.
Metal cleared the top, lifting until it towered over me.
My chest seized as I realized what it was.
A cage. A man huddled within its depths, clutching his face as he screamed at the sunlight pouring over him.
“It was seven years ago when you delivered him from battle. The finest prisoner you’ve ever brought me. If only the South also thought so.”
I stared at the man shuttered behind bars, trying to place him. His hair was long, almost to his mid-back, and hung in tangled ragged strands. I couldn’t see past it to view his face. He appeared small and miserable huddled in the cage’s corner.
“Shahzadeh Kahraman,” my father boomed. “If only your brother cared for you, perhaps you would still be safe in your lands.”
The imprisoned man snapped out of his delirium. The sound of his name seemed to pull him out of his trance.
“But he left you in our hands rather than save you.” My father leaned forward. “It may comfort you to know he is dead. The only thing remaining of Sultan Kasim is his corpse.”
Shahzadeh Kahraman jerked against the cage with relentless thumps at the revelation. Guilt consumed me as I examined one of the greatest fighters I had ever met on the battlefield. This wounded old man didn’t resemble the proud and noble warrior in my memory.
“You didn’t kill him?” I turned to my father.
Shah Jihangir shrugged. “This is far more entertaining, wouldn’t you agree? The prince of the South wilting underground for years without sun and care. Meager drops of water and food. Enough to sustain him but never fill him.”
It was heinous, disgusting. A torture I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy.
“I will show you the mercy your brother didn’t,” Shah Jihangir said, and the shahzadeh stilled. “I will grant your freedom if you defeat my executioner.”
Denial clutched me. I glanced at my father, shaking my head. I could not kill this old man. He was half crazed. He wouldn’t even be aware as I took his life. It was a sin. But weren’t all my kills?
“Agreed,” Kahraman rasped.
“No weapons,” my father ordered.
I unsheathed my blades and stood with arms extended as a servant pulled off my outer robes.
The cage drifted open with a loud groan from years of neglect.
I entered without armor, dressed in only my undershirt and trousers.
Kahraman gripped the cage bars, pulling himself to his feet.
His legs shook as he took a stance, but his fists lifted.
I swallowed my unease. This wouldn’t be a fair fight.
But it was my punishment for sparing Farani hers.
The man screeched, the scream jagged as it emerged from his raspy throat, and lunged toward me. I moved out of the way and he slammed against the opposite end of the cage. The metal door closed on us. I glanced at my father. He was drinking his sherbet, looking thoroughly entertained.
Kahraman rushed at me again. My bare feet scraped across the rough floor.
Kahraman grabbed the back of my shirt and yanked me toward him.
His long brittle nails raked over my skin, drawing blood.
A chortle of laughter erupted from my father.
I freed myself from the old man’s grip and placed what little distance between us I could.
It soon became apparent that I’d underestimated Kahraman.
He may have become weak and aged, but he knew every part of the cage and used that knowledge to his advantage.
He landed a blow to my ear and middle, jabbing whenever he could.
I reached for him, knowing with one pin to the ground I would have him, but the man scaled the cage above me.
He swung his legs down and made contact.
My breath whooshed from my lungs as I flew backward.
I smashed against metal with a bang. Pain slithered through me.
I stayed there, closing my eyes to feign loss of consciousness.
I felt his presence creeping closer. As soon as he drew near enough, I shot up.
He attempted to dart away, but I was too close.
I shoved him to the ground with my forearm against his neck. He gasped as I dug into his throat.
“Surrender,” I told him.
He shook his head with vehemence, and I saw a trace of that powerful warrior from so long ago. I turned to my father, beseeching him without words to spare the man, but he only looked on with a pleased grin. Kahraman’s face was turning purple as my arm dug deeper.
“Surrender,” I pleaded this time.
He shook his head again, his eyes staring above my shoulder at the sun. A longing look came over him. Sweat pooled across my neck and brow, dripping down my face. My shirt clung to me.
“Shah Jihangir!” I shouted, not lessoning the pressure on Kahraman’s neck. “Show mercy.”
There was no answer.
“Peder!”
“Kill him, Dayyan, or I will have Omid do it. You were around his age when you started.”
A roar grew in my chest. Tears burned my eyes as I looked at the Southerner below me. His brown gaze focused on me, and I saw the understanding in it. He knew I had no choice.
“I am sorry.”
Spit trickled from his mouth as he gasped for air.
“Promise me, boy,” he managed. “Swear to the Almighty. You will protect my girl. Sitarem.” My star.
Sweat dripped from my hair, falling onto Kahraman’s face. A tear accompanied the drops.
“You will safeguard her from them. You will protect Yildiz.”
Yildiz. I committed the name to memory as the old man gasped for breath.
“I swear it,” I whispered.
The tension in his features eased even as his life drained from him until he stilled in a motionless heap beneath me.
“I swear it.”