The Prince
“Keep your brother from my general!” Shahdokht Farani exclaimed in a shrill voice.
I ignored her shrieks and pulled Bahir away from the scowling general. Bahir fumed, lunging against me. I grabbed his arms and shook him until he focused on me.
“Now is not the time, biyoder. We are so close to having peace. Do not ruin it.”
“We can destroy them in one battle. You believe I even care about the treaty?”
I whispered for patience and continued holding him back. Bahir’s gaze slipped behind me.
“Where did the bastard go?”
I glanced over my shoulder. Samir was nowhere in sight. Shahdokht Farani was speaking to her guards, casting us dirty looks. A twisting in my gut told me something was off.
I released Bahir and scanned the rest of the chamber.
Zeki was running his hands over the entry doors, searching for a way to break through.
Farani screeched at him to keep his distance from the doors.
Bahir entered the conversation, and their bickering continued.
Yildiz was nowhere to be seen. I listened to my instinct and strode back the way we had come through the narrow pass with a torch.
The farther I went, the more my stomach turned.
The sound of scuffling alerted me to a presence ahead.
“I’ve missed you.” The voice was full of darkness and evil intent.
I charged forward. Pure panic consumed me.
“Yildiz!” I called.
She appeared, racing forward, her face contorted with fear. There was a thud, and her eyes rolled back. She collapsed into a heap.
“You will not escape me this time,” said the sinister voice.
My chest tightened, and uncontrollable rage blazed through me. The shadowy figure came into view, looming over Yildiz’s limp form. General Samir Murdar.
“How dare you lay a hand on my wife!” I could hardly hear my own voice over the pounding in my chest. I had never wanted to destroy someone more.
The general froze, peering at me through the dark.
My fingers tightened around the torch. Samir raised a placating hand, but I strode up to him, my furious gaze propelling him backward.
Then I crouched, my heart clenching as I lifted Yildiz up into my arm.
Her mouth moved inaudibly. Her eyes squeezed shut.
“Hamsaram, open your eyes.” I grew desperate. “Yildiz.”
“Not again.” Her words became clear, terror coating each syllable. “Please don’t let it happen again.”
“She thought she saw something in the pass. That is why she is so fearful,” Samir said.
Yildiz thrashed against me, her eyes flying open, glowing red in the firelight and wide with panic. “Don’t touch me!” Her nails raked my arms.
There was only one reason she would be this fearful. I leaned down and pressed my forehead to hers. “Ashkim,” I whispered. “He will never lay a finger on you again.”
She nodded against my head, our breaths tangling together. I slowly released her and stood. My anger simmered as I looked at the general.
“I know exactly what she saw.”
I rushed him before he could speak further and tackled him to the floor.
He fought back, his fist cutting across my chin.
I spat blood and shoved him down, ramming my knee into his gut.
I attacked without mercy. Blow after blow plowed into his face, his sides, his ears.
Everywhere I could reach. Fury beat through me like blood traveling through my veins.
I would destroy him, rip him to shreds. He deserved the most gruesome death possible.
I swallowed the metal tang of blood. Sweat trickled down my face, stinging the gash in my upper lip. Nothing could stop me. No force in the world could cease the torture I would ensure this man endured.
“Dayyan.”
I stilled at the soft whisper. My fist trembled above Samir.
The man wheezed beneath me. His face resembled a rotten lump of fruit, bruised and broken beyond repair.
She neared me, her hand slipping over my shoulder.
She could feel every angry shudder racking my body.
I forced myself to look away from the man beneath me and meet her gaze.
Her eyes were filled with unshed tears. Anguish gripped me at the sight.
I would rather face a hundred soldiers than see a single drop fall from her eyes.
I lifted to my full height, reaching for her.
I detested that she’d had to endure this scum’s presence again.
And that she had witnessed me turn into a monster in retaliation.
Gentle fingers caressed my clenched fists.
She lifted my hands, staring at my bruised and bleeding knuckles.
Then she stepped closer and her arms circled my waist. My breath caught.
I tugged her closer, holding her so tight, as if I would never let her go.
As if she would never leave me. I pressed my lips into the top of her chadar, inhaling the rosy scent lingering from her skin.
“Thank you,” she mumbled before stepping back.
I dropped my arms, slightly disoriented, and then my gut clenched at the dagger in her grasp. My dagger.
“Yildiz,” I started.
She spun around. Samir’s face was blanched as he crawled to his feet.
She strode toward him and, without flinching, buried the dagger into his chest. Into his heart.
Blood bubbled onto his lips, and he fell to his knees.
My wife wrenched the dagger free, and blood erupted, soaking her trousers.
Samir’s eyes went dark, and he fell face-first before her, bowing to the shahdokht of the South in his death.
She turned, exhaling, and approached me with swift steps, as if a large load had been lifted from her shoulders and she weighed nothing.
“It’s over.” Her smile was shaky. “He’s gone.”
She dropped the dagger, her entire form trembling.
A rumble echoed through the cave, and shouts of fear accompanied it.
I grabbed Yildiz’s hand and led her back toward the others.
Pieces of stone dropped around us during the sudden quake.
When we rejoined the others, I stilled at the sight that confronted us.
Zeki and Bahir were on their knees, Shahdokht Farani’s guards wielding swords to their necks.
“Farani, what are you doing?”
The Southern princess whirled at her cousin’s voice. A slow scheming smile spread across her face.
“You didn’t truly believe I would accept a peace treaty, did you?
” She shook her head. “Until every drop of Northern blood is spent, I will not stop exacting revenge. Starting with him.” She pointed at Bahir, and then her finger trailed toward Zeki.
“And then followed by the traitorous Southern shahzadeh who chose to serve our enemy.”
At her motion, the guards standing behind him and Zeki raised their shamshirs in ready positions.
“We plotted it together, Samir and I,” Shahdokht Farani said. “How to kill each one of them. And every second of enjoyment it would give us.”
“Farani . . .”
“You will never convince me otherwise, Yildiz. Come and stand beside me. Like you always did. End their lives with me.”
Yildiz stepped past me toward her cousin, her features twisted with desperation. “Please listen to me.”
“Will you choose him over me?” Farani asked, her face warped in disbelief as she glanced at me. “This murderer. Over me?”
“Farani, we spoke about this. The Northerners are not what we thought they were. There are good among them. We can have peace. Please do not ruin this.”
Farani shook her head. “There is nothing good in these princes.” She glanced past Yildiz. “Samir! Samir, come, we have waited for this moment.”
When he didn’t emerge, Farani frowned and then nodded at two of her guards to search for him.
When they disappeared, I evaluated my options.
With two guards gone and two focused on Bahir and Zeki, that left me eleven to face.
Alone, I may have managed against so many, but my thoughts were snared by Yildiz and the others.
I couldn’t protect them and fight at once. But what other choice did I have?
Small rocks continued tumbling around us as the mountain screamed its anger for trying to desecrate its doors. The sounds of boots approached, and I steadied myself, dreading Farani’s reaction. The guards emerged into view, hefting Samir’s corpse between them.