I studied her. In a way, I felt an echo of kinship with this Jasadi. We shared a mutual loss. A scar on our souls in the shape of our scorched home. “Why are you killing Jasadis?”
The sunlight caught the lighter strands in her brown hair. The gold and silver had slowed to a churn as her magic depleted from the effort of holding Jeru. “We are trying to save Jasadis. But some of our people believe it is better to hide, to live a life under another’s control, than to stand up and reclaim what they took from us. We cannot allow those Jasadis to be weaponized against our movement.”
“Why do you get to make that choice for them?” I shook my head. “And how do I factor into any of these plans?”
Brown had almost entirely replaced the other colors in her eyes. Soon, Jeru would be freed from the clasp of her power. He might hear this conversation. Hear her call me Mawlati.
Or she would kill him. Probably kill him.
“Are you not Essiya, once Heir of Jasad? Daughter of Niphran, granddaughter of Malik Niyar and Malika Palia? You were born to lead us. To fight at our helm.”
Rust filled my mouth. I wanted to join Jeru in the river.
Tell her the truth. Tell her you are spineless and pathetic, that you believe you do not owe your kingdom your life, Hanim said.
“How did you know I was alive?”
Her annoyance grew with each question. It wouldn’t be long before her patience reached its limit. “A new recruit decided to try a locating spell and discovered Qayida Hanim’s body. We hadn’t been able to track her since her exile. Whatever warding she used to prevent us from finding her collapsed when she died. They were insistent on investigating. Despite our misgivings, we agreed and spent the next year trying to track your magic, but it was like trying to catch a grain of sand in a storm. We finally found that horrible little Omalian village a month ago, but unfortunately, the information had leaked to the Urabi that we believed the Jasad Heir to be alive.
“Not everyone was pleased about the idea of recruiting you to our cause,” she continued. “There was strong dissent in our ranks. Some who rightfully believe reinstating anyone raised within the corrupt walls of Usr Jasad flies in the face of our mission. They wanted to find you and kill you. But we believe your name—and most importantly, your magic—will serve a greater purpose than anyone realizes.”
Corrupt walls of Usr Jasad? What was she talking about?
I did not have the luxury of time to process the information thrown at me. I had a plan that would hopefully see the three of us leaving this encounter alive.
Lies mixed with truth on my tongue, sealing together seamlessly. “The Nizahl Heir believes my power will help win the Alcalah for his kingdom. The Heir is like his father—power-hungry, obsessed with glory. He does not know who I am or that you hunt me. If I disappear now, all four kingdoms will devote their armies and efforts to finding you. The Alcalah is well protected, but I can create opportunities for you to find me. If I go missing during one of the trials, they will simply assume I died. Find a vulnerability in their security and take me then.”
She frowned, but I could see the idea turning in her head. “I was told to bring you back now.”
I pushed steel into my voice. “If you want me to lead, you need to listen.”
The silver and gold in her eyes evaporated. The current finally pulled Jeru, carrying him downstream. I wasn’t worried. He would catch himself on a turn and climb out.
The Jasadi inclined her head. “As you command, Mawlati. I do hope you remember this when the time comes to choose between us and our cowardly counterparts.”
Cowardly, because the Urabi thought men like Adel didn’t deserve to die for preferring to spend their life working in an Omalian bakery over joining a doomed rebellion? Then again, the Urabi wouldn’t have left Adel alone, either. Jasadis spent their lives watching for Nizahl. How devastating it must be for the attack to come from within, from over your shoulder instead of across enemy lines.
She stopped near my shoulder as she passed. “Until next time.”
I gritted my teeth at the underlying threat. She spoke to me as though I owed her a long-standing duty. Essiya would always be an anchor around my neck, chaining me to a fate I never wanted or asked for.
I met her gaze with a stony one of my own. “Only if you catch me before they do.”
A knock came at my door in the middle of the night.
I sat straight up, the blanket spilling to my waist, and squinted around my dark room. What now? Nothing good could come from a visit at this hour.
Arin stood on the other side of the door. Mud stained his boots, and his windswept hair fell in a silver shock over his forehead. He must have returned to the tunnels and come straight here. It was satisfying to see the fastidious Heir so disheveled. Despite his best efforts, Arin was still human.
“Is everything all right?”
“There is a matter of some urgency I would like to discuss with you,” he said. “May I enter?”
I waved him inside, settling into a cross-legged position on the bed. I hadn’t been able to sleep, anyway. The words corrupt walls of Jasad pounded like drums each time I closed my eyes. It made no sense. If the rest of the Mufsids were like the woman I’d met, then most of them once belonged to the wealthiest, most powerful wilayahs in Jasad. What quarrel could they have had with the crown keeping them in their riches?
After deliberating briefly, Arin claimed the chair in the corner.
“Jeru spoke to you,” I said.
“He did.” The Heir tapped his knee. “What did she say to you?”
I didn’t hesitate. I had played this coming conversation in my head from the moment the Mufsid left the river. “How can you sense magic?”
Arin paused. Amusement crept into his face. It baffled me, how much he seemed to enjoy being cornered or outpaced. Every exchange with the Nizahl Heir was a game. A battle of wills on a blood-soaked field with him as the last man standing.
“You want to trade?”
“Yes.” I pointed an innocent smile at him. “You told me every truth has its time. Let this be yours.”
“I could force it from you. Painfully.”
Front strike. Obvious and easy to block. Too easy.
“We only have three weeks left until we leave for Lukub. My magic still isn’t working. You cannot afford to waste training time while I recover from your torture.”
“But I can afford your friends’ time.” He tipped his head. “Who shall I start with, Sefa or the boy?”
“You will not have my full cooperation if you torture them. You might even run the risk of motivating them to escape, which would be a waste of your resources and loss of a training tool.”
I was enjoying myself. I had had little opportunity to be truly cunning in Mahair. It felt like flexing a muscle I had forgotten existed.
I had never met anyone quite as still as Arin of Nizahl. The man could be carved from stone. “I have a theory.”
I raised a brow. “Congratulations.”