Page 30 of Queen of Shadows and Ruin (The Nightfire Quartet #4)

TWENTY-NINE

Rabin opened his eyes to the blur of a ceiling above him. He blinked, attempting to clear the pounding in his head. When he tried to sit up, he discovered he was held in place, his wrists and ankles strapped to a surface where he was lying.

He tugged on his bindings to no avail as the previous events came flooding back.

Abishek. Ekaja. They’d betrayed him. Done something to him.

But what and why?

He lifted his head——to discover he was naked except for his underwear. What the fuck was happening?

He looked to his right and began thrashing harder against his restraints. Zarya lay on another table, similarly trussed, wearing only a bra and panties, her eyes closed and her dark hair spilling over the edge.

“Zarya,” he called, but she didn’t move. Her chest rose and fell in a slow rhythmic pattern, suggesting she was asleep or passed out. He thrashed again, but the cuffs offered no give. He couldn’t feel his magic, either—Abishek had blocked it.

Forcing himself to calm down, he took stock of his surroundings. He was in Abishek’s wing of the castle. He recognized this room as the formal entertaining salon he used only occasionally for private meetings.

It was decorated luxuriously with velvet furniture in maroon and hunter green. The rugs were thick brown fur, and a large fireplace crackled at each end. Vaulted windows overlooked the snow, hung with heavy dark drapes that were currently drawn closed.

A chandelier dangled in his vision, rendered from deer antlers hunted in these very mountains. He inhaled deeply, trying to calm his breath and think.

Abishek had been lying to him. What had he been lying about? What was Rabin doing here, and why had Ekaja betrayed him?

The king’s treachery stung but didn’t cut to the bone. Maybe deep down, he’d always understood he was living on borrowed time with the ruthless king of Andhera. Perhaps he’d convinced himself of what he’d wanted to see and, in doing so, had disregarded the warnings that had been there all along.

But Ekaja .

He truly thought she had been his friend. He’d trusted her wholly. They’d been drunk together. Trained together. Complained about the king to one another. And she’d walked into the study and looked at him without emotion. Like she hadn’t cared at all. Like he meant nothing.

And now, he lay on this table, having no idea what would come next. And worse, Zarya lay next to him, knocked out and subjected to the gods only knew what. He was responsible for all of this. He had spent months convincing her it was safe. Months convincing her that her father only wanted to know her.

Gods, what a fucking fool he was. He’d been so desperate for approval. So desperate for a place to call home that he’d endangered the most important person in his life.

Zarya groaned, and her head swung to the side.

“Zarya,” he said in a low voice. He had no idea where the king and the others had gone, but given their position and the crackling fires, he could only assume they would be returning soon.

She groaned again, the sound desperate and lonely.

“Mother,” she whispered, her voice raw and broken. “Mother, I’ll get you out.”

Rabin swallowed the thick knot in his throat. Was she dreaming again, or had she found her? Was that why they were lying here now?

“Zarya,” he called a bit louder, his voice cracking.

Finally, her head rocked towards him, and her eyes slowly peeled open. She blinked, clearing her vision as her gaze traveled over him, and tears gathered in her eyes.

“Rabin,” she whispered. “What happened?”

“He lied to us. To me. I’m so sorry.”

“I saw her,” she said. “She’s here. He’s been hurting her.”

A tear leaked from the corner of her eye and slipped to the table.

“You saw her?” He still couldn’t believe it. All this time, the queen of Gi’ana had been right here ?

“Why are we tied up?” she asked as she yanked on her restraints, her voice rising to panic. “What’s going on?”

“Spitfire,” he said in a low voice. “Try to stay calm.”

She shook her head, squeezing her eyes and pinching her mouth together. “He’s planning to take my magic and then kill us, isn’t he? Row was right all along.”

“I don’t know,” he answered. “But we can’t panic. We will figure this out.”

She exhaled a shuddering sigh and stared up at the ceiling, her head arching back as she willed her tears down.

Then she looked at him. “What happened? How did he get you?”

Rabin inhaled a deep breath and explained how he’d been overwhelmed.

When he was finished, her jaw was hard. “She betrayed you. I’ll kill her. I’ll kill them both.”

“Zarya, can you feel your magic?” he asked.

She blinked as if it had just occurred to her and shook her head. “I can’t. Did he take it away?”

They watched each other over the narrow space that felt like an ocean keeping them apart.

“He said Row was right,” he confessed as his heart twisted in his chest.

She yanked again, making a sound of frustration before she gave up and stared up at the ceiling.

“Zarya,” he said, after a minute of silence. “I’m sorry. This is all my fault.” He turned to find her facing him. “I brought us here. I was so fucking sure everything would be fine.”

“It’s not your fault,” she said. “Something tells me he planned this all along. When he found me with my mother, he said he knew who I was from the very start. He would have found me no matter what.”

His brow furrowed at the despondency in her voice. He opened his mouth, about to say something else when the door to the room opened.

Zarya’s head whipped over at the sound, her entire body tensing. A shiver traveled over her arms and legs, both from fear and the air chilling her exposed skin. First, Abishek appeared. He paused and stared at her, their eyes meeting. Following him were Kishore and then Ekaja.

That bitch. She couldn’t believe she’d betrayed them. She’d pretended to be Rabin’s friend, and now she was standing with Abishek like his obedient pet. Kishore had given her the creeps from the moment she’d met him. She wasn’t at all surprised by his lies.

And Abishek…maybe a part of her had known they’d end up here all along. Maybe part of her had run towards him to get it over with. Without this confrontation, she would have lived her entire life with one eye peering over her shoulder, and that would never have been a life.

Maybe a part of her had always known it would be her or him.

Abishek stopped at their feet and looked down, waiting. She refused to give him the satisfaction of lifting her head. It was a pointless defiance, but it was literally the only thing she had.

Rabin’s anger rumbled in his chest, the sound echoing through the room as Abishek regarded them both.

“You’re probably wondering what’s happening,” the king said. He moved between them, and Zarya shivered as the fabric of his cloak brushed her hand. “I’ll tell you the story, shall I? My dearest Zarya, I knew you existed from the beginning.”

She blinked, trying not to react. She wouldn’t give him this satisfaction, either.

“Your mother had a special gift of her own.”

He paused, and she couldn’t help but frown.

“Everyone believed that an oracle shared the prophecy of your birth, and she spent her life convincing everyone else of that, going so far as to leave you a message telling you the same, isn’t that right? She couldn’t risk anyone knowing the truth; even her precious Row didn’t know the full story.”

Zarya’s hands and feet were turning numb despite the roaring fires. From the corner of her eye, she noted Kishore and Ekaja watching silently. Ekaja with a dispassionate expression, and Kishore wearing a smile of smug satisfaction.

“She was a powerful nali. An incredibly rare gift amongst Aazheri.”

Nali. Zarya shook her head to indicate she didn’t understand.

“A nali is a conduit between our world and the heavens. They can speak with the gods. She concocted the lie about the Oracle as nalis have a violent history in our world. They were often captured and forced to offer predictions for those who sought to control them.

“Though some nalis can see the future as it relates to those around them, some are limited to something specific. Asha only saw the future as it related to herself and her offspring. Or, more specifically, one offspring in particular—a daughter yet to be born.”

Zarya’s jaw tightened.

“I’ve never fully understood her reasons for revealing the information about your nightfire. I suspect it was to bolster her position. During the Khetara Wars, she lost favor after so many setbacks at Daragaab’s hand.” He gestured casually to Rabin. “I believe she did it to make herself appear more powerful and that she was here to deliver her people to salvation.

“But as the years waned, she gave birth to four children, all without the gift she had promised.”

Abishek turned and walked around them, stopping on Zarya’s other side.

“When I first heard the prophecy, I was intrigued. Nightfire .” He said the word like he was tasting it. “I had been seeking it out for so many years and hadn’t heard that word beyond these walls in centuries. Then suddenly, a queen claimed she would bear a child who could wield it. That’s when I took a very specific interest in the queen of Gi’ana.

“When the promised child failed to appear, I grew tired of waiting, so I traveled to Ishaan on the pretense of some diplomatic matter I’ve long since forgotten. It was obvious she was growing increasingly worried that you would never appear. Some called her a liar, claiming she had used the prophecy to bolster her image. Grumblings of dissension had started within the nobility, many of whom planned to withdraw their support and back her eldest daughter, who was already quietly maneuvering to take her mother’s crown.”

Zarya’s mouth pressed together at that information. Dishani truly was the worst.

Abishek sighed. “And in me, she found a sympathetic ear.” He stared at Zarya with a curious tip of his head.

She felt sick, on the verge of fainting. She wanted to cry and scream, though she was already sure she hadn’t heard the worst of what was coming.

“We became lovers, though I knew she didn’t entirely trust me. But we grew close enough that I could execute my plans. When she fell pregnant, I sensed it immediately. But she kept the news from me, and that’s when I suspected treachery.”

Zarya swallowed hard as his casual tone turned cold.

“She disappeared for several months, and when she resurfaced, there was no child. When I demanded answers, she denied everything, but I knew she was keeping things from me. So, I took her. I kept her locked up, and that, dear Zarya, was when she was forced to reveal everything.”

He offered her a bland smile.

“I tortured her. She confessed it all. After her first children were born, the gods revealed that I was to be the father of the prophesized child, and when I showed up, I played right into her hands. She enjoyed sharing that she felt sick at the idea of fucking me, but she needed you desperately. So, in a way, we played each other. Only, I got the last word, didn’t I?”

Abishek rolled his neck as he started walking around her table. She kept him in her view as she slowly rotated her head.

“Asha blocked your magic, and you were useless to me until you came of age. So I let you live peacefully with Row while I got to work on my other plans.”

At that, his gaze fell to Rabin.

“Asha had visions about Zarya and…the man who would become her paramadhar. The very same man who was the reason for her loss of favor. Such a twist of irony. She saw him lying in a cell, abused at his father’s hand. He needed help. He needed a way to escape. He needed a reason to live.”

Zarya met Rabin’s wide-eyed gaze, dread pooling in her stomach.

Abishek stared down at Rabin. “It was nothing to find you over the miles and offer you some encouragement. You didn’t even notice me entering your thoughts, giving you a little nudge to free yourself from your prison and then guide you…north. Guide you to me, where I then nursed you back to health and you everything you wanted to hear.”

He blew out a resigned sigh, almost as if he felt sorry for what he’d done.

“And then, I convinced you to get a tattoo that would mean something to you, yes, but would also be infused with a special type of magic to ensure you sought out your masatara in your dreams when the time was right.”

He inhaled a deep breath. “Somehow, Dhawan found out about all of this and hunted you down so that he might win my approval again. I understand he tried to entrap Asha before you were even born. The fool. As if I didn’t know already. As if I didn’t already have a plan. At least it kept him busy. In the end, he got everything he deserved.”

“No,” Zarya said, the word rushing out as Abishek offered her a cold smile. She couldn’t hold it in any longer, and a tear slipped from the corner of her eye. All those deaths in Dharati had been for nothing. Rani Vasvi might still be alive if Dhawan hadn’t interfered.

And Rabin and Zarya—they had both been played from the very start.

“Row warned you. He told you to stay away from me, yet you ran here, anyway.” He laid a hand on Rabin’s shoulder. “And I have you to thank for it.”

“You want my magic?” she asked. “He was right?”

“In a manner of speaking,” he answered. “I do need your magic, but not for myself. At least not right away.”

She shook her head. “I don’t understand.”

His mouth turned up into a patient sort of smile. “Your visions, Zarya. They’ve puzzled you for months. The darkness. You wondered why it was following you.”

Her blood turned to ice. “You said it wasn’t,” she whispered.

“Zarya. You’re smarter than that.”

She gave him a hard glare as he continued.

“Nightfire. It hadn’t been seen in a thousand years. The last Aazheri to possess this gift were the Ashvins. What your mother and what no one understood is that when it returned, it would also signal their return to our world.”

He paused, and Zarya shook her head. “What does that mean?”

“It means they live inside you, my daughter . They have waited patiently over a millennium to gather their strength and find the right…vessel. It means the seal behind where they were trapped by the kings and queens of Rahajhan a thousand years ago is weakening. It is time to break them out once and for all, free the darkness, and take back the power that we lost.”

The king’s face stretched into a slow, pleased smile.

“And you, my dear—my child— will help me achieve all my wildest dreams.”