Page 36 of Queen of Shadows and Ruin (The Nightfire Quartet #4)

THIRTY-FIVE

Rabin wrapped his arms tighter around a shivering Zarya, trying to offer some warmth. The fire burned in the center of the cavern, casting just enough heat to ensure they didn’t freeze to death but not much else.

They lay on a thin pallet, covered by a thin blanket, with their teeth chattering. Abishek, Kishore, and Ekaja had their magic to keep them warm, and the mountain men were accustomed to these harsh elements.

“Use just a bit of air,” he whispered into her ear. “Whatever happens to me, I’ll handle it. You’re freezing. Warm us up.”

“Absolutely not.” She said it so softly that only he could hear it, but he felt the bite in her words. “We have no idea how it might affect you. Until we understand what Kishore meant, I’m not using my magic.” She buried closer to him. “We’ll be fine. At least we have each other.”

Rabin didn’t respond. Abishek hadn’t tied them up or set a watch, which meant he truly believed there was nowhere for them to escape. Where would they run in these unforgiving mountain passes? He’d hired Catana and his companion to guide them for a reason. Not even Abishek knew how to navigate this remote part of his kingdom.

Rabin could have easily flown them out, but he wouldn’t risk his magic, either. Not if shifting might hurt Zarya. His teeth ground together in frustration. Everything Abishek had told them made their situation sound worse and worse. He had no idea how they would get out of this, nor what he’d meant in saying Rabin was his insurance.

Zarya shivered again, her teeth clacking together.

A moment later, he felt a breath of warm air settle around them, covering them more effectively than any blanket. He looked up to find Ekaja staring from across the cavern, the firelight reflecting in the darkness of her gaze.

His eyes narrowed as he stared back. She’d used her magic to help them. Was this some kind of peace offering? Was he supposed to forgive her now?

Zarya noticed the direction of his stare and watched Ekaja before she turned her focus on him.

“Ignore her,” he said before they lay back down, but Ekaja’s magic held. He considered telling her to knock it off and that he didn’t need her help, but the color was returning to Zarya’s lips. He’d endure his ex-friend’s brand of misguided support for her sake.

Zarya crooked a finger, gesturing for him to lean in.

“I want to try entering the mind plane again,” she whispered in his ear. “Concentrate on reaching me.”

He nodded and watched as her eyes slid closed. He did the same, searching in the layers of his mind for that spot where she lingered. He’d felt it earlier when she’d tried to reach him, but could they fight through the king’s magic?

He saw the faintest glimmer deep in his mind’s eye and stretched towards it, reaching for her. The glimmer grew brighter and flared momentarily before it stuttered away, his mind turning everything black once again.

He opened his eyes to find her looking at him. She peered over at Abishek and gave her a bemused look before she reached up to speak directly into his ear.

“I was worried pressing against his magic might alert him, but it doesn’t seem so. At least not so far.”

Then she smiled, her eyes lighting up. “Something happened there.”

“It did.”

“It wasn’t much.”

“No, but it was something.”

She huffed out a breath. “Okay, we’ll keep trying. It feels like we’re close.”

He nodded. “But first, get some sleep. We have no idea what’s ahead of us.”

She pressed her mouth together and looked up into his eyes.

“I’m scared,” she whispered.

“I know. But we’re in this together until the end.”

She laid a hand against his heart. “Until my very last breath.”

When Zarya opened her eyes, it felt like she’d been asleep for only minutes. Her entire body ached from stress and worry and the fact that she had no idea what awaited them.

The others were already stirring, sitting down to breakfast with mugs of tea steaming in the crisp morning air. Ekaja had kept them warm last night, and though she didn’t deserve it, Zarya tipped the slightest nod of thanks in her direction.

Slowly, she made her way over to the fire and warmed her hands. Abishek watched while she glared at him. His expression was impossible to read. Did he feel any remorse for what he had done? About what he still planned to do? It was one thing to seek out world domination, but to use your own child to do it?

She supposed she didn’t mean anything to him. That she had never meant anything to him. She’d fooled herself into believing he’d cared about her. She longed for Row and the comfort of his steady presence—if she survived this, she’d never take him for granted again. She’d beg his forgiveness for dismissing his warnings. He’d been right all along.

She reached for her necklace, still lamenting its absence. A tear slipped down her cheek as she saw her mother huddled in the corner of the tower. Finally, unable to stand looking at the king a moment longer, she tore her gaze away. They ate in silence until it was time to pack up and continue moving.

They exited the cavern and traipsed down the tunnel to find the glaring morning sun. Zarya lifted a hand to shield her eyes from the brightness against the sparkling blanket of snow. A fresh layer covered everything, rendering the world into soft, puffy clouds. At least the wind had died down a little.

They wasted no time, making their way up another mountain pass, carving higher and higher into the soaring peaks. The air grew thinner, the wind more biting, and Zarya’s sense of foreboding thrummed to the backs of her teeth.

She pulled her coat tighter as she stumbled over a chunk of ice, nearly losing her balance. Rabin was behind her immediately, an arm banding around her waist.

“Got you,” he rumbled as she resisted the urge to turn to him and cry.

She wanted to know what lay at the end of this. The anticipation was almost the worst part.

She lost track of the minutes and hours as the sun climbed overhead. Finally, they reached the end of the path, exiting onto a cliff overlooking a sprawling mountain valley.

Hundreds of snowy peaks stretched in every direction. The damp air fogged around them, creating tiny particles of ice that clung to their hair and eyelashes. They had nearly reached the clouds. Zarya exchanged a look with Rabin, and then she followed Abishek and Catana across a cliff where, inexplicably, a narrow rope bridge ran out from the edge.

She stared at it, swinging in the wind, the far end obscured by the mist.

“This is it,” Abishek said, turning to face her. “The entrance to Taaranas.”

Zarya folded her arms tighter as the tears she’d been clinging to pressed the backs of her eyes. He expected them to walk out onto that? It looked like it would snap under the weight of a ghost.

“I won’t do it,” Zarya said. “You can force me in there, but I won’t free the Ashvins and will never give you access to the darkness.”

Abishek offered what she could only describe as a disappointed smile. “When I first learned I was a father, I had such high hopes,” he said. “I thought you would be someone in my image. Someone who understood everything I did. I thought all my dreams would fall into place when you came to me.”

Slowly, he approached her, his feet crunching over the snow. They stood somewhat sheltered from the wind, but it was just as cold as ever. He reached out to run a finger down her jaw. She jerked back, her skin crawling at his touch.

“I see now it was a mistake to allow Row to raise you. I should have done it myself. I should have overseen your education. You would have turned out the way I wanted. Instead, you are a rebel and a dissident. You married a rakshasa.”

He spat the last word out like it was a filthy thing, and her anger twisted in her chest.

“But before I send you to your grave, you will, at the very least, be useful to me.”

“I won’t do it!” she screamed.

Abishek laughed, the sound cold and dead.

“I think you will.” He turned to the mystic. “Kishore! It’s time.”

The mystic stepped forward and raised his hands before his silver bands of magic began twirling around him. He shifted his focus before they surrounded Zarya and Rabin.

“What’s going on?” Rabin demanded as the magic spiraled tighter. Zarya suddenly couldn’t breathe.

A moment later, the tattoo on her chest burned. She winced as the pressure squeezed her heart, exhaling a choked gasp. She clutched herself, and Rabin bent over, holding his side.

“When I recalibrated the Bandhan, I made a few tweaks,” Kishore said. “As well as binding you together, it is also a leash. In a manner of speaking.”

“What?” Rabin asked through gritted teeth.

“You’ll see in a moment.”

Kishore’s smile was cold as Rabin cried out, his knees buckling as he sank to the snow.

“What’s wrong!” Zarya screamed as black smoke began swirling around him.

“I’d back up if I were you,” Kishore said.

Rabin kept dissolving, his screams echoing off the high peaks. That’s when Zarya realized Kishore was forcing him to shift.

She’d seen him change enough times to know that if she stood too close, she’d be trampled underfoot. Quickly, she retreated as he thrashed against the change.

Her knees buckled as pain lashed through her limbs and bones—searing, burning, twisting. His magic.

Kishore had been telling the truth. It turned her inside out, her throat raw from screaming as she waited for his shift to stop. She collapsed on the snow, panting and writhing until, finally, his dragon emerged, rock shattering in every direction to accommodate his size.

Zarya covered her head, waiting for the dust to settle and the pain scraping her limbs to cease.

She felt the blast of wind as his wings flapped, and slowly, she pushed herself onto her knees. Her hands were ice, her skin raw. She stared at Rabin as he struggled against some kind of invisible hold, his head whipping left and right.

Kishore remained focused on Rabin with his hands out as more silver magic swirled through the air. She watched as his magic cinched around Rabin and then lifted him up.

Rabin roared, his body twisting in the cage of Kishore’s power.

“Leave him alone!” she screamed.

Kishore lifted his arms higher, directing Rabin into the sky before he threw them up and freed Rabin from his tether. Rabin flipped in the air and then recovered, his wings flapping as he circled across the horizon with a bellowing roar.

Zarya watched him, noting that his eyes were red instead of blue. They glowed with inner fire, and she felt the moment he saw her. With his teeth bared, he dove , streaking towards her. She would have sworn on her life that Rabin would never hurt her, but there was no mistaking the murderous intent in that crimson glow.

She screamed as he swooped, missing her by only a few inches, and then he came to an abrupt halt. Again, he struggled against Kishore’s invisible bonds as he was shoved into the sky again.

“He is now trapped in this form,” Abishek said. “The bond has also been reversed so that instead of protecting you, he will now be intent on killing you. When you find yourselves in Taaranas, the only way to save yourself will be to find the seal, open it, and release the nairatta. Once that’s done, the seal will nullify all magic within Taaranas for a few minutes until the darkness can escape. Luckily for you, it will cause my enchantment on your dragon to break.”

Zarya watched in horror while Kishore continued to hold a fighting Rabin back from trying to… kill her.

“And if you think you can use your magic to protect yourself, nothing has changed in that regard,” Abishek added. “You felt what happened when he shifted—and that was only a fraction of his power.”

Cold dread pooled in her stomach as she realized she was trapped. She had no choice unless she let Rabin kill her. And if she died, he might be locked in this form forever.

Abishek turned to Kishore, and the mystic flung his arms, seizing Rabin again. He screeched and thrashed, trying to break from Kishore’s hold.

Then Kishore tossed Rabin towards the mist at the end of the swinging bridge.

Zarya screamed as Rabin disappeared in a bright flash.

“Rabin!” The sound echoed off every surface as his name repeated into infinity.

“Your turn, my dear,” Abishek said.

She looked at the king and swallowed the thick knot in her throat. Her hands clenched into fists, and the icy sting of the wind numbed her skin where tears tracked down her cheeks.

She stared at the end of the bridge. She had no choice. She had to find him. She would find some way to bring them out and keep Abishek from getting what he sought.

She took a step. It felt like the hardest one of her life.

Then another as she drew towards the edge.

Abishek and Kishore parted to allow her through.

Ekaja stood at the entrance to the bridge, watching her.

Zarya looked at her. “I hope you understand what you’ve done,” she whispered.

“I’ll live with it every day of my life,” she answered softly.

Then Zarya nodded, placing one foot on the first plank to test her weight. When it held, she took another step and then another. The bridge swung in the gusting wind, and she whimpered as she clung to the rope.

She willed herself not to look down.

Another step and then another. All she could do was move forward and hope for an escape.

She didn’t look back.

She couldn’t bear looking at the man who’d tricked and fooled her.

Even when she’d been warned.

She couldn’t bear to look at the sum of her mistakes.

She inhaled a deep breath and peered down at the endless valley disappearing into the mists.

Looking back up, she stared at the nothingness before her.

Another step, and then…the mist swallowed her up.