Page 38 of Queen of Shadows and Ruin (The Nightfire Quartet #4)

THIRTY-SEVEN

Zarya leaped up and ran, her legs pumping as she hightailed it out of the temple. Rabin screeched so loud she winced as she pounded down the steps and onto the chalky white street.

She looked back to discover that the top half of the temple had collapsed under his weight. The star remained suspended in mid-air, overlooking the city. She heard Rabin thrashing inside, and then, a moment later, he appeared, hovering above the rubble, his wings flapping slowly.

His red eyes found her immediately, and she started running.

She wove back and forth as flames of red fire struck the ground, nearly singeing her hair and clothing. Rabin screeched again, and she looked back as the toe of her heavy boot caught the ground.

She landed on her hands and knees, her skin scraping open against the hard surface as it transformed beneath her, shifting into grey stone and the street it was a thousand years ago. She had a brief moment to note that nothing marred the strange material. Not even the scorch of Rabin’s fire.

Rabin advanced, and without thinking, she held out a hand, blasting a shield of air to hold him back. As soon as the magic left her fingertips, Rabin shrieked, rearing up, his entire body writhing mid-air, trapped in the throes of agony.

She screamed and pulled her magic back. She’d forgotten she couldn’t use it. A choked sob escaped her throat as she flipped over and used this moment to get a head start. She ducked around a corner, sliding between some narrow buildings.

Keeping her head low, she snaked through the tight alleys once home to these lost people. She heard the flap of Rabin’s wings and then the crunch of stone as he alighted atop a building. He perched on the roof, scanning below, waiting for her. Hunting her.

She wondered what he was thinking. Did he have any sense of what was happening? Could she reach him through his mind?

Slowly, she crept forward, keeping low. Even the slightest sound or movement would attract him inside this dead zone. She stepped slowly and carefully, maneuvering herself to the end of a passage where she could see him.

She closed her eyes and felt through the layers of her mind, hunting for the glowing spot that signaled his presence. After a minute, she sensed him and reached for it, forcing herself towards it. She’d been desperate before, but this had become a matter of life and death.

She dove deeper into their connection, shouting at him through her mind.

Rabin! Can you hear me? This isn’t you!

She watched as he shook his massive head, his red eyes blinking. Everything went dark again a moment later, and she wanted to scream. But he was there. She’d just have to work on it.

She searched her surroundings for a place to hide. Her hand brushed the wall, and the building immediately rippled. She gasped as the surface shifted from the strange white material into grey bricks. She snatched her hand away, but the damage was done.

Rabin roared and lifted off his perch, hovering mid-air.

She started running as he dove, blasts of fire chasing her heels as he smashed through buildings like they were made of twigs. He hunted her around corners and through alleyways. She had to find cover. She was too visible out here. She threw open a door and hurled herself inside a small house. Then she stopped and listened for the sound of flapping wings.

When she was sure he was making a wide loop, she dashed to the next house, hoping he wouldn’t notice. He roared as he circled again, so she continued in the same vein until it seemed he’d lost her.

She stood in the middle of a house, as far from every window as possible, holding perfectly still as she listened for him outside. Again, he made another pass. She could hear the sound of his wings as he continually moved further and then closer.

She wasn’t sure how long she stood there, her muscles seizing as she tried not to move or break down into sobs. She was terrified. Scared of being ripped to shreds by the most important person in her life.

Sweat beaded on her brow as she held still, waiting for him to take another circle. He was having trouble finding her. She’d escaped, for now, but she already knew she couldn’t wait forever.

She stood for so long that her arms and legs began to shake. Sweat dripped into her eyes and slid down her throat. But she still didn’t move as his shadow darkened the window again.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, he stopped. The sound of his wings went silent, and she listened intently, wondering where he’d gone. After waiting in stillness for several more minutes, she slowly sank to her knees when she couldn’t stand another moment longer. Hopefully, he’d grown tired of chasing her for now.

As her hands touched the floor, it rippled and transformed, giving way to a small patch of tiny, colorful tiles. She inhaled a sharp breath. She’d have to be careful.

She paused, then slowly crawled across the floor, which changed beneath her with each step. She moved towards the kitchen, nearing a small table surrounded by four chairs and a long counter covered with boxes and jars.

When she reached the counter, she flipped around, leaning against the surface as she caught her breath. She was exhausted. The night in the mountain cave felt like a lifetime ago, though it couldn’t have been more than a day. She’d barely slept since Abishek had caught her in her mother’s tower.

Her stomach groaned softly, and it was becoming obvious that her vitals would need addressing soon. She closed her eyes and inhaled several deep breaths, listening for any hint of Rabin searching again. When everything remained quiet, she pulled herself up to study her options.

She spied bread, fruit, and several other items on the counter. Everything was made of that same chalky material, but she hoped this strange reaction to her touch would become her savior. Reaching out, she closed her hand around a banana and nearly cried when it immediately shimmered and turned into what appeared to be an edible piece of fruit.

She did it again, transforming the bread and a jug of water. She devoured it all without hesitation. If it were poisoned or toxic, then it wouldn’t matter either way. She was dead without this. Thankfully, it settled into her stomach and only made her feel better.

When she’d had her fill, she slowly moved through the house, finding a room where she transformed the bed into a soft surface. She needed to lie down for just a moment. Her body ached, and her head throbbed. Her heels were rubbed raw from the climb up the mountain. Moving as quietly as she could, she slipped off her boots and stretched her toes.

She’d have to return to the temple and get a better look at what was written at the bottom of the pool. It was the only clue she’d seen that might lead her to the fortress. She wasn’t sure what she’d do if she found it. If she refused to break the seal, Rabin would be trapped in this state, and Zarya would probably never see the light of day again.

But she couldn’t release an army of demons into Rahajhan, and she couldn’t choose herself over everyone else.

Her face dropped into her hands as she choked on a silent sob.

Quietly, she cried, wishing Rabin were here. Together, nothing could stop them, but Abishek had known that. He’d found a way to use their love against them.

She was afraid of Rabin. This was so unfair. So monstrous.

She’d have to figure this out on her own. She’d find a way to get through to Rabin and find a way to break the enchantment that had corrupted their connection. She would fix this.

After some rest, she’d return to the temple and figure out what to do next. Tucking herself under the covers, she wondered if she could even sleep, but exhaustion weighed heavily, towing her under.

Her dreams took her to another place. She was lying on the ground, bathed in warm, glowing light. Slowly, she pushed herself up to find someone watching her from a few feet away.

She looked like a statue. Her skin was pure gold, and her hair fell in midnight waves to her knees. She wore an elaborate gold sari, sparkling with so many beads and crystals that it was nearly blinding.

“Who are you?” Zarya whispered as she got to her feet. “I…remember you…”

She’d glimpsed this woman in the tower with her mother.

“I am Loka, the God of the People,” the figure answered.

Zarya’s blood turned sluggish at those words.

“A god? The one my mother saw?”

Loka dipped her chin. “It was my duty to bring the visions that foretold of your coming. To share that you would be the one to bear the power that would free the vanshaj.”

Loka gestured to Zarya’s hands and the magic contained within them.

“I’ve been doing it,” she said. “Or I was. I was breaking their collars, but now I’m trapped here.”

Loka nodded. “The gods have noted your actions and commend your efforts.” She fell silent, eyeing Zarya up and down.

“But?” she asked, sensing Loka had more to say.

“But that was not what we meant when we said you’d free them. While your magic does break the collars, you have already surmised the problem with your plan many times.”

Zarya exhaled a long breath. “There are too many of them. I can’t do it fast enough to stop this once and for all.”

“Exactly,” Loka responded. “When I spoke with your mother, I told her about you. The gods granted you a paramadhar to aid you in this quest. Never has there been anyone who needed a protector more.”

Tears filled Zarya’s eyes. “But Abishek turned him against me. He…broke us.”

“He’s in there,” Loka said. “You will reach him, and you will need him at the end. You will need everyone.”

“At the end of what?”

“The seal must be opened,” Loka said. “Only your magic can do it, and that, my dear child, will free every vanshaj from their chains. It will break the enchantment on every Aazheri who was unjustly caged. It will also lift the curse we placed on the Aazheri that nullified their children’s magic when they bred from outside their line.”

Zarya blinked heavily at those words. “That was a curse?”

Loka nodded.

“You mean I could have a child with magic? With Rabin?”

“Perhaps,” Loka answered. “It was the only way we could stop the Ashvins and their followers from spreading their evil any further.”

“But if I open the seal, it will free the nairatta.”

Loka dipped her head. “It will.”

“But isn’t that trading one set of problems for another?”

“You can defeat the nairatta by ending the Ashvins once and for all. The Chiranjivi will have the power working together. The twins’ death will break the ties between the demons’ world and ours. It will purify the magic they once tainted and send them back to the realm of shadows where they belong.”

The tattoo on Zarya’s chest throbbed as Loka spoke.

“But the Ashvins live inside me,” she whispered.

Loka nodded. “So they do.”

She didn’t finish her sentence, and Zarya couldn’t bring herself to ask, but the pitying look in her eyes told her everything she needed to know.

The only way to free them was for Zarya to die.

She felt a tear slip down her cheek as she mourned so many things. Her life with Rabin and Yasen and Row and all the other friends she’d made.

The future she’d never have.

The life she couldn’t wait to find.

But she had committed herself to this.

She’d sworn to free the vanshaj no matter what it took.

She rubbed her shoulder and the dragon tattoo, thinking of Rabin. Always him.

Loka watched her quietly, and Zarya swallowed. “I understand.”

“May luck find you. We are all praying for your success.”

Then Loka disappeared in a bright flash of golden light, and Zarya found herself lying in bed in the strange house in Taaranas.

She sat up, running a hand down her face as she looked towards the window. That same strange light filtered through the thin curtains.

She had to return to the temple. She had to open the seal and free the vanshaj and, in turn, the nairatta. Then she had to find the Chiranjivi and ask them to kill her.

She reached for her mother’s necklace, her hand flattening against her chest as tears slipped down her cheeks. She would have done anything to hear her mother’s words right now.

She will be the one to free them all.

She thought back to that night on Ranpur Island when those words had shifted her entire course.

She thought of the cottage and the seaside where she’d spent most of her life, wishing for a purpose. Wishing for something bigger than this life.

She never imagined where those wishes would find her.

She dropped her head, inhaling a deep breath.

She had to do this.

If she had to pay with her life, then that’s what she would do.

There was no other choice.