Page 53 of Queen of Shadows and Ruin (The Nightfire Quartet #4)

FIFTY-TWO

Zarya, Suvanna, Koura, and Apsara gathered inside a large, deserted plaza as the sun hung over Ishaan the next afternoon. A dark shadow crossed the sky, and they peered up to track Rabin’s path as he swooped overhead before dropping into the plaza. A second later, he dissolved into smoke before shifting into his rakshasa form.

“They’re close,” he said while jogging towards them. “Moving faster than we thought.”

“How long?” Apsara asked.

“Another hour or two at most. I’ve already alerted them on the front line.”

They all shared a grim look as two familiar figures appeared in the square.

Row stood with Kindle, their hands clasped, and they all rushed over to greet them.

“Kindle,” Zarya said as she hugged him tightly. “Thank you for coming.”

They pulled apart, and Kindle looked around the circle. “Row filled me in on everything, but are you sure about this?”

“I’m sure,” Zarya said before anyone could interrupt.

“Zarya,” Row said, his tone full of pain.

She willed herself not to cry. She’d promised herself no more tears until this was over. “Please don’t make this any harder,” she whispered.

Row rubbed a hand over his face and then nodded. “I’m sorry…I just…”

“I know.” She turned to face the others. “It’s up to you to ensure the Ashvins don’t escape before Rabin can revive me.”

Everyone fell silent as they considered the question no one could bring themselves to ask. But Zarya had to give voice to it. She couldn’t just pretend this wasn’t the end.

“And if he can’t, it will be up to you to save everyone. Somehow.”

More worried looks passed around the circle.

She stood surrounded by friends, by her father—her true father—and the man she loved. By a group of people who she now called friends. There was no choice but to face it and hope she was coming back.

Row strode over, throwing his arms around her in a tight hug. They clung to one another as she buried her face in the curve of his shoulder.

“Thank you for everything,” she said. “I want you to know I always wanted you as my family.”

He pulled away and gave her a bemused look.

“You said that to Abishek when you were fighting. That I didn’t want you, but that isn’t true.”

He brushed a strand of hair from her cheek, his eyes filling with tears, and shook his head. “Thank you , Zarya. For coming into my life. For giving me a purpose I didn’t even know I wanted.”

Zarya swallowed. “Promise me you’ll look for my mother,” she said. “I hope you get another chance.”

Row wasn’t her father by blood, but in a way, her parents had been in love just as she’d always imagined.

“She was calling for you,” Zarya said. “She…”

“Needed me,” he answered, his voice hollow.

And then, a single tear slipped down his cheek. She’d never seen him cry before.

“It wasn’t your fault. I’m so sorry.”

Row inhaled a deep breath. “When you survive this, we will find her together.”

Zarya nodded and pressed her mouth together, shoving back the tears she refused to shed. If she survived this.

“I love you,” she said, hugging him one more time.

“I love you, too.” They held on for another moment and then pulled away.

Zarya looked at the others. The brave and kind Apsara. The fierce Suvanna. The gentle Koura. And Kindle, who’d been a father when Row had gone missing.

“Thank you,” she said. “You all helped me on this journey more than you can ever understand. When I came to Dharati, I was so lost and bewildered. You showed me kindness and taught me what honor looks like.”

Her voice cracked as Apsara, Kindle, and Koura all swept in for a hug, wrapping their arms around her. They embraced for a long minute before pulling away. Suvanna watched them with a serious expression.

She tipped her head and scanned Zarya from head to toe. “When I first met you, I thought you were just a silly little girl,” she said. “I’m sorry I called you that, and Rahajhan is lucky to have you.”

Zarya stared at her for several seconds and then barked out a laugh. She was truly on the very edge of breaking down completely. “Thanks,” she said.

Finally, she willed herself to face Rabin, and her heart split in half.

She walked over and laid a hand against his cheek.

“I’ll find you in another life,” he whispered. “No matter where the winds scatter us, I will search across continents and swim through oceans, and I will find you again.”

She nodded. “I know.”

Then she tipped her head forward, pressing it against his chest as she inhaled a deep shuddering breath. Everyone gave them another moment before she forced herself to back away.

They all surrounded her in a circle, looking at each other.

“So…” Kindle said. “What was the plan here?”

“I’m not killing her,” Row said.

“Me neither,” Apsara and Koura chimed in.

“Well, I don’t want to do it,” Kindle argued.

Everyone then looked at Suvanna. She blinked. “What? I don’t want to kill her, either.”

“Well, it can’t be Rabin,” Row said.

Zarya listened to them argue, strangely touched.

But she had anticipated this.

She reached into her pocket and pulled out the vial Thriti had given her last night. The mystic hadn’t argued—simply offered what Zarya asked.

Zarya unstoppered the bottle while they were all debating, and her gaze met Rabin’s, who watched on in silence. She lifted the bottle as his eyes widened, and then before anyone could stop her, she tipped the contents into her mouth and swallowed.

“Zarya!” he roared as everyone’s attention swung towards her.

Her vision swam, her mind floating away.

She saw them.

These people who had become her family.

Her father.

And her husband. The love of her life.

Gods, how she hoped she’d see him again.

Then she collapsed, and everything went dark.