The emperor brushes his hand against my hair, strangely tender. But his hard eyes are on his son. ‘You leave tomorrow, to help your sister in the Arsduq campaign. Do not fail me.’
Yun bows his head. ‘Of course.’
The emperor turns to me. ‘As for the traitor in our midst...’
A sudden shout from the hall rends the air and a guard rushes into the chamber. She bows. ‘There’s been a breach at the walls – a riot—’
The emperor rises swiftly. Hyat and Yun follow at his heels. My eyes drop to the letter left discarded on the floor.
I scoop up the parchment and hurry out into the corridor, a haze of smoke shrouding the air, making me cough.
In the chaos of the corridors, servants spill to the gates leading outside, escorting notables to the safety of the inner palaces. In the sehan, the palace guards run in the opposite direction toward thick smoke wafting from the outer walls, barking orders, scimitars flashing in their hands.
In their midst, a familiar monk stands before the entryway of the women’s quarters, pulling elders inside.
‘Eliyas!’ I yell out, running toward him.
‘Little bird.’ Eliyas grabs my arm when I reach him. ‘There was an attack at the walls. You must flee into the inner palace as a precaution—’
I gulp hard and pull him into the trees, eucalyptus swaying against the stone walls in the dusk, their ominous shadows growing at my feet. ‘Older Brother. Do not act as if you did not know about this attack.’ I unfold my hand, revealing the letter from the temple.
Eliyas stares at it, his expression hard.
‘Well?’ I demand.
‘I suspected you knew for a long time,’ he simply says. ‘I love my family, and I love our people beyond this city-state. It is from this love that I know we do not deserve to rule them.’
My fingers curl in and I struggle to speak through the sheet of smoke now clouding the air and my shaking voice. ‘It’s because of your betrayal, that you’ve encouraged –no, helped– the warlords to turn against Zahr rule! Look around you; is this attack what you wished for? What of Bavsag? Your own sister wounded – possibly killed – in Arsduq!’
‘Bavsag,’ his voice turns into venom, ‘is as cruel as our dada. Besides, it’s just as well – violence has already occurred outside these walls. Good that it has finally caught up to us. If a man does not value his own daughter, how can he value his subjects? The emperor has always failed in keeping the warlords in check. He grants his clan authority above all else, giving kinsmen priority for governorship in prefectures instead of the local tribes, while antagonising our borderlands, leading to raids. The famine racking our lands is on him.’ Eliyas explains his treason calmly, even with the shouting around us, and that angers me.
‘Warlord Akashun is no better!’
‘Akashun is the better of two poisons. The other warlords fear him. He believes in unifying Azadniabad outside tribalism. And,’ Eliyas’s eyes darken, ‘he understands Sajamistan. He’s less stubborn, and open to new alliances, to exchange scholarship. He’s curious about Eajizi and the jinn-folk of the Unseen world, and for that he values the ancient ways’.
I stumble backwards at that revelation. ‘Is that why you’ve trained me? Have I always been a study to you? You were intrigued because of my affinity; you betrayed our entire clan for... for what? The promise of more knowledge, to quench your thirst? Even if it means allying with our enemies across the border and inside our own court?’
His gaze narrows. ‘Do you have such a low opinion of me? I did this out of belief. Our clan has lost its morals. We were once a clan that defended these lands fearlessly; we patroned the monasteries in this capital and valued the local tribes and monks. Now... look around you at the emperor’s men desperate to protect the people inside these palace walls instead of the people outside of them.’ And reluctantly, I follow his gaze peering into the smoke. ‘The way the emperor pins our own clansmen against each other. I will not apologise for my actions, but I will always regret that I never took you into my confidence sooner. That I could never save you fromhim.’
‘I don’t need saving,’ I say, but weakly. ‘I will not lose another clan nor home. I am a Zahr-zad. I only wished for my Older Brother at myside. I wonder, did you see me as a sister, or a well of information for Akashun?’
That makes him snap. He clenches my arms. ‘Do you dare? What more must I show you? I’ve raised you in my care!’
I shiver, whether with rage or fear, I cannot tell. ‘You spied, for his sake.’
His lips pull down. ‘I was shielding you, from our enemies, from the way Dada uses and hurts you, from our clan. If not me, someone else would have trained you in poisons – trained you into thegrave. You cannot understand now. But I ask you to wait. To put your trust in your Older Brother. You deserve a clan where you could be free to practise your affinity. To not hide away your birth out of fear. If I could, I would tear you away from empires and clans. I would take you far, far away. I would return you to the lands of your uma’s clan if I could.’
‘They are dead. And the ones who slew them are dead too, by my hands.’ I laugh quietly, the threat not lost on him.
Eliyas shifts forward, shoulders squared. Out of instinct, I move too. My foot slides into a low horse-stance, my finger hooking through my ivory blade. But Eliyas simply loops his arm around my neck, burying my face in his chest.
My eyes are forward, my head unable to move. Dimly I am aware of Zhasna and Uma behind him, spotting us from the gates and shouting, but Eliyas’s voice in my ear is all I hear clearly.
‘You’re a little bird. I’d rather flay my skin than ever hurt you, Younger Sister. Please, I need you to wait. Wait before you report to the emperor,’ he murmurs.
My trembling mouth opens. I whisper, ‘I am sorry.’
From behind us, the emperor and three guards surge forward from the garden.
