The stone brothers landed a moment later. I pulled away from Kalani, my limbs stiff and frozen, protesting as I willed them to relax. Now that we weren’t airborne any longer, knowing that we were safe acted as a signal for the aches and pains that had been holding themselves at bay to unleash.
I gritted my teeth on a wince, carefully sliding away from Kalani to give myself enough room to swing my leg over, ready to dismount. Pain lanced through my hip.
I sucked in a sharp breath, then exhaled the word, “Fuck.”
“Take it slow,” Kalani said softly. “I wager that riding a thunderbird is much more comfortable than a chaysavar. The long hours may have locked your muscles.”
“Yep. My body hates me right now.” And the ground was so far down. Landing was going to reverberate up my legs and hurt like a bitch.
Dhoona appeared below me and held out his hands. “Allow me to help you.”
I fell forward into his arms like a board, grateful for his secure grip as he lifted me off the steed and lowered me gently to the floor until my boots touched ground. I clung to him, thighs burning and trembling.
“You need a hot bath,” Kalani said. “It will help with the pain. Is that possible here?”
My mind flashed to the steam bath, and I squeezed my eyes shut as if that would serve to dispel the memory of that afternoon.
How could I have been so wrong? How was I deceived so easily? I’d let him touch me…Let him…a sour taste filled my mouth, and I swallowed to dispel it.
“Leela?” Dhoona’s hands flexed on my hips. “It will be all right. We will find a way to stop the primordial evil.”
I nodded. I had to believe that. I had to believe in me or all was lost. “Come on, we should go check on the others and figure out what we’re going to do to keep them safe.”
“People?” Yudh asked. “And what is this place?”
It hit me that they knew nothing about the setup here. About djinn and the Asura working together to try to find a way to free Iblees. There was a lot to fill them in on.
“Leela?” Yudh prompted.
“This is the devouring force’s camp, but the stories you’ve heard about them…They’re all lies.”
It didn’t take longto fill them in on the truth. About the Deva leaving the throne to Iblees, about the djinn god and the war with the Asura. About how they’d locked him away in some kind of supernatural prison where the primordial evil had managed to get its hooks into him. I told them about C’ael and his connection to Iblees. What I understood of it anyway.
I expected disbelief, some kind of pushback questioning the validity of my claims. But all I got was quiet acceptance.
I gave them a moment to absorb everything. They were obviously in shock. “Look, I get it. Your whole worldview has changed. This can’t be easy for you all.”
Kalani snorted softly. “Honestly, it surprisingly is. I’ve spent my whole life quietly distrusting the Asura in power. This jagged feeling inside me that something was wrong. You just validated that subconscious knowing.”
“Yes,” Dhoona said. “Yudh and I have felt the same.”
The knots in my belly that I hadn’t consciously acknowledged loosened. I’d expected to have to fight a little more to make them believe, but I guess everything they’d seen happen in Aakash Sansaar was enough to convince them.
“We should go find the civilians.”
“So Iblees is still in Araz’s body?” Kalani asked as we made our way to the cavern exit.
“No, Iblees and Araz are one and the same, aren’t they?” Dhoona said.
I nodded at Dhoona. “Correct. I think.”
“The Authority has much to answer for,” Yudh said softly.
“And they will, once we call back the Deva. The primordial evil told me about an obelisk that if activated could summon them. I don’t know if it’s true, but…maybe we can find out.”
“It is true,” Kalani said. “Mother spoke of it once. A long time ago. It’s not a common fact among the general population, but the higher-ups know about it.”
Some of the tightness in my chest released. We had a plan. A real fucking goal. This…this was good.
