“Our prayers have been answered!” cried an older woman, who was weeping into her hands. “It’s finally happened, and in my lifetime—I never dared to hope, even as my brother has been jailed in Forina for seventeen years—”
“And my mother, in Stol province, they cut off her feet—”
“Justice!” someone screamed. “Justice will come to this rotting earth!”
Alizeh lost her footing then, nearly falling over until Cyrus caught her and turned her firmly in his arms, hiding her face in his chest.
“Please,” he whispered against her hair. “Please let me get you out of here— You’re not ready for this, and they’re not ready for you—”
“You must start with the prisons, Your Majesty!” another woman cried. “Our brothers and sisters are treated worse than animals in the Soroot empire—”
“And in Zeldan—”
“They still bury the children in Sheffat—”
Alizeh absorbed each blow, each statement gutting her, every sentence cutting deeper, these reminders of her purpose, her duty, snatching the breath from her lungs.
“Does she not speak? I don’t understand—”
“The snoda from the castle, he said she’d spoken to him—smiledat him—”
“I thought he said she was here to marry the king—”
Alizeh gasped, her chest heaving.
“Our king? King Cyrus?”
“For months he’s been preparing rooms for a bride—he’s made no secret of it—”
“But you’re sure it’s her?”
“Servants said she arrived this morning! That she moved into the palace—”
“Who’s she with, then? I can’t see his face—”
“Is that the king, you think?”
“The king? In the middle of broad daylight?” Someone laughed. “I think not—”
“Hear he killed Zaal? In his own home?”
“Yes, and I heard the depraved monster deserved it—”
“Long live King Cyrus!” a voice rang out. “Long live our queen!”
Alizeh’s heart was beating too hard in her chest. She feltdangerously light-headed. She was dizzy with emotion, with panic, and plagued by a disorienting suspicion that she might be dreaming.
“Alizeh, please, stand up—Alizeh—”
“Why do they like you?” she whispered, her lips moving against his throat, even as her head filled with static. “I thought they would hate you—”
“Please, Your Highness,” a man shouted. “Say something—we beg you to speak—”
“Forgive me,” Cyrus whispered, holding her tighter. “I know you didn’t want me to, but I won’t wait any longer—”
“Cyrus,” she breathed, closing her eyes against the spinning world. “I think I’m going to faint.”
“My queen!” screamed the first woman, whose voice Alizeh suspected she’d remember for the rest of her life. “My queen, you’ve finally”—she gasped, still sobbing hysterically—“you’ve finally come for us, after all this time—”
