Iblees had forbidden Cyrus from speaking the truth to another person, but the southern king had not been precluded from confiding in nonhuman creatures. Such an exception was only possible, of course, because the young man possessed the rare ability to communicate using just the mind. Whereas nearly all others endowed with this skill were committed to the priesthood, Cyrus – whose deal with the devil had earned him an expulsion from the temple – had been unable to complete his journey as a Diviner, leaving him the unusual layman with this skill.
Still, few animals were interested in conversing with humans, and fewer still were capable of communicating more than basic information; which meant that his dragons, whose emotional intelligence encompassed an astonishing range of feeling, were his only confidants in the known world.
Sire, said Kaveh, his tone inscrutable.I fear you’re losing focus.
“As if I don’t know that,” Cyrus muttered.
Days ago you would’ve considered this situation an opportunity. She put herself in harm’s way through no fault of yours. Either let her die and be done with her, or make saving her life conditional upon accepting your hand. You need to marry the girl – this is your chance –
“You think this hasn’t occurred to me?” he said. “I simply can’t do it, Kaveh. I already had to drag her here, and that was when I thought she was conspiring with the devil to usurp my throne.Now that I know otherwise, how could I level such cruelty against her? Can you not see the difficulty –”
You murdered the northern Diviners without a second thought.
“You know that was different,” said Cyrus sharply. “When Zaal was born the Diviners knew how the prophecy would end – they agreed it had to be done, and they set the terms –”
They may have been willing, but you were the one who cast the curse that killed them, just as you were the one who slayed Zaal. Was it for nothing? Everything you’ve endured? You would risk it all, sire, simply to please one girl’s sensibilities?
Cyrus squeezed his eyes shut, suddenly hating himself. No matter what choice he made, he would lose. The devil had made certain of that.
No, came Kaveh’s voice.The answer is no. She’s not worth such a price.
Cyrus fell silent and was soon spared responding; Kaveh had started flying again, and they were now approaching the top of the precipice, where Hazan’s angry cries rang out sharp and clear. They’d flown into the heart of an argument.
“– had a deal!” he was shouting. “I warned you – if any harm came to her –”
“Can you not imagine my agony?” came the prince’s heated reply. “How can you bring yourself to accuse me when you know it was an accident – that I could never have meant –”
“You couldnever?” Hazan laughed darkly. “Are you quite certain? When you confessed to me just yesterday that you intended to kill her?”
Cyrus stiffened. As if he didn’t have ammunition enough to murder the idiot.
“What?” The loud girl, Huda, spoke. “Is that true?”
“Oh, no,” said the gangly boy too quickly. “No, miss, it can’t be true.”
“I had every right to be uncertain,” Kamran shot back. “I had every right to doubt. It was never clear whether she could be trusted. The circumstances were disastrous – even you could acknowledge –”
“All right, I suppose it’s true,” Omid mumbled. “But I’m sure he didn’t mean it.”
“I’m sure he didmean it,” added the older, wiry one.
“Be certain of one thing,” Hazan said with quiet menace. “If she doesn’t survive this, you will know the full breadth of my rage. I’ll rip out every bone in your body before Itake off your fucking head.” This last part he all but bellowed, the words echoing across the grounds.
Fascinated by this absurd exchange – between a crown prince and his lesser – Cyrus almost smiled.
“You are overreacting –” Kamran tried again.
“And you are not reacting enough!”
Prepare to descend, sire. Though how you hope to keep her seated on my back in your absence, I cannot imagine.
They were about level with the offending cliff now, Kaveh carefully hovering, and the entire unsavory scene came into focus. Hazan and Kamran were at each other’s throats, so preoccupied with their anger they thawed a beat later than the others, the three of whom gaped in horror at Cyrus, then Alizeh, who remained unmoving in his arms.
The loud girl screamed.
“She’s dead!” Miss Huda screamed again, shriller this time. “Heaven help us, she’s dead – we killed her – she’sdead–”
Cyrus turned away from this chaos.
