“I see you met my other wives.” He gestured at the wall. “Beauties, weren’t they?”
I couldn’t think of a response. He seemed to fill the entire doorway, leaving no room for me to run past. I took a step back.
Rahil’s normal politeness faded as cold and calculated anger took over. “I had high hopes for you, you know. My wives are always the same. If I tell them not to do something, that’s all that they want to do. Why can’t women merely obey orders?”
“You told me…” I couldn’t form words correctly and gripped the lamp even more tightly to steady myself. “You told me that they died from childbirth or getting sick or?—”
He snorted in disgust, entered the room, and shut the door behind him so the only light came from the flickering torches. “And you believed that? Really, Alia. I thought you were smart. But it seems that every woman can be won over with a touching, heartfelt story. Did you pity me and my woeful love life?” He ran his tongue over his teeth before his gaze snapped down to the lamp in my hands. “Now hand that over.”
“What is it?” I held the lamp so tightly that it hurt my hands. It felt like the only thing grounding me as my world imploded.
He picked up one of the gemstones that had rolled away and tucked it into his pocket. “That old lamp? It’s simply a sentimental keepsake, part of my inheritance. Nowhand it over.”He collected another gemstone, barely bending as he stared unblinkingly at me.
“What will happen if I don’t give it to you?”
His voice remained emotionless. “Then you’ll join the others.”
“I think I’m about to anyway.” My mouth had gone verydry, and my heart pounded harder than ever before, as if it knew it was reaching its final moments. Was it trying to complete all the beats of a lifetime in the short time I had left?
“You weren’t the wife I hoped for,” he said, circling the crumbled pedestal. I matched his steps, trying to keep the wreckage between us. “All I asked was that you stay where you were safe and not open one single door, but you couldn’t even do that.”
“You killed your other wives, didn’t you?”
“It isn’t my fault they’re gone. They didn’t know how to behave as a proper wife should, and clearly, you don’t, either.” The cold satisfaction in his voice made me want to fly into a rage and attack him. The lamp in my hands would make a pitiful weapon. What I needed was time so I could pull out one of the vials of scorpion sand in my pocket.
I stepped backward and stumbled over a broken chunk of the pedestal, nearly dropping the lamp. Rahil gave an immediate shout of fear and reached out to grab it.
I righted myself, trying to edge my way around the circular room back toward the door.
“If you come near me, I’ll break this,” I warned him. I brandished the lamp with one hand and snuck my other hand into my pocket, where I felt the mirror’s smooth surface and discreetly rummaged around for a vial. What were the odds that I could choose right the first time without looking?
Rahil’s eyes narrowed. “You have no idea what that lamp does, do you? You don’t know how to use it.”
“It doesn’t matter how it works if I break it.”
Could I get out and lock him inside? From how badly my fingers were shaking and knowing the key was still somewhere on the floor, there was no chance. Could I outrun himand make it to town? Doubtful. Would I be able to make it to the armory? If I did, I might get a weapon, but then Rahil would have his pick as well, and I was certain he was far better versed in combat than I was. Nadia could get here at any moment; I had to warn her to stay away.
I redoubled my grip on the lamp’s handle and continued staring hard at my husband. There was no wick to light on the lamp, and I didn’t have a flint anyway. Did it contain noxious chemicals that could be weaponized?
Chemicals that could be weaponized… I randomly selected one of the tiny vials in my pocket. Please, please,pleaselet it be one of the scorpion sand vials and not one of the healing potions.
“Alia. Give. It. Back.” He said each syllable through gritted teeth.
“Fine, take it.” I pulled the vial from my pocket, held my breath, and hurled it to the ground.
I had picked correctly.
The vial shattered in a grand explosion that left Rahil gasping for air and wiping at his streaming eyes. I bolted for the door, wrenched it open, and was almost over the threshold when Rahil snatched at my dress from behind.
There was a ripping sound as I pulled away, pivoting to face him.
His eyes had gone completely bloodshot from the scorpion sand, which made his beard look even more vividly blue. Rahil pulled a dagger from the sheath strapped to his waist, and I held the lamp out in front of me like a pathetic shield. I had no aid. There was no rescue. If only I were anywhere but here.
If I was going to be murdered, I at least wanted to make Rahil suffer. Whatever his precious lamp did, I didn’t care. I took a deep breath then used all my strength to smash thelamp down to the tile as hard as I could. Rahil lunged forward and let out a shout of panic that morphed into wild, deranged laughter a few moments later.
I looked down at the lamp to see that it was completely unharmed. There was no dent, not even a scratch.
“It’s unbreakable,” he hissed, swiping the dagger at me. “And I can’t have you telling anyone about it.” He blinked hard, still trying to clear his vision, which I was sure was slowly going fuzzy. I just had to evade him long enough to let the scorpion sand take full effect. He’d be blinded for hours, but it wasn’t immediate. I needed more time, and that was one thing I didn’t have.
