by Emma Hamm
No wonder she was so frightened of him. He must seem like a demon to her.
Ice spread through his veins. She wasn’t a monster, not like the advisors would say. This was a little girl, a girl. And they’d thought all female Bymerian Beastkin were gone. She should go to Sigrid. She should be safe with her own people. Far away from his reach.
Nadir blew out a slow breath and forced his outstretched hand to remain steady. “Don’t worry. I’ll keep you safe from them.”
“No, you won’t. You don’t like us, any of us. You want us all to leave Bymere, that’s what my mother said.”
“Said? Where is she now?”
More tears rolled down the little girl’s cheeks, but she forced herself to say, “Dead. They caught her in a cage, and then they took her head off. Just pulled it off like it was nothing, because she couldn’t turn back into a person soon enough. I ran away, but I didn’t know where to go. I ended up on the streets, and then I did something foolish to see something pretty again.”
Gods, his heart was bleeding. Nadir grimaced and murmured, “That’s my fault, and I’m sorry for it. I promised to take care of Bymerians, but there are more than just Bymerians here, aren’t there? The crowd is getting closer, little one. I know someone who can help you. I’d like to get you to safety, but I need you to trust me. And I know there’s no reason for you do to that.”
She shook her head firmly.
He continued, “But I need you to trust me even for a few moments. You know what those people will do to you if they catch you. I think taking the lesser known evil would be more preferable than letting them catch you, yes?”
He wasn’t certain the child was following his words. She seemed more confused than ever, so he held his breath and waited until she reached out and slipped her tiny hand in his.
“My name is A’dab,” she whispered. “Mama said it means hope.”
An apt name for this little sprite who made his heart hurt just by looking at her. “It’s a good name,” he replied. “Now, can I pick you up so we can move faster?”
At her quick nod, he swooped down and lifted her into his arms. Nadir knew this city like the back of his hand. He’d poured over the blueprint designs for his entire life, memorizing all the small alleyways and hidden entrances to buildings. The crowd would never be able to keep up with him.
Racing with the little girl in his arms, he fled through the city to the back door of the Red Palace. The shouts would forever ring in his ears.
“Find the beast!”
“A monster cannot be loose in the streets!”
Once he would have agreed with them, but this little girl wasn’t a monster. She was just a little girl, without a mother, who feared for her life.
Gods, what had he started?
These were his people, too. They had to be, although they weren’t Bymerians in the traditional sense. They still deserved to live without fear of death. And wasn’t that what Sigrid had told him? There had to be another way. There had to be something he could do without starting a war.
Beastkin and Bymerians didn’t need to fight against each other. Diplomacy had to be a viable option for the future.
Yet, his gut didn’t agree with his mind.
Nadir nudged open the kitchen door to the Red Palace, shoulder against the ancient wood. He ducked his head in, looking around for any servants who might talk. Thankfully, the entire place was empty. Dinner wouldn’t start for another hour or so. He’d chosen his entrance perfectly.
He rubbed a hand down A’dab’s back. “Stay quiet now. We don’t want anyone knowing that you’re here.”
She nodded and went so still that he wasn’t certain she was breathing. Another sign that this child had led a very difficult life. She knew how to remain so still and quiet that she almost didn’t exist. He wondered how long she’d been hiding from people who wanted to kill her.
Nadir shivered and slipped into the Red Palace.
This would be the last place anyone thought to look for her. No one would ever think that the sultan himself was hiding Beastkin from the crowds. But then again, no one would ever guess that the Sultan of Bymere was a Beastkin himself.
He stayed to the shadows in the corridors, only ducking behind a tapestry once when a group of concubines passed them. Their giggles filtered through the woven fabric. A’dab lifted her head as they walked by, her eyes filled with something he could only akin to longing.
It was so easy to forget that Beastkin were children once in their life. That they were little girls who dreamed of being beautiful women who could cajole men with little more than their voices. That they were little boys who dreamed of fighting for their sultan and country, playing with wooden swords in the fields.
He ducked into his personal chambers, letting out a long breath. She’d be safe here. Even if one of his advisors entered without his permission, they would only see her as a child he’d saved off the street, someone he had cast pity on.
They wouldn’t see her as a Beastkin.
He set her on the ground carefully, kneeling on the floor with her. “I need you to wash up. Do you know how to do that?”
She gave him a look and nodded firmly. “I know how to do that.”
“Any of the pools will do, the water filters away once a day. Take one of my shirts from the chest over there,” he pointed, “and put it on. If anyone asks who you are, just say that you’re the sultan’s new child. And that if they have any other questions, they should ask me. Understood?”
A’dab nodded. “You said you could help me? That you know someone who will keep me safe?”
He did, but how was he going to get a message to Sigrid? Nadir couldn’t even hazard a guess where she was now. Between all the secret places in Wildewyn and Bymere, she could be anywhere. Not once had she ever said anything about her homeland where she thought they could be safe. If anything, she’d kept information about her own land very secretive.
He saw now what a mistake that had been to let her keep those secrets.
“I’ll find a way to get a message to her,” he grumbled, running fingers through his hair. “There has to be a way.”
“Are you talking about the golden lady?”
“Who?”
“Everyone’s talking about her. That she’s like a goddess carved out of marble, and she flies through the sky on wings of moonlight.”
Sigrid. She could only be talking about Sigrid. “Yes, that’s exactly who I’m talking about.”
“No one knows where she went. She took most of the men with her, but some of the Beastkin in the city have claimed they saw her fly over the Edge of the World with animals on her back.”
She had returned to Wildewyn.
Nadir patted A’dab’s head. “Thank you for that, little one. That is a good start.” He’d figure this out later, but now, he had to confront his first wife. He stood up and gestured to the pool in the corner. “Clean. I’ll return soon with food and water for you.”
He didn’t wait to see if the little girl did as he said. She seemed to be a sweet little thing, one that could easily take direction. She knew when a good thing was happening. Hopefully she would clean herself well enough that whomever saw her next would believe that she was his ward.
The halls echoed with his footsteps, and he wondered just what he was doing. Fighting a war from two fronts? He couldn’t be on both sides, and he’d already made his choice very clear. But her big, dark eyes had pulled at something in his gut. He couldn’t let her be killed.
Nadir nodded to a guard and strode into Saafiya’s private quarters. It was as beautiful as he remembered, although he rarely entered her private domain. It was distinctly feminine in a way that made him thoroughly uncomfortable. Like he’d walked into a den of women and trespassed on sacred land.
She lounged on a large pile of silken pillows, only looking up when he was close enough to touch her. Her concubines surrounded her, like petals that had fallen off a rose.
“Husband?” Saafiya blin
ked her eyes sleepily, although he knew it was a ploy to look weak. She was anything but. “I’ve been asking to see you. Have you finally come to me?”
“Get out,” he advised the concubines.
Saafiya held up her hand. “Anything you have to say to me, husband, can be said in front of my handmaidens.”
“No, it can’t.” He bared his teeth. “Get out.”
The women were quick to stand and rush out of the room. Perhaps they felt the rush of heat that blasted off him, or perhaps they simply saw the feral look in his eyes. He wasn’t a man in this moment, he was nothing more than a predator who wanted to avenge his lost mate. And though he hoped she would return, Nadir wasn’t a foolish enough man to bet that he’d get Sigrid back any time soon.
Saafiya slowly rolled onto her side. A delicate gold chain hung from her neck, trailing down her exposed belly and disappearing into the silken skirt she wore.
Perhaps she had known he would come to her, today. She was smart enough to know that he didn’t want to hurt a woman. So she had made herself as feminine as possible. The ploy might have worked if he couldn’t see defiance glimmering in her eyes.
“They are my handmaidens. You have no right to order them around.”
“They are here only because I gave them permission to be,” he replied. “Now, you and I have something to speak of.”
“Are we talking about the little Earthen girl again? Husband, I will not explain my decision any further. It was the best one for this country. You know how dangerous they are. Beastkin will be the end of Bymere. They are dangerous and they cannot be allowed to wander the streets. She showed her true colors, in the end, did she not? She chose her own people over ours.”
He didn’t want to listen to a word she had to say, but he was already having trouble controlling his dragon. The beast wanted to break free, to slip from his skin and devour the woman in one fell swoop.
Saafiya stood, silk spilling down her curves like water. She reached out and placed a hand on his shoulder, trailing her fingers over his skin without realizing how much danger she was in.
Her voice fell like a melody in the delicate room. “She chose them over you, my love. And I know you don’t want to hear it, but those were her true colors. She doesn’t feel as strongly for you as you feel for her. And I’m sorry, Nadir. I know how much you enjoyed her company, how much you valued her opinion. It’s not an easy thing to lose, but I will do my best to fill that gap.”
She leaned forward and pressed her lips against his. Once, long ago, he would have responded immediately with a boyish infatuation that felt at once consuming and overwhelming. But now, the feeling of her lips against his only made him feel cold.
He put a hand to her shoulder and pushed her back. “That’s not what I’m here for, Saafiya.”
“Then why are you here?” Her voice snapped in the air, the composure she held wrapped around her shoulders fraying like a worn shawl. “I won’t allow you to lecture me about right or wrong decisions, Nadir. I did what was best for our country, what you couldn’t do.”
“No, you did exactly what you wanted, and that ends now.”
“How? Are you going to punish me if I do my duty for this country? If I fulfill the role of advisor as I have for nearly your entire life? And the role of wife as well?”
“You aren’t an advisor anymore.” Rage filled his words until he could taste the bitter emotion. “You’re no longer allowed anywhere near people who are making decisions for this country. You betrayed not only myself, but all of Bymere with what you did.”
“You can’t take me off the Council,” she said with a laugh. “That’s not something that anyone can do without the agreement of the rest. It’s a vote, Nadir.”
He was aware of that. It was how it had always been. The advisors would listen when he wanted to do something, they would vote, and then they would tell him no. That would no longer happen. He was sultan of this country, and they would hear his edicts.
He reached out and wrapped a coil of her hair around his finger. “No, first wife. Everything is going to change. The country will move forward without you. Your name will sink away into the ancient history books that no one reads, and soon everyone will forget that you exist. You will remain here, in your private quarters with your handmaidens, and you will only be allowed out with my permission.”
Her face paled. “You can’t do that.”
“I can, and I will. You made me Sultan of Bymere. Now, I’m unmaking you.”
A surge of victory filled his chest with pride and strength. Sigrid would have celebrated this victory with him. He was taking back his kingdom and the first step was overthrowing this woman.
Saafiya stepped away from him, nearly tumbling back onto the pillows. “I will speak with the other advisors on this. They won’t let you do this.”
“What power do they have? I’ve broken free from the chains you wrapped around my throat when I was just a boy. If they want to argue with me, I’ll have them beheaded. Be thankful that I’m not calling for the same in your case.”
Nadir turned on his heel and walked away. The surge of triumph would only last so long before dread set in. He needed to go tell the other advisors of this change before his courage waned.
“Husband!” she shouted. “You’re doing all this for a little girl who isn’t even here. She’s never coming back.”
He paused at the door, glancing over his shoulder at her. “No, she isn’t. And I’m not doing this for her. I’m doing this for our people, as I should have a long time ago.”
He left her standing alone in her quarters and told the guards not to let her out without his permission. They stood at attention, but he saw the approval in their gaze.
Nadir was a man on a mission. He would tell the other advisors that he was finally taking the crown for himself, then he would find a way to send a message to Sigrid.
Sigrid
“Too long, we have lingered in the shadows!” Jabbar’s voice lifted over the crowd. He lifted his arms and the hundreds of Beastkin gathered around the ruins of Woodcrest castle cheered along with him.
They’d finally found a place they could call home. This strange, unusual ruin would be where they laid their heads to rest. Unfortunately, Sigrid could see there was much work to do.
It was a sturdy beast, but would suit them very well. She didn’t remember the squat structure and style of building. It was much more utilitarian than the Earthen folk preferred now. Their buildings were always filled with carved spires and delicate pinnacles. This was mostly square with blunt towers and functional walkways.
It would make a perfect hideout for them, and a safe place to rest their head.
She stood to the side, allowing him to speak to his people without interruption. He needed a moment to shine. Although Sigrid had been the catalyst, she recognized that she had done nothing other than give them a back to ride on.
The Bymerian people didn’t need someone from Wildewyn coming in and saving them. They had been prepared to do that themselves. She just gave them a faster route.
Pale eyes wild, Jabbar punched the air with his fist. “Together, we shall prepare for war. We will return to Bymere and destroy all they tried to keep from us. If we cannot have it, then neither shall they!”
Cold ice skittered through her veins. He wasn’t talking about justice or a means for peace. Was he saying this simply because he thought this was right? Or had she misunderstood Jabbar’s intent?
Their people certainly had no issues with what he said. Their cheers thundered and their feet pounded the ground until she swore it shook.
Sigrid didn’t want to argue with Jabbar in front of their people. That would only end poorly, especially considering the tension between the two groups. Wildewyn and Bymere needed to be a united front. They had to see each other as family, or old prejudices would sink in. She didn’t know any other way to pull them out of that.
She stepped close to Jabbar and slid her hand into the crook of his e
lbow. “Shall we speak? Allow them to go to their work.”
His arms slowly fell back at his side. The pink irises of his pupils seemed to be bleeding into the whites, she noticed. Perhaps that was the thunderbird looking back at her.
He nodded curtly, and gestured to the leopard man who was his right-hand man. Sigrid gave a subtle nod to Brynhild, and together they all walked toward a fire set off from the others. It wasn’t a perfect place for council meetings, but she appreciated that the rest of the Beastkin were able to see them. They weren’t ignoring the difficulties of the future. They were actively, and visibly, working on it.
Sigrid settled on a log and spread her skirts around her. The icy blue fabric somehow felt dull now that she saw so many people wearing the same. She almost missed the vivid colors of Bymere.
“What is it, Sigrid?” Jabbar asked. He reclined on the log, one leg raised with his wrist dangling from his knee. “Do you not agree with the rousing speech I just gave?”
He raised an eyebrow, and she recognized the challenge in his voice. “I don’t think we should be promising our people any retribution we have no intention of following through on.”
“Oh, I intend to follow through. Didn’t you know you were leading a war?” He gestured toward the Beastkin who were going back to work cleaning the old castle, tilling the fields, setting up their home. “They want justice.”
“Justice doesn’t have to come with the price of blood.”
“Of course, it does. What did you think this was? That you were going to create some kind of kingdom for us, and people were going to let you?” Jabbar shook his head. “It doesn’t work like that. You have to take a kingdom. We’re going to be attacked by both sides, and I’d rather have the advantage of surprise.”
“We don’t have to attack anyone.” She leaned forward, clasping her hands together to hide their shaking. “Politics have been conducted for centuries. Talking can work.”
