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.DON'Ti" KAN4RAN SHOLTTED, 'THE FIRE, _"
The rvorcls died ln his throat.
He watched Alizeh cirarge toward the thigh-high blaze
r,vith an astonishrnent so complete he sank to the ground,
the cold of the stone floor seeping through the tattered silk
of his trcusers. Kamran had the benefit of heavy layers and
jewel harne-sses at least; the fire had been unable to devour
him r.r,ith any speecl. But Alizeh - Alizeh u,'ore littie ir-iore
than a rvhisper, so fine rnras the fabric of her gown.
Thefire u,ii| meLt the flesh from her bctnes.
He thought it even as she crossed the blaze r,vithout care,
her gossamer dress inlialed ln an instant b). tlr" fiery ring,
an abomination magicked to life by the )'ounB Tulanian
king. Cyrus, the monarch in question, stood just opposite
Kamran, srvord still heid aloft in anticipation of a fatal blor,r.,
hls hand stayed only by the sight of Alizeh, i,r,ho headed
towarci him now. As if from outside hirnself Kamran r,vatched
as she batted ar,vay fiames from her dress ivith bare hands,
snuffing the fire as one might a iiglrt. He stared dor.vn at the
remains of his orvn disintegraterl garrnents, then at the biocd
dripping between his knuckles. Slowly, he looked back up
at Alizeh, possessing clarity of mind enough to register that
she'd emerged from the inferno unscathed, even as her gorvn
 I
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SCVIHHJ SJINIINI ES]H1
 1'AIiirRLlll MAFI r I:-" -: ;:1, '

The lvhispers of their heret,lfore siient audience had been

grorving steadily in the interluCe and nou, buiit to an alarming - - :l' .\ n.c. .\..2 .:' t . -

crescendo, the din art aking in Kamran years cf training and " :'- .'I" t!t"t .h. -r, -. . I
awareness. FIis rnind sharpened against the gossip, d,;ty ,-. -.'ir.. d more than prc,-,:r-- ----: : -

piercing the fog c.f grief and replacing it r,vith anger. fbcus - -- --:r-i of alarm in her arar:r -:
A sudden ciatter. - .' .: rS -,r l-ii rr ould he ao\\ e : r -- :-

Kamran looked up in time to see Aiizeh toss C1,1115'g - - : ::: iid not knorrI She ;1:,-:::- '
sword to the flool the young man flinching as glinting steel -,.. -.: :tim repeatedli an.i siap:-:
struck marble. The foreign king stared at Alizeh rvith an : --r: rinq rrho d minlltes ::- r ,-
astonishment to rival Karnran's, fear torpefying his f'eatures ,:, :,= -n t :o rnuch as 1if -. -t : : ir -
as she rounded on him. : -,' stood there and stare,: ,- .-..
"Hou. dare you," she said. "\bu horrible cretin. You useless r: ::rtka him
monster. IHaw could you -" if he ieared her
-- :r--rs: as
"I{o,,r; - hou, did you -" Cyrus fumbled back an inch. :.,:::rn dared not brear:lt =. :
"How dld ,vou rvalk through ttre fire like that? Why are you ,.. ':r rr-i his mind, the tho'-^:.-- .
not - buiningT" , -,-:: ie thought hrs che si rr- : . -l
"You despicable, -wretched rrlan," she cried. "You know - - t:. fir.t Klnrr,: .

who I alm, but ,vt'ru don't know wha.t I arn? " ' ,'., :-:Jiion at the bal. I: : t' :-': j
"No." . - :-- ::rultruslr healei s;r- l --: - r:
Alizeh struck Ct rus across the face with the force of a - : r -l|ent S r-rnrfOf fn ,l-l.. i rt - t: -
bludgeon, the impaet so violent the young king staggered, -:- :-:'. :r,'ln e\travaqant g,l' '- l-
audibl-v strikilig his head against a column. ' - ..--- :e d Jenrerl the trr,rtli : - - :r:
Kamran felt the shock of it in his hones. ' .: ,: ----;e Finalir he ul;.i.: - -,
He knew he should rejoice in this rnoment - knerv he -- . ,-..,..j. i' tii ,i.ecett'ei
shouid celebrate Alizeh's actions against the depraved royal t . . :s irickered rrl-L : :
- but his rnind .,.ryould not submit to relie{, for the scene --: -, :i:--i:-
unraveiing before hir:r diJ not atign r,r,ith reason. : -.Z::'-i-la::la!',:,r:,.:-' - - l
Cyrus appeared entirely too unnerved. :: ' -'-l:--":>:-:h-:rII :'-
Tl-re trepidation in his eyes, his asl.onishment at her .,.;.
 +
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SCVAUHJ f JINICN] ESAH I I{YIN HSUIIHYJ
 TAHEREH IvIAFI THESE INFINITE THREADS

Kamran understand the magnitude of his own follv. Every

foolish r,r.,ord he'd spoken in her defense - everyr stupid,
childish action he'c1 taken to protect her -
Without warning, Cyrr.rs iaughed.
Kamran looke.J up; the southern king appeared pale and
disordered. From rvhere he knelt, Kamran could not see
Alizeh's f.ace; he sau,, only the horror in Cyrus's eyes as he
looked her over. The young man had killed his or.t.n father
for the throne of 1hlan; he'd newly murdered Kilg'Zaal,
the ruler of the greatest empire on earth; he would've kllled
Kamran, too, had he been granted but a rnoment more to
accomplish the task. Nor,rr the copper -headed tyrant steadied
himself s1ow11,, blood seeping from his lips, smeared across
his chin. Of all the adversaries the,v might've encountered, it
seemed ther,'d both been cowed b1r the pool gentle servant
of Baz Hcuse.
"Damn the devii to he11," the'fulanian king said quietly.
"He didn't tell me you were a Jinn."
"Who? " Alizeh demandeC.
"Our mutual friend."
"Hazan?"
Kamran recoiled. He'd not been prepared for the blow
of 1,g1 another betrayal, and the impact of that single word
lanced through hls bociy with a ruthlessness against whlch
he had no defense. That she lvas somehow allied rvith Cl,rus
rvas torture enough .- but that she'd gone behind his back
',vith Hazan?
This vyas more than he could bear.
She'd playacted at fear aird innocence, had outmaneuvered
 I
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SCVAUHJ ATINIgNI gSSHJ- IJVI^I HAUIIHVJ
 I
TAHEREH MAI-'I II.{ESE,INFINITE THREADS

But to say that this revelation had broken his heart would realizing oniy in the excruciating effort
be to misrepresent the truth; Kamran was not heartbroken, been badly burned. His skin and clot
then, no - he was incandescent with rage. blood; his lread felt leaden. It rvas a t
He would hill her. a.lmit: that he did not knorv horv much
Any nair.e, lingering softness in Kamran's heart evaporated. ircre rrithout the aid of a surgeon. Or a
He'd been seduced by a siren while being deceived by hls -\'o. The royal Diviners ryere dead- 5

orvn friend - and had all but spat in the face of the only Kamran's eyes squeezed shut at the
person who truly cared for hls well-being. KingZaal had sold "Iblees."

himself to evil in the pursuit of Kamran's happiness - and His eyes flew open at the sound c
the man was repaid with only disloyalty and treason. This roice. fiamran's heart began poundinS
dark night had been wrought by Kamran's actions alone; he rtith its intensity. He couldn't decide
understood that now. The entire Ardunian empire had been him more: to realize that she and Ci
left vulnerable because he'd been frail of mind and body. triend in the devil, or to discorrr that
Never again. her, still heated at the mere sound of h
Never again would he allow a woman to own his emotions; She had disappeared.
never again would he be made weakby such base temptations. Panicked, Kamran searched for her:
He s',vore it then: this monster from the prophecy would die i-ustead he saw Cyrus, stili staring inten
by hls hand - he would drive a blade through her heart or t*e ^\lizeh, who'd a moment ago betn s
die trying. \lithout warning, she materialized-
But first, Hazan. Alizeh stood in precisely the same
Kamran caught the eye of a guard hovering - awaiting agp'eared hazy, oscillating in and out of
orders - and with a single glance he issued his first decree as aonslstenc\-.
king of Ardunia: Hazan u'ould hang. \[as she doing this to htm? Had she
Kamran experienced no victory as he watched his former \*rere once was Alizeh stood nr
minister seized, then dragged away; he felt no triumph at mo\-ement, her voice rvarped and rrater
the sound of Hazan's feeble protests ringing out through the a-. il she t'ere speaking from inside a g1
astonished silence of the room. No, Kamran suffered only the -Ssssttt
)'ou )'ou sspeakthe the tire r-
ascent of a terrifying madness as he forced himself upright, Kamran dragged blood-v hands dorr-
daring to bear weight on his injured arm in the process, and rerelation rreren't alreadv more arrnil
 I
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 I

10 TAHEREH MAFI THESE INFINITE THREADS

- he was now blind and deaf, too? .lear, but Alizeh remained more nimhir
"ssssssendyyou you iiiinterest heeeee my my llllife?" --t halos stackedin the general shape o
His injured legs failed as his mind fractured; he trembled, :u-qt knorving where to aim might be er

hands grasping at air as he sought purchase, and fell hard This evening's admissions had mi
onto one badly burned leg. He nearly cried out in agony. grandfather's every warning about th,
But then, a mercy - rr ould dle before he failed the man rrr ic

The Tulanian king spoke, his words lucid; "Is it not ieet arva-1,, and though the distance see
obvious? He r,rrants you to rule." f{amran 'would force himself to clear
A terrible thunder filled Kamran's head. There was no to Lrury the blade in her heart norr-, k
time to rejoice in the restoration of his hearing. The demon- m'agedytonight.
like monster with ice in its veins had been foretold to have He'd just managed to take an agorr
formidable allies, and here was further evidence of the -.r*ord s'hen the haze of her shifted arr
Diviners' wisdom, of his grandfather's rvarnings - :n a flash of kismet, Kamran could see
The devil himself was assisting her. She looked terrified.
The crowd lvas gror,ving louder now, and he could hear The sight speared him through thr
them, too, whispers having evolved into shouts and hysterics. moment the cataracts in his e-yes seerrr(
Kamran lt'as reminded once more that all the nobles of ;ame suddenly into sharp focus and oh
Ardunia rvere collected in this room; the highest ranking u.1eed- Alizeh was an enemy poss6-se(
officials from across the empire had been brought together ;ould'r'e imagined. Even nor,r'her sh;n'i'
for an evening of decadence and celebration; instead, they =, "rrrotion that destroyed him. Her gu
would bear witness to the fall of the greatest ernpire in the saturali she searched the room as if sht
'r,vorld. Kamran cursed the wretched orsa
Kamran did not know how he would survive it. paunded a clenched fist against his st
He heard Cyrus laugh again, heard him say clearly: "A linn trr response, a terrible anguish ripped
queen to rule the world. Oh, it's so horribly seditious. The :rutal the sensation it took his breath a
perfect revenge."
--ri planted in a single shot at his feet.
Again, Kamran attempted to draw himself up. His head ::,s spine, tremendous branches pushi
pounded r,vith a vengeance, his eyesight still an uncertain - !i \-elrls.
thing. The room, the floor - Cyrus himself - were all perfectly He doubled or.er, gasping, al-rrost