“You leave our father out of this. Ashni’s done nothing but tarnish his image since birth,” Jay said.
The rage they felt for Ashni over rumors of her birth and relationships with “barbarians” was beyond Nakia. Did they think Ashni ruined their father, or did feel rejected by Ashni? She couldn’t figure it out. It’s not something you need to figure out. Still, Nakia couldn’t let it go, her questions got under their skin. The brothers were upset that Ashni chose barbarians over them.
“Your father accepted Ashni. Why can’t you?” Nakia asked.
“Ashni thought she was special because our father accepted her. Ashni thought the gods had chosen her because of her lightning. Hell, even Mom pretended Ashni was worth something because it made her feel better about being tricked into having the damn girl.” Jay replied. “Ashni’s nothing. That’s why she’s so attached to barbarians. They’re not worthy and neither is she.”
Okay. They felt slighted. Ashni seemed special to everyone important to the brothers, including the gods. That was why they hated her. They wanted that attention and never got over it.
“You speak as if you think she’s still alive,” Nakia said.
Jay hissed. “She’s dead, like she should’ve been a long time ago. Ashni wasn’t supposed to exist.”
“Because your mother got tricked? Wouldn’t it make more sense to just believe Ashni’s your blood sister?” Nakia asked.
Jay wasn’t moved. “Except she wasn’t. She got things that weren’t owed to her because Dad was easy to fool. He was too carefree. He didn’t know how to protect himself.”
“And you do?”
“I know how to protect myself, my brothers, and this empire. We don’t even need this giant waste of land. Ashni’s too stupid to even realize logistically this would be impossible to rule from Helli.”
Nakia didn’t believe him. Ashni didn’t seem to have a problem staying connected to Helli, but it might be for the simple fact that the territory had a ruler now. What would happen when Chandra died and someone new was on the throne? It didn’t matter. Ashni mattered. These people mattered.
“So, you care and she doesn’t?” Nakia asked.
Jay threw his shoulders back. “I was trained for this. No one ever bothered to try to show Ashni how to lead. It would’ve been a waste.”
Nakia had a feeling that was a lie, but maybe Jay believed it. She glanced at Asad. His jaw tensed, yet he didn’t say anything. Maybe he was resigned to not inheriting the Empire, but she couldn’t believe that either.
“Was Asad trained for this?” Nakia asked.
“Don’t concern yourself over us,” Jay replied, the conversation obviously over.
The day went on. When she got a chance, Nakia wrote to Wicus, if only to make sure he hadn’t sold her out. She also had Adira look into it to make sure Wicus didn’t lie to her. Then she checked on the troops going into Tariq. They had begun filtering people out, directing any non-fighters to Khenshu on Naren’s orders. At least that was in order.
Unfortunately, it was taking a long time. Nearly three weeks already. They would have to hold on for weeks more, hoping the brothers didn’t catch on to what was happening.
***
Ashni could drink medicine now. She could also sit up with no problem, and all that meant was that she had a clear view of Adira sharpening her sword in the corner. Preparing for war. With whom and where? Surely not in the palace.
Questions swirled in her mind. Why was she still in this room instead of in her bed? Why was Samar still treating her instead of advising Ashni’s doctor? Ashni had her own royal physician, and Samar’s time was better spent with her people or with soldiers. Yet, Samar was the only doctor ever there. Why was Varaza standing off to the side, quiet, poised, and baggy-eyed, and not with Nakia? What was happening in the palace? No one would answer even the simplest of things, but she decided to give inquiring another try.
“Is anyone dead?” Ashni asked.
“Not yet,” Adira replied, eyeing Ashni over her blade.
“Who are we killing?”
Samar seemed to float over and put a cup to Ashni’s mouth filled to the brim with clear liquid. “No one for you to concern yourself with.”
Ashni drank the bitter concoction. Sometimes, I miss not being able to taste things. She fought against making a face. “Why is medicine never sweet?”
“To punish your stupid ass for getting injured,” Adira replied.
It was like this whenever she was there, standing guard with Varaza, and neither Adira nor Layla ever explained. Adira was full of snark now, barely containing her rage. Sometimes, Adira stared at her like she wanted to stab Ashni in the chest. She searched her mind for how she might have wronged Adira, but nothing came to her.
“Adira, maybe you should deliver that potion to Saniyah,” Samar said. It sounded like a pleasant suggestion, yet Ashni knew it was a hard command.
Adira scowled and sharpened her sword with more fury. Someone was possibly going to die by the end of the day. I hope like hell it’s not me. I probably couldn’t fight her off if I tried right now. Adira’s energy was wild, and she probably could’ve yanked the sun from the sky if she desired to do so.
“What does Saniyah need a potion for?” Ashni asked, knowing what the answer would be already.
“None of your damn business!” Adira glared at her.
“Obviously, since you’re so pissed at me.”
Adira took a breath, taking in so much air that Ashni could see her chest move. “I’m not pissed with you. It’s the whole situation.”
Ashni sighed. “So, what the hell is the situation?”
Adira’s nostrils flared, and it looked like she chewed on her tongue for a second. “When you can wave your swords around, I’ll tell you.”
Ashni would hold her friend to that. All she could do now was sit, take her medicine, eat, and wait for the few minutes she got each day with Nakia, the highlight of her day. Well, that and when Adira had to leave. She hated seeing Adira in obvious pain and not being able to do anything about it.
Of course, she hated seeing Nakia in pain, too. Nakia always had bruises and cuts. Samar almost always had to treat Nakia, no one offered an explanation for the injuries, and it agonized Ashni each time she saw her beloved. Who dared put hands on my hellcat? She couldn’t imagine who could be so bold. Except maybe Amal and there was no way he was there.
Nakia came into her room and curled up at her side. She smiled and Nakia managed a smile back. Ashni had enough range of motion to turn and could lift her arm enough to caress Nakia’s face. She was so careful.
“What happened to your face?” Ashni asked. Her beloved’s beautiful visage was covered in old and fresh bruises. Both of her eyebrows had been stitched. There was a split in her top lip, an old cut at the bottom, and a gash at the corner of her mouth.
Tears slid down Nakia’s cheek from an almost swollen shut, purple eye. “I don’t want to lie to you.”
Ashni brushed Nakia’s hair back. “You could tell me.”
Nakia gave her a sorrowful smile. “When you’re stronger.”
Did that mean physically, mentally, emotionally? She could be there for Nakia, for everyone in so many ways, even if she could barely move. Soon, she’d be able to be there for them physically as a warrior. She had gained weight. Faded dark lines still ran down her body, but her color had returned.
“Why won’t you tell me?” Ashni asked.
Nakia put a hand on Ashni’s hip. “Because we all need you to focus on you. We’re holding things together.”
“Is that why your face looks that way, and why there are days Adira looks ready to kill me?”
Nakia wrapped her arms around Ashni. “Adira’s going through something right now. She’s having trouble dealing with it.”
“What happened?”
Nakia shook her head. “It’s not my place to tell.” They were silent for a moment. “Would you want children?”
Ashni blinked. “Huh?”
“Children. One of the things about being married is producing children. We can’t do that.”
Ashni shook her head. “What brought this on?” Is it connected to Adira? To her anger?
“I’ve been thinking about you and your childhood a lot.’’
“Oh.” Okay, so nothing with Adira. “That’s funny. I had…visions about my childhood.”
Nakia’s brow wrinkled. “What were your visions about?”
“Relationships with my parents, my horse, and my siblings. I think it was to set me on a path, and I’m not sure about the path yet.” Maybe it was to help her work through whatever this mess was. “You mentioned us producing children and we can’t do that. You’ve been thinking about me not being my father’s, but him raising me anyway?”
Nakia nodded. “You are his, aren’t you?”
“Completely. He raised me. That’s Roshan culture,” Ashni said. Nakia’s library was packed with knowledge about Roshan culture. Nakia was fascinated with it, wanted to know what she married into, and Ashni loved to indulge her. Nakia could probably teach her about the Roshan at this point.
“It is Roshan culture, and it makes so much sense for the Roshan’s beginnings,” Nakia replied slowly, as if choosing her words carefully. “Times were uncertain. Raise who would take care of you when you were older. Raise who you could trust to carry on your name. Put yourself into a child to live on through that child. Why didn’t your brothers accept that?”
Ashni shrugged. “I just assumed it was all the talk.”
“Why do you think the nobles talked about you?”
Ashni shook her head. “I was an easy target. The only girl. I had lighter skin. Lightning. Dad loved us, raised us all.”
“Gave you all the same attention?”
“Yeah. He was always happy to be included in anything we did, and in turn, we liked when he included us. The nobles wanted to sow discontent to take over the Empire through us. It worked in the sense that it divided us,” Ashni said.
Nakia’s face scrunched up a bit. “Divided or just split you from the older brothers?”
Ashni stared at her beloved, wondering why she was so curious about her brothers. “I think they split, too, even if they pretended, they didn’t. Asad spent a lot of time with Jay instead of Amal, and Asad also spent a lot of time on his own. I’m sure they were all looking to stab each other in the back at some point, but they’ve focused on me first.”
Nakia chewed on her lip. “So, they’d just as soon kill each other as they, would you?”
“I don’t know if they’d kill each other, although they’d do anything to be the one to get the throne. They’ve had poison dripped into their ears for a long time.”
“They’d kill you.”
“Because they don’t think I’m family. My mother raised us to love your family, but only Fahim, Kek, and Kiran accept me as their sister.”
Nakia sighed. “So, if we were to have children, how would that work?”
Ashni’s cheeks burned. “We could adopt, or one of us could get pregnant if you’d like.”
Nakia flinched at that, pain in her usually vibrant green eyes. Ashni kissed the end of Nakia’s nose.
“What’s wrong, kitten? Tell me,” Ashni said, her voice a begging whisper.
“As long as we raise the child, the child is ours?” Nakia asked with a wobble in her throat. Tears welled up in her eyes.
“Of course. Why? Do you want children now? We can start looking.”
Nakia sobbed in reply, and the sound cut through Ashni. What did I miss? Adira was hurting. Nakia was hurting. It was like the world was crumbling, and no one wanted to tell her why. She had never felt so useless and beaten in her entire life.
When Nakia’s sobs quieted down, she fell asleep. Ashni gazed at her beloved. Nakia managed to look larger than life, carrying a weight she didn’t deserve. Not alone anyway. As her spouse, Ashni should share the load. So, I do have to get stronger.
Chapter Thirteen
EVERYDAY ASAD AND JAY forced Nakia and Saniyah to take at least two meals with them. Nakia had to sit across from Saniyah, her friend and mentor, be able to free her from this hell. As the reigning monarch, she should be able to stop this sort of terror.
“Soon,” Nakia said under breath, a promise to herself, to everyone. Her plan might be slow, but it was working.
“Soon what? You’ll find you actually do like being hit?” Asad slapped Nakia in the mouth.
After many weeks of abuse, Nakia thought she’d get used to being hit. Her ears rang as her mouth throbbed. Still, she remained patient. According to Naren and Hafiz, things were slow, but going well. They hadn’t aroused any suspicions yet, and they were almost done.
“It’s almost boring,” Asad said.
Jay ate a dumpling. “Of course, the West is boring.”
“And when do you plan to leave?” Saniyah asked, rubbing the marks on her neck. Jay got a sick joy out of choking Saniyah to the point his fingerprints might be etched in her flesh for all eternity. Not that it mattered, as he had left a much more permanent mark on her, changed her life forever.
“You’re coming with me.” Jay reached for Saniyah’s abdomen.
Saniyah slapped his hand away, glowering. “Never!”
Jay’s hand went right for her throat, and she gagged. “Who the hell do you think you are?”
Saniyah showed no fear, glared at him with all the fire and hatred in her belly. “I am Saniyah Gyan. I am a noble of the Roshan Empire. My family legacy is as old as yours.”
He curled his lip in disgust. “You threw your status away when you married that barbarian fisherwoman.”
“You can’t pull my rank by your whim or jealousy. You’ll never be half the warrior or leader my damn fisherwoman is, and your father fucking knew it.”
Jay’s grip tightened, and Saniyah’s face turned red. She clawed at his beefy hand, but he didn’t budge. Her eyes glazed over. Nakia threw hot cereal at Jay. The slush splashed on his face, but he barely winced.
“You’re going to kill her!” Nakia sought something else to hit him with, curling her fingers around a glass.
“Control your bitch, Asad!” Jay snarled.
Asad put his hands up. “Control yourself. You’re going to kill her. Mom won’t look kindly on that, nor would any noble families in support of us. The Gyan name goes back just as far as Akshay and is just as prestigious.”
Jay’s face remained twisted, but he loosened his grip some. Saniyah gasped for air, his hand still on her throat. She dug her nails into his fingers, trying to get him off of her.
Murdering Saniyah was up there with murdering a royal. There was no way either of them would inherit the Empire if Jay killed Saniyah with Asad sitting there and doing nothing to stop it. They could get away with a lot, but not that.
They were able to get away with this for months by claiming they were helping Nakia understand how to rule a piece of the Empire without Ashni. Chandra was busy mourning Ashni. It would’ve been humane to let Chandra know Ashni, but they couldn’t risk the communication. No one knew who touched Chandra’s missives before they got to her. The last thing they needed was someone in Helli to tell the brothers Ashni was still alive. Jay and Asad assumed she was lying every time she said it, but if she told the empress, then things would be different. They’d know she wasn’t lying because no one in their right mind would lie to Chandra. They’d hunt Ashni down before their mother could find her.
“Do you want to murder your child?” Asad asked his brother.
Jay blinked, coming back to himself. His eyes softened along with his grip. Saniyah dropped to the floor, gasping for air. Her face was near blue, her neck the color of watered-down wine.
Jay glowered at his brother. “Worry about your own child. Or lack thereof.”
Nakia swallowed down vomit. Asad yanked Nakia close. He squeezed her around the middle.
“She hasn’t bled since I’ve bedded her and her servants said she has sick
ness in the morning,” Asad said.
Until recently, these had been lies her servants told, but now she was late and had been sick several mornings in a row. Don’t think about it. She didn’t understand why he was so interested, yet now she got it. It was just to hurt Ashni even more. He would do what Ashni couldn’t. He put his permanent mark on Nakia. Jay did the same with Saniyah. They were demented.
“You two boast about things that’ll get you killed,” Nakia said.
Jay was on borrowed time. Adira planned to slay him, and Nakia might kill Asad with her bare hands, especially if her condition was true. He might be the better fighter, but Nakia had raw rage on her side.
“Do you think the Amir would approve of this? Of how you’ve treated me? He blessed my relationship with Adira, which means we were blessed by the divine. You can’t deny that,” Saniyah said.
Jay went silent. He had trespassed on the divine, something sacred. And the same could be said of Asad. Her marriage had been blessed by the empress, the daughter of a god in her own right. These two were tempting the gods.
“You know you’ll pay for this,” Saniyah said, staring Jay down. Nakia had to admire her courage and her faith.
Jay rolled his shoulders. “You forget, we are also divine.”
Saniyah scoffed. “You think you’re above the Amir?”
“The Amir is dead,” Jay said.
Saniyah scowled. “He still hears and sees. The Empress still hears and sees. You might’ve lied to the empress. You might’ve changed my life, but you haven’t changed me, and you can’t keep this hidden forever.”
“I have no reason to hide,” Jay said. “You two fail to understand, we’re well within our rights to do this.”
“No one’s going to save you.” Asad patted Nakia’s knee. “You need to eat. Wouldn’t want my child to be underdeveloped.”
Asad passed a plate of cooked vegetables under Nakia’s nose and she was hit with a wave of nausea. She gagged, slapping her hand over her mouth. Her stomach twisted. Bile burned her throat. Asad laughed and shoved the dish closer. Nakia pushed the plate away and took off running. She needed privacy if she was going to be sick.
Blood Rain (Warrior Class Book 3) Page 19