‘And then what?’ I had to give Jin a chance to get close to him. ‘What’s your plan? Ahmed would never forgive you for killing his sister – you must know that.’
‘I don’t care about Ahmed.’ Mahdi’s accent was becoming more grating the more frantic he got. ‘This whole rebellion is going to hell on a fast horse, anyway.’
‘I’m pretty sure we’re not the ones going to hell in this situation,’ I said. Jin was only ten paces behind him now. Close enough so I saw the corner of his mouth pull up at my barb, even though his eyes never left his sister.
‘Even you can see it, surely.’ Mahdi didn’t seem to hear me. He was leaning forward, desperately, like he could convince me, too. Like I might step aside and let him past. ‘Ahmed has bitten off more than he can chew. Saramotai is just the beginning – there will be other uprisings, and the war with the foreigners will end and the Sultan will destroy us. Ahmed is too weak to hold this whole country. We can’t save everyone. So I’m saving someone I can.’
Jin was close now. Too close. The moonlight hit him as he left the cover of the trees, sending a spike of shadow across Mahdi’s path. Mahdi’s eyes went wide as he spun to face this new threat. His blade bit into the soft skin of Delila’s throat with the sudden motion, drawing blood.
Delila screamed.
The time for distraction was done. I flung my arm in an arc, exploding a burst of sand right into Mahdi’s face, blinding him as Jin darted forward. His hand latched over Mahdi’s, twisting the knife away from Delila’s neck. It changed course, plunging toward Jin’s chest instead. I whipped my palm flat, and the sand shifted below Mahdi’s feet, throwing him off balance, the knife sailing harmlessly by Jin’s shoulder.
Mahdi went down, his fingers snapping like dry kindling in Jin’s grip, the knife falling from his hand. He hit the sand with an agonised cry, even as Jin caught Delila.
And then it was over. Delila collapsed into Jin, sobbing, a smear of blood from her neck darkening his desert-white shirt. His eyes met mine over his sister’s head.
So much for avoiding him.
Chapter 10
The stitched sun in the crown of the pavilion glowed dimly in the lamplight. It wasn’t enough to fill the whole of the pavilion, and the dark seemed to press in around the five of us.
Me, Shazad, Hala, Jin, and Ahmed.
There should have been more of us. If Bahi was alive. If Delila wasn’t being patched up by my aunt. If Mahdi wasn’t a traitor now locked up and under guard. If we hadn’t all agreed Imin should be given one night away from the Rebellion for the wedding.
‘You should have killed him outright, if you ask me.’ Hala’s eyes were far away, but I knew she was talking to me.
‘No one did ask you,’ I retorted. All I could think of was the fear in Mahdi’s eyes as he held Delila, shaking. Reasoning with me for Sayyida’s life because he was too proud to beg. ‘You trying to tell me you wouldn’t have done the same if Imin was the one dying in that tent?’
‘No.’ Hala’s voice was low, in that threatening way she got sometimes when it came to her sibling. ‘I’m trying to tell you that it just as easily could have been Imin. Or you, or me, or the twins. Every single one of us risks our life every day for selfish people like him and this is how they repay us.’ Selfish was what this desert did best. I knew that better than anyone.
‘Love makes people selfish,’ Jin said, so softly I almost believed I wasn’t meant to have heard it. A sudden hot, angry rush rose up in me. But before I could snap anything back, Hala spoke up again.
‘I don’t believe half of what’s been done to me was for love. Unless you want to count love of money.’ Hala raised her left hand into the light pointedly, with its missing two fingers. ‘Why should the rest of us suffer just because Amani seems to get to pick and choose who gets to live based on how she feels that day?’
‘Hala, that’s enough,’ Shazad warned.
But Hala ignored her. ‘You seem exceptionally good at putting the rest of us in danger. Today it’s Mahdi. Last time you seemed to think your brother’s life was worth more than everyone else’s in this desert. How long before another burned-out crater appears where a city used to be? Or he finds us and turns another one of us to dust like Bahi? Or maybe someone will manage to hunt him down like they did Imin and they’ll take his eyes and he can die slowly when you could have given him mercy.’
I went at her like a bullet from a gun.
Shazad was between us in a second. Before I could get to Hala, before Hala could conjure some horror in my mind in retaliation.
‘I said, that’s enough.’ She held me back, arms on my shoulders, bracing me as Hala sneered at me over her shoulder. I strained against her, but familiar hands grabbed me, dragging me back away from the fight. Jin. I didn’t bother to fight as he pulled me against him easily. The familiar heat of his body as my back met his chest.
‘Stop. You know you don’t really want to fight her, Amani.’ He spoke in my ear, low enough so that I was the only one who heard him. So that his breath stirred the hair at the nape of my neck. Everything in me wanted to lean back into him, feel his heartbeat against my spine, and relax back into his presence. But I stilled before I could, forcing myself to pull away from him. To put air between us.
‘Let me go.’ His grip loosened as he felt my body lock up below his touch. I shook him off and his hands dropped away. I could still feel the heat of his palms lingering on my upper arms. Like burn marks. Except Demdji weren’t supposed to burn so easily. o;And then what?’ I had to give Jin a chance to get close to him. ‘What’s your plan? Ahmed would never forgive you for killing his sister – you must know that.’
‘I don’t care about Ahmed.’ Mahdi’s accent was becoming more grating the more frantic he got. ‘This whole rebellion is going to hell on a fast horse, anyway.’
‘I’m pretty sure we’re not the ones going to hell in this situation,’ I said. Jin was only ten paces behind him now. Close enough so I saw the corner of his mouth pull up at my barb, even though his eyes never left his sister.
‘Even you can see it, surely.’ Mahdi didn’t seem to hear me. He was leaning forward, desperately, like he could convince me, too. Like I might step aside and let him past. ‘Ahmed has bitten off more than he can chew. Saramotai is just the beginning – there will be other uprisings, and the war with the foreigners will end and the Sultan will destroy us. Ahmed is too weak to hold this whole country. We can’t save everyone. So I’m saving someone I can.’
Jin was close now. Too close. The moonlight hit him as he left the cover of the trees, sending a spike of shadow across Mahdi’s path. Mahdi’s eyes went wide as he spun to face this new threat. His blade bit into the soft skin of Delila’s throat with the sudden motion, drawing blood.
Delila screamed.
The time for distraction was done. I flung my arm in an arc, exploding a burst of sand right into Mahdi’s face, blinding him as Jin darted forward. His hand latched over Mahdi’s, twisting the knife away from Delila’s neck. It changed course, plunging toward Jin’s chest instead. I whipped my palm flat, and the sand shifted below Mahdi’s feet, throwing him off balance, the knife sailing harmlessly by Jin’s shoulder.
Mahdi went down, his fingers snapping like dry kindling in Jin’s grip, the knife falling from his hand. He hit the sand with an agonised cry, even as Jin caught Delila.
And then it was over. Delila collapsed into Jin, sobbing, a smear of blood from her neck darkening his desert-white shirt. His eyes met mine over his sister’s head.
So much for avoiding him.
Chapter 10
The stitched sun in the crown of the pavilion glowed dimly in the lamplight. It wasn’t enough to fill the whole of the pavilion, and the dark seemed to press in around the five of us.
Me, Shazad, Hala, Jin, and Ahmed.
There should have been more of us. If Bahi was alive. If Delila wasn’t being patched up by my aunt. If Mahdi wasn’t a traitor now locked up and under guard. If we hadn’t all agreed Imin should be given one night away from the Rebellion for the wedding.
‘You should have killed him outright, if you ask me.’ Hala’s eyes were far away, but I knew she was talking to me.
‘No one did ask you,’ I retorted. All I could think of was the fear in Mahdi’s eyes as he held Delila, shaking. Reasoning with me for Sayyida’s life because he was too proud to beg. ‘You trying to tell me you wouldn’t have done the same if Imin was the one dying in that tent?’
‘No.’ Hala’s voice was low, in that threatening way she got sometimes when it came to her sibling. ‘I’m trying to tell you that it just as easily could have been Imin. Or you, or me, or the twins. Every single one of us risks our life every day for selfish people like him and this is how they repay us.’ Selfish was what this desert did best. I knew that better than anyone.
‘Love makes people selfish,’ Jin said, so softly I almost believed I wasn’t meant to have heard it. A sudden hot, angry rush rose up in me. But before I could snap anything back, Hala spoke up again.
‘I don’t believe half of what’s been done to me was for love. Unless you want to count love of money.’ Hala raised her left hand into the light pointedly, with its missing two fingers. ‘Why should the rest of us suffer just because Amani seems to get to pick and choose who gets to live based on how she feels that day?’
‘Hala, that’s enough,’ Shazad warned.
But Hala ignored her. ‘You seem exceptionally good at putting the rest of us in danger. Today it’s Mahdi. Last time you seemed to think your brother’s life was worth more than everyone else’s in this desert. How long before another burned-out crater appears where a city used to be? Or he finds us and turns another one of us to dust like Bahi? Or maybe someone will manage to hunt him down like they did Imin and they’ll take his eyes and he can die slowly when you could have given him mercy.’
I went at her like a bullet from a gun.
Shazad was between us in a second. Before I could get to Hala, before Hala could conjure some horror in my mind in retaliation.
‘I said, that’s enough.’ She held me back, arms on my shoulders, bracing me as Hala sneered at me over her shoulder. I strained against her, but familiar hands grabbed me, dragging me back away from the fight. Jin. I didn’t bother to fight as he pulled me against him easily. The familiar heat of his body as my back met his chest.
‘Stop. You know you don’t really want to fight her, Amani.’ He spoke in my ear, low enough so that I was the only one who heard him. So that his breath stirred the hair at the nape of my neck. Everything in me wanted to lean back into him, feel his heartbeat against my spine, and relax back into his presence. But I stilled before I could, forcing myself to pull away from him. To put air between us.
‘Let me go.’ His grip loosened as he felt my body lock up below his touch. I shook him off and his hands dropped away. I could still feel the heat of his palms lingering on my upper arms. Like burn marks. Except Demdji weren’t supposed to burn so easily.