Gifting Fire by Alina Boyden (read my book .TXT) 📕

entrance, I noted that he was followed closely by four Mahisagari men wearing flying goggles on their heads, and not one of them was Ahmed Shah. I recognized Jamshid, the man who usually flew on Karim’s wing, but the other three were completely new to me, which was strange, as I’d met all of Mahisagar’s zahhak riders not two weeks before. Where had they suddenly come by three more trained fliers? Could it be that Mahisagar had more zahhaks than I’d realized?

The thought chilled me. If Karim had more than five zahhaks to draw upon, then his father might well be ensconced in Kadiro with God only knew how many animals. Had they made an alliance with Virajendra against us? That might explain why my father was here, why he hadn’t killed Karim. But I couldn’t quite work out why Virajendra would favor Mahisagar with an alliance when they had long been rivals. Something wasn’t adding up.

But whatever the case, if Ahmed Shah was still in Kadiro with his army, then that complicated matters. Killing Karim here wouldn’t end the war, though it might serve to weaken the Mahisagari position. But while Karim was many things, stupid wasn’t one of them. He wouldn’t have come here like this if he’d thought I would kill him. He must have had some trick up his sleeve to preserve his life.

Sikander and my father came into the courtyard behind Karim, along with eight thunder zahhaks ridden by my father’s men, and nearly two hundred Nizami guardsmen. Sikander must have realized that I would bring my loyal men to this meeting, and now he had evened the odds—maybe more than evened them, with the presence of those thunder zahhaks.

“What is this, your highness?” Hina demanded from her place beside me on the dais.

“I don’t know,” I told her, so earnestly that she couldn’t help but believe me. “But we’ll sort it out with words if we can. Fighting is a last resort—they have us outnumbered. So keep the weapons down for now.”

“For now,” Hina ground out through clenched teeth, but her fist was bunched tightly around the long hilt of her bhuj ax, and I knew that she was aching to drive the blade through Karim’s skull for what he’d done to her brother. I couldn’t blame her. Every time I saw Karim, I wanted to stick something sharp right between his eyes too.

Karim reached the baradari and showed not the least hesitation in entering it, still smirking insufferably, still standing straight and tall, his hand resting lightly on the hilt of his firangi, all in spite of the presence of Hina’s enraged celas, and the murderous looks of the Zindhi soldiers who flanked the building. He began a grandiose bow, but paused halfway through it as his eyes landed on Hina.

“So this is where you ran off to?” He grinned. “I should have considered that.”

“You should have considered many things before you attacked my province and killed one of my allies,” I replied, not wanting to let Hina and Karim get into a shouting match.

He shrugged, the smile remaining on his face. “You have to admit the timing was perfect.”

“It was,” I agreed, before Hina could blow her top. “But now you’ve made the fatal misstep of appearing here, and unless my father gives me a very good reason to the contrary, I’m going to have you executed for your unprovoked attack on my subah, and for the cold-blooded murder of Ali Talpur, one of my subjects.”

Karim didn’t look the least bit frightened. He said, “Where I come from, it’s frowned upon for a girl to execute her own fiancé.”

“My what?” The words tumbled from my mouth unbidden, as I struggled to comprehend what I’d heard. My fiancé? Karim Shah? The thought of it made my skin crawl and my stomach knot. It was the most preposterous, idiotic . . . brilliant thing I’d ever heard in my life. Of course. That was why my father hadn’t killed him. Karim had offered him a marriage alliance, and in return, Mahisagar would keep Zindh safe and a part of the empire. It would be a dowry of sorts. And my father wouldn’t have been able to resist such an offer, not when it neatly settled all of his problems. Zindh would be protected, a man with military experience and a reputation as a prince’s prince would be left in charge, trade with Mahisagar would be enhanced, the port would be secure, and with Mahisagar’s soldiers to draw upon, the revolts could be put down in short order.

And if my father had agreed to it, then he would do everything he could to enforce it. That was the reason for the thunder zahhaks still swirling overhead, for the eight of them standing in a line across from my throne, for the hundreds of soldiers pouring into the courtyard at Sikander’s command.

“This is a sick joke,” Arjun growled.

“Oh, it’s no joke, Arjun,” Karim replied, his smirk widening.

“Your highness, give the word, and we’ll shoot him dead,” Hina told me, her hazel eyes narrowed as she glared daggers at Karim.

“As will my men,” Arjun agreed.

“You will do no such thing.” That was my father speaking. He was backed by hundreds of bodyguards, all armed with toradars, all wearing armor and carrying swords, with Sikander himself leading them, to say nothing of the zahhaks. One look at Sikander’s face told me that if he had to, he would give the order to kill me to protect my father.

“Give me one good reason why they shouldn’t, Father,” I demanded. “If your plan is truly to marry me off to Karim Shah, then why should I not tell my men to open fire and let fate decide which of us lives and which of us dies?”

“You would do that with your precious baby sister caught in the cross fire?” Karim taunted, clucking his tongue with disapproval. “What happened to those maternal instincts of yours, Razia?”

He was right, God damn him. Sakshi and Lakshmi