Seven

My feet slapped lightly against the cool stone as I walked down the hall, keeping to the shadows along the edge. Every room I passed was an empty husk and I didn't see a sign of any other guards.

I walked toward the faint light emanating from the end. That was the only indication anyone was in the building other than me, which meant it must be where Noor was kept.

A small voice in my head repeated that I was a fool for going back for her and not escaping when I could.

But the other part of me, the part that kept my feet moving and my heart racing, knew that if I didn't go back for Noor, if I didn't try to rescue her too, I'd feel as if I never left the prison. That sick feeling was gnawing at my gut, spreading its black roots, and I knew exactly what it was.

Guilt.

I wouldn't be free of it if I just left her here to die. And what was freedom worth if I still felt imprisoned?

I crept closer, listening for any sign of life other than the dim flickering light. It wasn't until I got to the door that I heard a soft whisper and hope rose in my chest.

Noor.

Noor was alive. Noor was talking .

But I held back, because she certainly wasn't talking to herself.

"I told you, I don't know anything about it."

"You're lying." Another voice, just as soft, but utterly deadly, and my stomach dropped at hearing it.

Thohfsa.

"I didn't send for that djinn healer just so you could keep lying to me. You're finally going to tell me where Souma's treasure is, and you're going to do it tonight."

All the elation I felt was gone. If Thohfsa was there, guards would be as well. I leaned forward, daring a glance inside.

Noor lay in a narrow bed, wearing a pale cotton kurta with a sheet thrown over her. Her skin was leached of color, but her light eyes were alert.

Thohfsa stood at the foot of her bed, her arms crossed and a familiar scowl on her face.

"Do you hear me? I won't give you another chance, girl. You've had too long as it is. I've given you privileges, I've given you time. And now I'm going to give you more pain than you ever thought possible unless you start telling me where it is."

My nails bit into the flesh of my palm at Thohfsa's threats. I had heard them many times before, but none quite so vehement.

The room was no bigger than Noor's cell, but with more windows, and Thohfsa and Noor were completely alone. I crept closer, still cloaked in the darkness of the doorway. If there were no guards, then Thohfsa had made a fatal mistake, one that I wouldn't hesitate to take advantage of.

But why would she come here without protection? Even if Noor were incapacitated, Thohfsa never went anywhere without her guards.

You're finally going to tell me where Souma's treasure is.

I sucked in a soft breath. Of course. Thohfsa didn't want anyone around if she was going to get answers. She wanted to be the one to find it. And she didn't want to share.

But if she was alone, even without weapons, then I could fight her.

My fingers tightened around the branch in my hands, ready to display how well they could best her.

"Where is it?" Thohfsa growled, moving closer to Noor. She gripped the short sword at her waist, and I knew from the way she handled the hilt that she hadn't grown up with a sword in her hand as I did. She had training, yes, but the memory of a blade was imprinted on my fingers. My sword was an extension of who I was.

And my hands itched to get one back.

I pushed forward, all secrecy and subterfuge gone. A faint roar sounded in my ears.

"She already told you," I said, my voice carrying across the room. "She doesn't know where it is. So why don't you leave her alone and contend with someone who isn't lying prone on a bed."

Noor let out a surprised gasp and sat up. Thohfsa's eyes bulged, and a satisfying look of shock crossed her features. After months of her abuse, my skin buzzed with the anticipation of returning the favor. Sweat coated my palms as I held my tree branch tighter. I took another step into the room.

I had seconds to get this right before she raised the alarm.

I rushed at her, pulling my arms back and slamming the branch into her gut. Thohfsa jerked from the impact and let out a stuttered wheeze.

Draw your sword, draw your sword.

As if she could hear my thoughts, she pulled her short sword free of the leather scabbard at her waist. Cool calm washed over me as I set my shoulders and prepared to fight.

Thohfsa gave a cruel smile, stretching the thin skin across her face, looking like a macabre skeleton in the flickering torchlight. "I've tortured you more times than you can count and you keep coming back for more. I'm starting to think you like punishment."

I kept my concentration as I moved closer to Noor's bed. "You okay, Noor?" I asked, glancing over at her, trying to keep my voice level.

"Been better," she drawled as Thohfsa lunged at me again.

"That's debatable," I said, half out of breath as I pivoted away from the attack, "when you are lying in a warm bed, and I'm fighting off Thohfsa with a stick."

Thohfsa looked from me to Noor and back again, her round eyes narrowing. "How do you two know each other?"

I arched a brow. "I thought you knew everything that happened within your prison walls, warden?"

Thohfsa growled at the back of her throat, then raced forward, her blade high in the air. I raised my tree branch to meet it, praying the wood was fat enough, or Thohfsa's blade was dull enough, that it wouldn't cut it in half. As Thohfsa brought the blade down, Noor shouted my name, but I couldn't afford to break concentration. Thohfsa's sword struck my weapon, landed squarely in the middle.

And got stuck.

I wanted to scream in triumph. Instead, I slid my hand down the blade, grasped the hilt of her sword, and slammed it backward into her cheek.

Thohfsa stumbled back into Noor's bed, losing her balance, and I wrenched the sword from her, spinning it around with the tip of the blade aimed directly at her.

Thohfsa let out a frustrated cry as she stared down the sharp end of her own weapon. A glimmer of panic fluttered behind the harsh grooves of her face, and I tasted success on my tongue.

"You didn't do your research, Thohfsa," I said as I gave her the same slow smile she always bestowed on me. "You decided to engage in a sword fight with the daughter of the emperor's sword maker. I can best you even without a blade."

"You don't want to kill me," she stuttered back. "I can set you free. Let me go and I'll ensure your release."

"Are you trying to bargain with me? After everything you've done?" I looked her up and down, my expression grim. "I'm not in a negotiating mood." I advanced on her, the memory of every beating she'd given me fresh on my skin, the sound of every snap of the whip as it cracked against the back of my thighs echoing in my head.

"Dania." Noor's quiet voice cut through my fog of rage. Noor had shuffled to the edge of the bed and tentatively placed a toe on the floor. She braced herself against the mattress as she stood on her feet, and I released a slow breath as she walked toward me.

"Knock her out, you don't need to kill her."

"Are you joking?" I scowled, nearly baring my teeth. "I don't need to kill her? She's tortured us both for years ."

"Listen to her!" Thohfsa's eager voice cut between us like a rough axe. "You'll have a better chance at freedom if I'm alive, I'll help you!"

I gave her a flat smile. "Noor doesn't know you like I do, warden. We won't live while you live."

Thohfsa licked the front of her teeth, that calculating gleam returning to her face. I angled my head, but before I could react, she opened her mouth and let out a loud scream.

I didn't second-guess it, not even when Noor grabbed my arm, nor when she called my name again.

I charged forward and plunged my sword into Thohfsa's stomach with a sick lurch.

A gasp escaped me—I had forgotten what it was to pierce a body with a blade, to feel the resistance of skin against steel and the rush of nausea in my throat when it finally gave way.

My sword cut her off mid-scream and we both stood staring at each other for a moment, slack-jawed.

Thick streams of crimson gushed down my blade. I closed my eyes briefly and all that rage and hatred was silent.

For a moment, it was peaceful.

Thohfsa had met her end, and it had been everything I had promised every time she'd laid a hand on me. I wrenched my sword free, the blood pooling as Thohfsa's body slumped to the ground.

I glanced over my shoulder at Noor. "You don't get to decide my retribution."

She nodded tightly, her eyes wide.

Wiping the blade clean on Noor's bedsheet, I tried to steady my erratic breathing.

It had been a long while since I'd killed someone with a blade, but dwelling on it now could cost us our lives. A mask of focused composure dropped over me, and I instinctively rolled the short sword in my hand, testing its weight, introducing myself to the new weapon. I exhaled a steadying breath.

"We have to move now. Thohsfa made enough noise to have the guards running over here. If we don't get out now, we never will."

Noor's unreadable gaze slid to Thohfsa's still-twitching body. She chewed on her bottom lip, looking as if she wanted to scold me but thought better of it. Instead she said, "Do you have a plan?"

I smiled at her, an echo of Thohfsa's earlier one. "No, but I have a sword."