Heart Asunder (Dear Dahlia Season 2)

Chapter 18

Wadi stared up at the ceiling. Then, she said into the silence, "what if they never left Ravka?"

Beside her, Rahim winced. "We didn't think of that, did we?"
"No," Wadi sighed. She turned to face her husband and began to play with his hair. "We didn't."

It was early when they wandered onto the streets, hoping to find that mosque near the lantern seller's stall. Soon enough, they found it. Wadi stared up at the majestic building. It was nothing like the local one they lived near. Here, the domed ceilings were admired, not scorned.

They approached the imam who would lead Dhuhr service. He shook Rahim's hand, but not Wadi's. Wadi expected it, but it still hurt. The imam bowed his head.
"You will not be attending?"
"Not this time, no," Wadi answered before the imam could talk again. He looked at her, as if surprised she could speak. She wasn't surprised; most imams were usually like that. She still remembered the time she'd first brought Dahlia to the mosque, when she was five. Instead of following Saida's lead and smiling at the local imam, Dahlia had stared unblinkingly at him for quite a few moments. He'd been wary of her from then on. Wadi smiled at the memory as she and Rahim walked back to the hotel.

Once the two had packed their bags and boarded a ship set for West Ravka, a silence descended onto them. Wadi wasn't surprised - the thought of having to go through the Fold was enough to dampen anyone's spirits.

"Are you alright?" Wadi asked Rahim quietly.
"I should've told you that hiding it was stupid," he muttered.
"And if we hadn't lost her trust?"
"I still would've been guilty of it." Rahim fidgeted with his fingers for a bit, then sighed and dropped his hands.
"As would I," Wadi murmured her agreement.

The ship took a shortcut, and in five days, they were near the Fold. Wadi and Rahim stepped off of the ship. Quite a few people glanced at the parents when they saw them walk towards the Fold, rather than away from it. They stole and boarded a skiff prototype, not even near finished. No one had really gone in since the Fold began expanding, but Wadi knew she and Rahim had to try. She grabbed the steering wheel. This skiff was much smaller than the ones she'd usually seen, hence the wheel at the front. Hopefully, this would get them across easier.

"Ready?" she asked. Behind her, there were shouts of alarm. Drat, she thought. The First Army would kill her if she stopped now, so she added, "actually, don't answer that."
"Hey! HEY!" A soldier yelled, but Wadi drove the ship forward, and she and Rahim plunged into the darkness.

Beside Wadi, Rahim let out a shaky breath. He lit the Eid lantern.

"Okay," Wadi said quietly, her voice shaky. "Okay."

The volcra came almost immediately. Wadi summoned her power and shot it at one of the monsters. It went down.
"We should've gotten back up," Rahim muttered.
"What, Ravkans? They'd kill us before we'd even board," Wadi replied breathlessly. She saw Rahim raise the lantern, and another volcra screeched in pain. Wadi aimed and blasted her fire at the attacker. It screamed and crashed to the ground.
"Wadi!" Rahim cried. Wadi spun around just in time for another volcra to sink its claws into her shoulder. She screamed, trying to summon her power. Rahim darted forward, and Wadi watched with wide eyes as he did something to the volcra. She realised part of its insides had been twisted. The volcra let out an inhuman noise and fell.
"Are you alright?"
"I will be. We're halfway through," she gasped.

The volcra were descending onto them from all sides now. Wadi and Rahim went back to back. Under her breath, Wadi began to pray. She tore off a piece of her jacket and tied it around the wound. It would have to do for now.

She summoned her fire. She remembered what Naima had told her: you cannot create something and make it breathe. Now, as she moved her hand in a wide arc, Wadi wanted to laugh. How wrong her mother had been. How narrow-minded. She couldn't create the elements; no one could. But she could master it, and as she lit up the Fold with her flame, a small part of her said she could win this. She hoped she would. And if she didn't...well, that was what parents were for, wasn't it? To live for themselves and their children, and to die trying to give them a better world.

The blood soaked her coat. Wadi swayed. She and Rahim were, miraculously, three quarters of the way through the Fold. But Wadi supposed those prayers had helped. Suddenly, she fell to the ground, and her fire vanished.

"WADI!" Rahim screamed, kneeling down beside her. Wadi reached up and cupped his cheek in her hand. Above, the volcra screeched in victory, swooping down on them.

"I need to get back u-" she started, but Rahim shushed her.
"It's okay," he said quietly. A volcra tried to grab him, but Rahim slammed his elbow into its face, sending it tumbling. Wadi's eyes widened as she saw him focus not on the monsters, but on the skiff they currently occupied.
"Can you still summon?" he whispered.
Wadi nodded. She did.

It all happened in a few seconds. Rahim twisted the wood the tiniest bit, and then said, "set it alight."
"What?" Wadi whispered, horrified.
"Set it on fire."
"Rahim-"
"Please."

Wadi took a deep breath, and with great effort, shot out her arm and blasted the side of the skiff.

There. It wasn't light, but the volcra screeched anyway and retreated.

The fire quickly caught. Rahim put his hands out, and closed his eyes.
Wadi started, "what are you-"

The sand beneath the skiff shifted. Wadi's eyes widened.
"It's all soil, really," Rahim whispered. "Like our orchard." He pushed harder, and the sand shifted again. They were moving forward, faster than ever. Flames licked the skiff's wood, approaching Wadi and Rahim. She tried to move. Rahim shifted his focus and helped Wadi lean against the door leading to the cabin before continuing to force the sand forward.

Suddenly, bright light dazzled Wadi, and she realised they'd made it out of the Fold. The burning, unfinished prototype skid to a stop.

"Ready?" Rahim asked.
"What?" Wadi asked, shocked. Her husband pulled his coat around him and put both their hoods up. He grabbed her waist. "Jump."

They dove into the fire. Wadi screamed. In that split second, she understood Naima: her terror, her refusal to understand her power. But then it was replaced with adrenaline as she and Rahim dove off the burning skiff and landed unceremoniously on the ground.

"Let's get you a healer," he started, but Wadi shook her head as a familiar figure came into view. Rahim froze. General Kirigan watched them calmly, his eyes roving over their sorry appearances.

"You survived," he stated. "Your God will kill you for defying His will."

Wadi stepped forward, wanting to laugh, but then groaned and fell to her knees.
"Wadi," Rahim gasped.
"I will give you two choices. Come with me and join my army. Or die."

He summoned a blade out of darkness. The Cut. Wait. Could Wadi do that? She tried to use her good arm, but Rahim shook his head. Kirigan raised his hand. Wadi felt one of Rahim's arms circle her waist. She kept her eyes trained on the man who had hurt her eldest, and was ready to accept her demise when she saw Rahim's hand twist.

Kirigan worked fast, but Rahim worked faster. The next moment, Wadi saw the shadow summoner collapse to his knees, yelling in pain. Monsters made of solely shadow manifested. Rahim's eyes widened. He picked Wadi up into his arms and darted forward. So did the monsters. Rahim just managed to escape, but the nichevo'ya swiped his arm. Wadi saw him grimace at the scratch, but kept his pace as he rushed away from Kirigan.

"Where are we going?" Wadi asked, fighting a losing battle against unconsciousness.
"To a healer," Rahim answered desperately, even as he started to climb an unfamiliar flight of stairs.

Wadi's eyes finally shut, and the world fell away.