The Hour of the Crow

Chapter 12: Betrayal of Blood

Inna's heart froze over, her blood reduced to a river of ice crystals cutting into every part of her body. She felt the echo of her father's pronouncement like a noose tied around her neck. "Treason?" she whispered, hurt lacing every syllable.

The Shah raised his chin, not once breaking her gaze. Inna watched him and wondered who this man was. It was definitely not her father. Her father wasn't the type of person that made other people tremble out of fear.

"You have always been my favorite, Serafina," he confessed, his tone soft and disappointed. Wholly fictitious, of course, words woven together by lies.

This is not going to end well, she thought, and she took another step closer to Arran. For protection, although she hadn't figured out yet who should be protecting whom.

"Haven't I always been good, baba?" she asked, putting on her mask of total innocence.

The Shah barked a dark laugh and gestured at the Sphere of Truths, buried in her arms. "Then what are you doing playing around with that, whereas I told you not to touch it again?"

At that point, Rabyatt finally decided to step in. "Your Majesty," he began, laying a hand on his heart as though he was swearing an oath of truth. "This is my fault. I didn't know you had prohibited the princess from using the Sphere. Not to question your motives, sire, but I wonder why."

The Shah narrowed his eyes. "Stay out of this, prince. The Sphere is mine now. My daughter is trying to steal it from me, so she brought this upon herself. You'd do well not to meddle in the Palace's affairs."

"Well, since the princess has yet to accept my marriage proposal, the Sphere still belongs to me—"

"Do you hope to share a cell in the dungeons with her, Rabyatt?" the Shah growled. Rabyatt kept his mouth shut, his ruby eyes wide with surprise. "That's what I thought."

Inna swallowed as her father turned his attention back to her. A sharp gleam had appeared in his eyes, the sign of lingering madness on the verge of breaking through.

"Please, baba," she pleaded, desperate. "I'm not trying to steal anything. Don't you see it's the Sphere driving you mad? It has you wrapped up in its power."

"SILENCE," he bellowed. Inna swore even the songbirds outside had gone silent. When he continued, his voice was quiet and low with a thinly-veiled threat. "Guards, take the princess to the dungeons below the palace. Her and that scoundrel behind her."

Inna gasped and backed away until her back was pressed against Arran. His hands gripped her waist, probably in a reflex, and she could feel his chest heaving with quick, shallow breaths. "No! He didn't do anything!"

"He has trespassed on the palace's grounds," the Shah stated, face devoid of emotion. "No self-respecting noble would grow their hair like that. I have never interfered with your choice of bed partners, Serafina, but I cannot open my doors to the scum of Primsharah. No matter how many fine clothes you dress them in."

Arran's fingers dug into her sides. An apology already bubbled up in her throat, but she was cut off by a pair of strong hands grabbing her wrists and forcing her arms behind her back. "Get your hands off me, you bastard!" she yelled. She thrashed and kicked and managed to wrench one hand free, yet the guards' grip was unrelenting. Rabyatt tried to come to her aid—tried, because one of the guards pointed the tip of his sword at the prince's throat, rendering him helpless. Zazi shot up from the bed, her long body taut like a spear, and sank her teeth into a guard's leg. The man howled with pain as the snake's venom leaked into his veins. Several guards lashed out at her with their swords, but she dodged them all and slithered back under the bed, out of their reach.