Page 136 of The Jasad Crown

I licked suddenly dry lips. I had too many secrets to have a lahwa around. How many other times had she used her magic on me?

“I never use my magic unless I am under strict orders.”

I glanced at Maia sharply. Had she read my thoughts or just my face?

The girl’s gently resigned sorrow almost did away with my repulsion. Almost. But her type of power had been reviled even before the other kingdoms lost their magic.

“Fine.” Sorn sounded like he’d ingested a hive of wasps. “Do it. But if you hurt her—”

“I will do the Champion no harm.”

Maia took Lateef’s place by the bed. Her uncertainty disappeared, and the delicate finger she placed between Diya’s brows remained steady. She was confident with her magic, I realized. Assured.

Maia’s gaze tunneled, going distant as gold and silver swirled in her eyes. Sorn blinked at the sight, thrown, and I wondered when he had last seen Jasadi magic on full display.

“She is alone in a cemetery,” Maia murmured. “Carving a name into a wooden headstone. L. U. B. N. A.”

“Lubna,” Sorn said, hoarse. “Her little sister. Awaleen below, you’re in her head.”

Suddenly, Maia winced. “She is murdering her parents. Quite enthusiastically.”

Sorn grinned. “That’s my girl.”

“She cut them into pieces for selling her sister to the khawaga,” I explained to Namsa. The older woman watched Maia with concern.

“She is set to be hanged. A rope is being put around her neck and tightened.” The colors in Maia’s blank eyes swirled faster. “The Orban Heir is ascending the hangman’s platform.”

“She slaughtered several of my khawaga before they caught her,” Sorn said proudly. “The audience for her execution was substantial, so my father ordered me to see the task done right. But I hadn’texpected a woman the size of a thimble to have felled some of my best men. Something about her… the wrath in her eyes… I respected it. I understood it.”

“The Orban Heir orders the rope removed. ‘There will be no hanging today.’ The crowd is in an uproar.” Maia tilted her head. “She keeps replaying this moment. The rope loosening. The Heir reaching for her arm. The crowd shouting. Over and over.”

Maia jolted. “Sweet Sirauk, she’s looking right at me.”

“Who are you?”

We all jumped at the growled words. They had come from Diya, though her body remained unmoving and her eyes closed.

“Your Heir sent me to heal you. A poisoned elixir twisted your mind into itself. It appears it forced you to relive your worst moments on repeat.”

“These aren’t my worst moments.”Again, her lips moved while the rest of her remained still.

“I see.” Maia’s brows furrowed. Reassessing the scene. “Ah.” Maia shifted uncomfortably. “She felt an intense animosity for the Heir on the platform. She plotted to kill him as soon as they left.”

Sorn continued to grin like a lunatic.

“But he was… charming. Understanding. He sentenced the khawaga who killed her sister to death and pestered his father into changing the law so a guardian responsible for selling off a child would face the Garha.”

The Garha? I racked my memory for the term. Sorn spared me the effort. “Butcher shop for those accused of treason. We skin them alive and send the hides back to their families. Then they’re dismembered and hung on hooks through the main road. The dogs eat the parts they can reach, and the rest rots in the sun.”

Arin’s wry voice.You should see what Orban does to traitors.

Maia continued, unaware of our conversation. “He makes her feel capable. Strong. She trains with his khawaga and bests them all. Hegives her a place in the palace. But his attentions are always friendly. Like a ‘proud owner of a prize warhorse,’” Maia recited. “She wonders why his attraction encompasses so many women, but not her.”

Sorn flinched as if struck. “What?”

“But she is lowborn, and the hardships of her life have eroded any beauty she may have possessed. She determines her feelings for the Heir are best kept private, where they will not embarrass or burden him.”

“That’s—why didn’t shesay—” Sorn spluttered.

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