Page 3 of Daughter of the Dark Sun
A knock at the door to Apattar’s chambers startled her out of the shared moment of fleeting happiness. Apattar groaned, grinding her molars together as her seemingly ever-present anxiety returned.
“Come in,” she said in an automatic reply.
The door slid open without a sound, slow and smooth over the uneven stone floor. Apattar looked up, but no one stood at the entrance. She blinked, opening her eyes to the same empty threshold. As if by some trick of the light, a tall, thin shadow took form, growing into the silhouette of a woman with her hair tucked into a high bun.
Apattar’s heart took off, racing in her chest, trying to escape and run. She wanted to look away but couldn’t, watching as dull brown eyes formed in the shadowy face. They stared back, piercing deep through her mind and into memories she tried desperately to lose to the void.
A woman’s shrill voice shrieked in Apattar’s ear, incomprehensible, but enough to send a shiver of cold fear down her spine. Sharp nails seemed to claw at her scalp, rending flesh from bone, hot blood sliding down her forehead. Apattar tried to scream. Bloodshot, lifeless eyes loomed large in front of her,the shadows melting to reveal a thin and angular face with light brown skin stretched over high cheekbones. The mouth opened, a gaping maw of eternal nothingness. A voice slithered out of it, the whisper worming into Apattar’s ears.
“You… killer, murderer. Forsaken… the void calls, yearning. You did this to me… you…”
“No! No, I didn’t me—”
“Who are you talking to, my lady?” Saiya touched Apattar on the arm, wrenching her focus away from the black shade of her past.
“Th-the knock. I… I thought I heard a knock.” Apattar turned around to a blank space. She glanced back to the door, but it stood closed, the room empty except for the two of them. “Something else, it seems. I… sorry.”
Apattar kept staring at the door, waiting for it to fly open at any moment.
All warmth left theroom with Saiya’s departure not long after the strange apparition appeared. The next three hours crawled by, only broken up by the arrival of one of the estate cats. Her father brought them in as mousers, but they found equal use as companions.
Apattar curled up on the balcony overlooking her mother’s gardens, idly petting the furry visitor. She stared at the white Wall and its crimson-red twin towers, forever watching to keep the Named Houses separate from the impure masses. Apattar could only imagine life past the Wall and off the Blessed Path. She observed the remnants of the day when all slept and theprisoner broke free, bounding across the lake bridge to the world beyond. But she missed the people, the din of conversation and laughter. Though millions lived in Av Madhira, they only existed as blurry figures in the distance.
Sometime in the early afternoon, Apattar heard another knock at her door. The cat curled on her lap sprang up in alarm, darting through the balcony railings to safety. She wished to go with it, petrified of who waited on the other side. Either her father or some delusion of her mind, conjured from guilt she refused to acknowledge.
Apattar’s lungs tightened, her throat seizing as thoughts spiraled. Eyes, bloodshot and milky with death. The garbled pleas for mercy—how pathetic they sounded. How much she relished the feeling, watching life drain away into the black embrace of shadows.
Monster! She was a monster, a killer, a sc—
“My lady? Are you awake?” The raspy voice of Saiya halted the downward spiral of guilt and self-hatred, a ray of light banishing the encroaching void. She knocked again, this time quieter.
Apattar cleared her throat before yelling out, “On the balcony!”
Their allotted time together ended, and dusk was still hours off—though her father always oversaw her march to the dungeons personally. What on earth did Saiya want?
The door slid open, catching on the broken stone tiles. Saiya walked in, clutching a small bag in her hands, now wearing faded blue pants and a loose cream-colored tunic covered in stains. She hurried over, dipping her head before speaking.
“Come with me, my lady. I have a surprise for you, but I must bring you there.” Saiya’s eyes twinkled as she spoke.
“Wh— a surprise? Does my father know about this?”
“Of course not!” Saiya snorted in reply. “But as you said, I am your friend. And as a friend, I would be bereft to not share my talents.”
Apattar never knew this side of Saiya existed—confident and bold. She tried to discern some hidden meaning from those colorful hazel eyes.
“Your talents? I’m not the only one with secrets, it seems. So tell me, what does the handmaiden Saiya have to offer?” Apattar chuckled as she spoke, enjoying the playfulness, even if it bewildered her.
“Do you have any idea how a surprise works,neha? I know you live in isolation, but surely they have those in your books.”
Ignoring the jibe, Apattar stood, indicating for Saiya to lead the way. She unlocked the door at the far end of the balcony with a key drawn from under the folds of her veil, a sly smile forming as she worked. Apattar already had a dozen questions, but curiosity kept her mouth closed.
The two women walked through the back gardens, away from any exit out of the estate. The sun began its long descent into the west, the heat rising to a swelter as the day dragged on. A stale silence blanketed the overgrown gardens, as wild and free as the heart of their mistress, the Lady Nessaeren. Creeping vines and fountains of bright blooms fought for space amidst the tall grasses towering above the women.
“Where are you taking me?” Apattar piped up after walking for a few minutes through the winding paths.
“Shh, you’ll see,” Saiya replied.
Knotted roots and fallen debris cluttered the path ahead. A chill ran up Apattar’s spine as she recognized the familiar surroundings. There were no exits from the back wall. None… except the crack in the red clay that offered a nightly flight for the black dove. Her secret. What did Saiya know? Before panic rose from the knot of dread forming in her stomach, Saiyastopped abruptly and bent down near a collapsed stone bench, almost tripping Apattar.
