Page 137 of Crown of Storm and Silence
"That's her real voice," I whisper, recognizing the genuine distress. "She's really here somewhere."
"Or it's another illusion," Elcin warns, but she's already moving toward the sound, keeping me behind her.
We follow the crying through a narrow passage that opens into another cell block, older and darker than the first. There, in the furthest cell, is Banu—chained to the wall, her face streaked with real tears this time.
"Don't come closer!" she cries when she sees us. "It's a trap! They're using me as bait!"
But even as she warns us, I can see the blood on her wrists where she's been fighting against the chains, the exhaustion in her eyes.
"We can't leave her," I tell Elcin.
"I know," Elcin sighs, checking every corner before approaching. "But stay behind me."
This time when my golden light dissolves the chains, Banu collapses forward, solid and real in my arms.
"Are you hurt?" I ask, supporting her weight as she trembles against me.
"Just scared," she whispers, clinging to me. "So scared. The things they said they would do—" Her voice breaks, and she buries her face against my shoulder.
"It's alright now," I soothe, rubbing her back. "You're safe. We've got you."
Elcin approaches, her expression softer now. "Can you walk? We should get you to the healers, make sure you're not injured."
"I think so," Banu says, pulling back slightly to wipe her tears. "Just... dizzy. Everything feels strange." She sways on her feet, and I steady her.
"There's a bench here," Elcin notes, gesturing to an old stone seat against the cell wall. "Let her sit for a moment, catch her breath before we climb all those stairs."
I guide Banu to the bench, my arm around her waist as she leans heavily against me. "Here, sit down. Take your time."
As I'm helping her settle onto the bench, she suddenly pulls me into a fierce embrace, her arms wrapping around me with surprising strength.
"Thank you," she whispers against my ear, her voice strange—layered somehow. "I'm so sorry."
"Sorry for wh?—"
The blade slides into my belly in one smooth motion, aimed precisely at where my child grows, so fast and unexpected that for a moment I don't even understand what's happened. It's only when I feel the cold spreading from my womb, see Elcin's face transform from concern to horror, that I realize.
"I'm sorry," Banu whispers, still holding me close as if in comfort even as the blade twists deeper into my stomach. "I'm so sorry. Forgive me. Please forgive me."
"NO!" Elcin roars, ripping Banu away from me, her sword already drawn. But Banu—or whatever is wearing her face—dissolves into smoke and shadow, vanishing before Elcin's blade can find her.
I collapse against the stone bench, my hands instinctively flying to my stomach where the blade entered. Blood—warm and thick—seeps between my fingers, but that's not what terrifies me. It's the stillness where there should be movement. Theflutter of life that's been my constant companion for months has gone quiet.
"No, no, no," I whisper, pressing harder against the wound as if I could hold my child inside through sheer will. "Please, baby, please move. Please."
Elcin is already at my side, her hands glowing with golden light as she presses them against my belly. I can see her lips moving in desperate prayer, feel the heat of her magic trying to knit flesh back together, but the cold is spreading faster than she can heal.
"Don't you dare die," she snarls, but her voice cracks on the last word. "Don't you fucking dare. GUARDS! HEALERS! NOW!"
Through our bond, I feel Kaan's sudden alarm as my pain crashes across the distance between us. His rage ignites like a supernova, shaking the very foundations of reality. I can feel him racing back, shadows tearing through space itself in his desperation to reach me, but he's so far away. Too far.
Kaan,I send with failing strength.Not her fault—real Banu trapped—nest of stars?—
But what I really want to say is:Our baby isn't moving.
"The baby," I gasp out loud, my voice barely a whisper as blood bubbles up in my throat. "I can't—I can't feel?—"
"Shh," Elcin says fiercely, tears streaming down her face as she pours more power into her healing. "Don't talk. Save your strength."
