The Sultan and the Storyteller by Lichelle Slater
Eighteen
“What do you want?” Zayne grumbled as soon as I walked into our room. He was pouring a glass of wine, looking out the window, and the room was in complete disarray. One of our pillows had been thrown against the wall and plumes of feathers rested haphazardly on the floor. A wine glass lay shattered beneath the window.
Zayne didn’t look any better. His hair had been pulled out from its ponytail and the buttons from his vest had been torn off. He turned and scowled at the door with bloodshot, red-rimmed eyes.
“What do you . . . Shahira.” His eyes widened and he set both the glass and wine back on the table, then ran his hands over his messy hair in a weak attempt to smooth it. “I thought—”
I raised my hand, cutting him off, then closed the door behind me.
Zayne shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other and looked at the floor like a child caught doing something he shouldn’t have.
“You’ve been drinking a lot. Your eyes are bloodshot.”
He glanced over at the bottle. “I hoped if I were drunk enough it might not hurt so much knowing you’d gone.” He turned his pained gaze back to me. “I am so sorry. I don’t know what came over me. It was like this . . . shadow. This . . .” He clenched his teeth and pressed his fists into his eyes. “I don’t want to be like this!”
I carefully approached him and slid my arms around his waist. When he didn’t pull away, I pressed my cheek to his chest and held him tightly.
The tension in his body melted beneath my touch and he draped his arms around me. “Why did you bother coming back? Why didn’t you run from me forever?”
“Because I love you, Zayne.” I looked up at him, making him move his head from on top of mine. “I love you.”
The sultan shook his head and let go. “You shouldn’t. I don’t deserve your love. You deserve someone so much better than me. Someone full of kindness and gentleness and—”
I caught his arm. “You’re all of those things, Zayne. You’ve shown me. It is my father’s magic that is affecting you. But I know how to help.” I marched over to the book shoved in the drawer of his nightstand and held it up. “Telama told me all I needed to do was find the right story. I think I found it.”
“A children’s story?” Zayne inclined his head.
I nodded. “The best kind of story out there.”
He walked over and touched his hand to the cover of the book. “At this point, I will do whatever the story bids. Whatever you want. Just . . .” He gave me the same pleading look he had just the night before.
I couldn’t imagine the mental anguish coursing through him and kissed his cheek.
As I assessed the man I’d fallen in love with, I felt pity for him but also a surge of excitement in knowing I was the one who would save him. I sat on the bed and patted the spot beside me.
Zayne managed to cock a weak grin and took his seat. He leaned over and kissed my ear. “There once was a man with a heart of gold, trapped in a place large and old,” he said, speaking the memorized phrase that began the story.
I turned the page. This was it. This was my moment to right the wrong and use my magic to save my husband and our kingdom. Nervously, I licked my lips and took a big breath, continuing the story.
“There once was a woman with words so bold, alone in a world vast and cold. In youth, they were friends destined for devotion, but one was taken and the other stripped of emotion. Destiny tore them apart. Fate brought them together. Their hope to restart, and danger to weather. For the man, taken to be wed, and the woman, left for dead—”
“Must fight for their love to conquer the darkness ahead,” Zayne finished.
I looked up at him and felt power wrap around me. The familiar metallic taste of magic spread across my tongue, and I grinned as it filled the room with light. The magic I’d held off my entire life finally warmed me from the inside.
Zayne took the book from my hands and pulled me onto his lap to hold me. “Whatever happens ahead, we will defeat it together.”
“You’re no longer alone, Zayne,” I said.
“Nor are you. I love you, Shahira. I don’t know how we found each other again, but I’m grateful to whatever brought us back together.” He rubbed his thumb across my cheek and leaned forward to kiss me.
Suffocating darkness suddenly filled the room, squelching the lamplight. I gripped Zayne’s arms and he tightened his hold on me.
“Don’t move,” he whispered in my ear.
I didn’t think that standing still would stop the ifrit. It materialized like it had the night before, and like the night before, it appeared to be trying to take on a physical form. It deliberately approached us and I caught sight of claws. This time, they were solid black.
When the demon took a step toward us, something inside propelled me to my feet. My fingertips tingled and it spread up my arms and into my shoulders. Orange smoke drifted around my fingertips.
“Zayne isn’t afraid of you. You have no control over him.” Magic lined each word. “You cannot possess him. You cannot control him. And because you can neither possess nor control him, you have no power to kill me tonight. I will learn your secrets and find a way to destroy you.”
The creature chuckled and swiped its claws at me.
I jumped away, but not fast enough. The claws swept through me like a hot breeze, leaving no mark.
“What did you do, Shahira?” Zayne gaped and stood behind me. He rested his hand on my shoulder. “You’re learning to control your magic.”
The demon struck again but got the same result.
A roar filled the room and orange smoke took the form of a tiger standing in front of me. It roared again, revealing its terrifying jaw full of teeth.
The demon screamed back, but the tiger stomped both paws on the ground and a burst of light flashed forward at the demon.
The ifrit let out a screech of fury and leapt at us.
“Be gone!” Zayne shouted.
All of the lamps in the room burned brighter. The tiger sank its fangs into the ifrit and light exploded in the room, blinding me. Zayne shielded me, but there was a force from the darkness clashing with the light and it struck Zayne and me.
The light faded and then I saw darkness.