Page 28 of A Thousand Nights Before Dawn
Zahra froze in place. She turned back toward Katerina, staring at her with wide eyes. She had not heard that name for many years—her true name.
Katerina took a step forward. “We do not have long. Your King is already taking off the ring.”
The air around Zahra buzzed with energy, and her vision blurred. She was returning to the library.
“Both of your fates are uncertain this night. If you are not careful, the night of the blood moon will claim you both.”
Zahra’s heart filled with fear. “I… I don’t understand. I don’t know what to do!”
“You do not need to.” Katerina leaned forward. “All that Selene asks is that you trust her.”
Zahra covered her head as a wave of nausea hit her.
The eagle’s blue eyes softened as the wind whipped around Zahra’s frame. “Selene is with you, Rhodopis.”
In a moment, Zahra was standing back in the hidden library. Her legs buckled beneath her, and her frame collided with a shelf as she collapsed to the floor. A voice shouted, but she couldn’t make out the words. Waves of nausea racked her body, and she clutched her stomach with her sore limbs.
Hands grabbed her, and she cried out as she was pulled from the ground. Warm blood coated her left hand, which clutched her right arm tightly.
Sweat trickled down her forehead, and nausea raged in her belly. Namir knelt beside her, his forehead wrinkled in confusion and worry.
Zahra pushed away from him and retched, and vomit soaked the floor.
Namir flinched, his face twisting in ways she did not think were possible. He grabbed an intact vase and, with his arm covering his nose, held it out from a distance for Zahra to take. She grabbed it, filling it with the contents of her stomach.
Namir dry heaved beside her before running to the door. He opened it and heaved again.
Zahra sat back against the bookcase as her senses returned. Her left hand was bleeding, and her ankle was sliced up. Her right arm and left leg ached intensely, even though the skin was unbroken.
She turned to the vase again to puke, and Namir gagged in the hallway.
7
The Hem-netjer
Warm sunlight fell on Zahra’s face as a library servant returned from the kitchen with a cup of warm liquid. Zahra moved her arm over her eyes, leaning her head back on the couch as he approached. He placed the cup on the table beside her, bowed to Namir, and left.
Namir sat on a couch opposite her, staring at something on the other side of the room. His hands were clasped against his chin, and his leg bounced.
With a heavy sigh, Zahra pushed herself into a sitting position and grabbed the cup. She pulled her legs to her chest and rested the cup on her knees, but she did not drink from it. The pressure on her skull was heavy, and her stomach churned with the might of a storm at sea. She feared if she ate or drank anything, she would only vomit again.
Namir shifted his attention to her, considering her with curious eyes. “How is your arm?”
“It’s fine, my King.” It was a lie, of course. A local physician had found nothing wrong with it. She knew better—though the eagle had helped, her arm still burned as if the skin had been torn. Her leg also ached, but the physician attributed that to her collision with the bookcase. He had bandaged her hand and ankle and went on his way.
Namir had not asked what had happened or why she had fallen. He had rushed her upstairs and thrown her into the care of the staff without a second thought. He only joined her once she was changed into different clothes and no longer reeked of vomit.
Namir spoke after a minute of silence. “The drink might help.”
Zahra stared at the liquid, but she did not move to drink. “You do not need to be here.”
Namir stared at her.
Zahra swallowed the bile rising in her throat once more. “What I meant, my King, is that I don’t need anything more. You can continue your research.”
Namir considered her words, his expression calm but his eyes scrutinizing her face and hands. He leaned back on the couch and placed his hands on his knees, one flat and the other clenched in a fist. “I would rather wait until tomorrow when the mess is gone. None of the people here know of that library’s existence. I would prefer to keep it that way.”
Zahra accepted his answer with a nod, speaking softly. “If that’s your will.”
