Page 90 of A Thousand Nights Before Dawn
“But why would you do this?” Zahra asked. “I understand why you would keep mine from me, but why would you bar everyone else from going? Why?”
It couldn’t have been that she feared her daughters would face competition with the servants. Bahiti’s daughters were beautiful, and Bahiti was too vain to let that scare her. No, there was something deeper here. Something Bahiti was afraid of.
Bahiti gritted her teeth, clenching her fist around the letter. She dropped it and raised her hand toward Zahra. “That is enough, girl.”
Zahra caught Bahiti’s wrist, which surprised them both. The ring on Bahiti’s finger glimmered with gold, and a memory pushed itself to the forefront of Zahra’s mind. She recalled handing thedebento the shopkeeper in exchange for Bahiti’s ring, a sum much more than what Darius granted his wife. She had never questioned where the extradebenhad come from.
Visions of ledgers filled her mind—records of every costly mistake a servant had made, her own name next to mistakes that were not hers, mistakes that had never existed.
Breaking a plate, losing produce, tearing a piece of clothing. They were repeated over and over again, piling extra debt onto the servants’ shoulders. The payments they made were recorded inaccurately, and Bahiti stashed amounts both small and large into a secret chest in her closet.
Zahra stumbled backward, and she let go of Bahiti’s hand as she let out a surprised breath. “You are stealing from us.”
Bahiti’s eyes went wide with shock, and she dropped her hand. “What did you say?”
“You are stealing from us.” Zahra met Bahiti’s eyes, standing tall. “That’s why you did not want us to go to the Feast, because by some chance one of us is chosen by the King, your secret will be discovered.”
Bahiti gritted her teeth. “That is enough,sobki.”
“I am right, aren’t I?” Zahra prodded, ignoring Bahiti’s threat. “That’s why you are afraid. And you hid my letter because you are cruel. You wanted me to think the King would never invite an Ionian to dance with him, but you are wrong! You cruel, cruel?—”
Bahiti’s gaze darkened, and she stepped forward.
Zahra immediately regretted everything she had said. “M—Mistress.”
Bahiti hit Zahra hard across the face. Zahra’s body spun, her frame slamming into the wall and floor. A pained gasp fell fromZahra’s lips. She held a hand up, her frame trembling. “Mistress, please?—”
Bahiti kicked Zahra hard in the ribs, and Zahra cried out. She covered her head as Bahiti hit her and kicked her again, pulling at her hair and clawing at her skin with her long nails.
Zahra had suffered death at the hands of many. She had fought for her life each time, but here—here she was stuck. Bahiti’s eyes were not filled with thekeres’familiar red, but they were filled with an anger Zahra couldn’t escape. If she fought back, the pain would only be worse.
Bahiti grabbed a fistful of Zahra’s hair, dragging her backward across the floor. Zahra writhed, pulling against Bahiti as much as she could bear. “Please. Please!”
The other servants did nothing but look away. Those in front of the kitchen door moved aside. A few began returning to their duties as the door was shut to the kitchen with Bahiti and Zahra on the other side.
Bahiti dragged Zahra by her hair and arm into a small back room with random old trinkets and antiques that Bahiti did not want in the house but couldn’t bear to get rid of. There were no windows, and the only light came from a small hole that had developed from a crack in the wall.
Bile rose in Zahra’s throat as the memories of being trapped in that space flooded her mind. Bahiti threw Zahra’s small frame against the cold wall. Zahra let out a cry as her bones connected with the wall and floor, and she choked down a sob.
Bahiti picked up a wooden rod, still discolored from its last brutal use. “Hurry up, girl. I don’t have all day.”
Zahra trembled. All reason or thought of escape left her mind. All she could do was try to delay the inevitable. “M—Mistress, please. Can we wait until tomorrow? Your daughters?—”
“Do not use my daughters as an excuse. You are lucky this is your only punishment and that I am not reporting you to themedjayfor accusing me of theft.” Bahiti waved her hand. “The dress, girl. Take it off and turn around.”
Zahra stiffened. Slowly, she turned around and pulled her shawl over her head. Her hands shook terribly, making it difficult for her to grab the straps of her dress.
“Hurry,sobki,” Bahiti spat.
Zahra flinched. She removed the straps one by one, letting her dress fall down her back. The straps hung around her elbows, exposing her back to the cool air. Her curls fell around her face as she placed her palms on the wall, bracing herself.
Do not flinch.Do not cry. Do not show her your fear.
The first blow vibrated through Zahra’s spine. Her throat squeaked as she suppressed a cry. The second blow was harder, but she endured. She had to. Zahra was knocked to her knees with the third blow, which landed on the site of the first. She let out a cry as she bumped into some old pottery. It shattered beside her.
Bahiti scoffed. “Clumsy girl. Those pots will be added to your debt.”
Zahra shivered on the ground, her palms still flat against the wall. She closed her eyes as Bahiti landed another blow. And another. Andanother.
