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Christine

Chapter 74

The Transfer

I didn't remember the walk to the palace.

All my mind could process was the fact that Erik was in danger. And I had little knowledge of when or if I would see him again. I had no idea of whether he was all right or hurting, where he was, and why.

The guards left us alone once we were in Ibrahim's chambers. The rooms were similar to Erik's - but he had tapestries on the walls. His furniture held hues of earthy colors - greens and browns rather than reds and golds.

The moment we were alone, Ibrahim's hard expression turned to the gentle one I was familiar with. "Your clothes and other belongings have already been transferred to your living space here - as has Ayesha." He nodded to a closed door. The layout of the room was similar to Erik's. "The bed in Erik's study has been moved to my own study; I told the Shah the same thing Erik did - that I want my bed to myself and a separate bed for...well-" He appeared uncomfortable. "Obviously we will not be doing what the entirety of the palace thinks we are-"

"Ibrahim," I breathed, feeling faint, "what is going on? What happened to Erik?"

He frowned, eyelids lowering ever so slightly. "He refused to kill the Lotus."

I stared at him. My stomach clenched. "What does that mean for him?"

"It means he has been imprisoned below the palace for the time being." He looked down, putting his hands behind his back. "Initially, the Shah's response to his refusal to kill her was to imprison him for a week and take your life." His eyes met mine again. "But I convinced him otherwise. I told him that what would truly wound the Angel of Death was to transfer you to me for the duration of his punishment - that having to share his belongings would be more offensive than having those belongings destroyed. It was while I suggested this that the Shah came up with the idea of keeping Erik locked up for even longer - that he would use his time behind bars working on the Chamber, and only once the plans were complete could he be released. Finishing the chamber would prove his loyalty; his belongings, respect, and status would be returned to him, and the Shah would forgive this act of defiance." He paused. "I also had to convince him that Erik's reason for not killing the Lotus had little to do with you - that he had simply grown arrogant and did not feel like doing it."

A lump had formed in my throat. My eyes pricked. "Why didn't he kill her?" I asked, immediately feeling terrible, selfish, for the thought. "I - I don't want her to die, obviously I don't, but - He had to have known that refusing would result in...in something. Something like this." My voice grew wobbly - picturing Erik in the dark, alone, in a cage - forced to work on that damned chamber day and night until it was done...it was too much. "I know he didn't want to, but why didn't he just..."

"He whispered in my ear as he was taken away," Ibrahim said softly, "that when the time came to take her life, he could not stop picturing that it was you before him - and he couldn't bring himself to do it." He pursed his lips. "Unfortunately, the Lotus will be killed regardless, by other hands."

Hot tears slid down my cheeks. I tried to take a breath in, but it turned into a gasp, a cry, and the moment I brought my shaking hands to my eyes to wipe the salt water away, I felt Ibrahim's arms around me. He held me as I let myself sob into his black clothes. He smelled like lemons - somehow it was comforting. But I wished the person holding me smelled like pine.

"I understand your pain," he said. "I am angry as well. The only thing I can say to comfort is that his love for you is clear, and you need not ever doubt it."

I only cried harder - so hard it was starting to hurt my chest.

"The only people watching were the Shah, Prince Izad, and myself. When I saw the doubt on Erik's face, when I saw him turn his face from the Lotus to me, I knew his decision the moment he made it. He didn't say anything. He merely looked at the Shah and shook his head, placing his hands at his side. He was taken away - as he was taken, he used his voice trick on me, to tell me why. As he was walked out, I could see the grief on his face - he believes, I think, that you are being put to death for this. He then spoke again in my ear - 'try to save her'."

I gripped Ibrahim a bit tighter, not wanting to be let go. He didn't seem to have the intention of doing so.

Erik. Hurting. Alone. And the Lotus - that girl. She'd dared to stand up for her own autonomy, and I...I didn't even know her name. No one knew her name. Her name had been changed, like the property she'd been turned into. And now, even though Erik had decided to spare her from his hands, she was to die anyway. So pointless - to have her life stolen like that.

And I didn't even know her name.

"I did the best I could, Christine. I did the best to find the most beneficial outcome. I could not stop the Shah from imprisoning him. I could not stop him from killing her. I am sorry. Just know that while you are here, no harm shall come to you."

Christine, he called me. Not Rose.

Christine.

"It's not your fault," I whispered. "Thank you, Ibrahim."

A pause, during which he simply hugged me, gently rubbing his thumb over my shoulder blade. It wasn't intimate, it wasn't romantic - it was simply comforting. Comforting in the way an embrace from a friend or parent might be. Reassuring and kind.

"The Prince," he continued, "finds your story quite romantic."

I opened my eyes at last, looking at the floor as my cheek rested against his chest.

"A man seen as the incarnation of death," Ibrahim mused, "feared by many and believed to be powerful beyond measure, has fallen in love with the girl gifted to him in chains - and will do anything to protect and honor her."

"It's not romantic," I said, voice crackly. I cleared my throat. "This pain is not romantic. And he's not as powerful as people think. He's a slave like me."

"Yes. I know."

Another long silence.

"Is there anything I can do to help you feel better?" he asked.

"The only thing, I think, that would even remotely alter my mood is hashish."

I could feel him processing this. "That could, actually, be arranged."

"No," I said immediately, "no, I don't mean it. I don't want it." And I didn't. I hadn't, actually, for a while now.

"Are you sure?" he asked. "I could drink myself into a stupor - you could smoke your mind away. And we could sit on the floor and cry again. That sounds like a fun time, yes?"

I actually giggled. "That was a mess. Erik was beyond peeved."

"I think back on it fondly. Peeving Erik is almost as enjoyable as peeving the Daroga."

I giggled again. I at last pulled away, and wiped the remaining tears from my eyes. "Ayesha is really here?"

"She is. Smuggled in - I paid a servant well to not mention it to the Shah. Though, I don't think he will care too much one way or another. She's just a cat. But I know she means much to Erik. The Shah doesn't have to be aware of that fact."

An insistent knock on Ibrahim's door, then. Ibrahim nodded to me, brown eyes and bearded face kind, as he left me to answer it.

"Should I hide?" I asked.

"Why?" he responded. "Everyone knows you're here."

True.

I was simply on edge.

Ibrahim opened it to find a very frazzled Nadir. The Daroga strode in, looking between us. Ibrahim closed the door once more.

"Christine is all right," he said to Nadir. "She will be safe."

"And Erik?" asked Nadir. His hands worked at his side. "How is he?"

"He will survive," said Ibrahim lowly. "The Shah wants his Chamber finished, after all."

Nadir sighed, relief in the sound. "So he will be working on it while imprisoned?"

"Yes."

Nadir nodded. "Good."

An acrid taste entered my mouth. "Is that all you care about?"

Both men looked at me, stunned. I'd never spoken this way to Nadir before.

"I'm sorry?" asked the Daroga.

"I didn't stutter." My heart was beating hard. My nerve, it seemed, was running away from me, but there was a bitter satisfaction to it. "You heard me perfectly well, Monsieur Khan."

Nadir narrowed his eyes at me, then glanced at Ibrahim, who was watching me with impressed interest. "No, Christine, it's not all I care about. I do hope Erik is all right."

"Then we should kill the Shah." I could quite literally feel my heart in my throat, my wrists, my face. I was a walking pulse, fiery blood coursing through me. "We should do it as soon as we can. Get me, or you, or Ibrahim alone with him, and put a blade into his back. Who will accuse us? You're the chief of police - and Ibrahim is his right hand man. Even the Prince is on our side. So who, really, will enforce a punishment?"

"Even if it was that simple," he responded coldly, "which it is not, the answer is still no. I will watch the Shah die in pain or it will not happen at all." Disgust on his face, he turned back to Ibrahim. "Thank you for letting me know-"

"You're a hypocrite."

The words were out of my mouth before I could think them through.

Nadir whirled. "Excuse me?"

"Is your hearing all right today?" I spat. Angry. I was so angry.

Ibrahim hummed a quick noise of surprise, staring at me with shock, as Nadir gaped.

"You say you care for Erik's wellbeing," I continued hotly, "and for my wellbeing, but you refuse to give up your need for vengeance."

Nadir's eyes were rounded, poison-green, staring back at me.

"What would you do to Erik if he killed the Shah without the Chamber, Nadir? Would you end his life?"

"Yes."

I froze.

No hesitation in his answer. Even Ibrahim looked stricken.

"I knew you would punish him somehow," said Ibrahim, "but Allah above, Daroga-"

"I would," he continued, not looking at the Grand Vizier - he was entirely focused on me. "For taking away my life's purpose, I would end his existence on this Earth. And I am not naïve, either. If he had a sudden change of mind, truly decided to give the Shah a quick death, I would assume at this point that it was at least partially at your request, Christine, so I would have to kill you too - 'if', of course, being the key word here. I know you are both sharper than that, so I have zero intention of harming you now."

"How can you be so selfish?" I had no idea what Ibrahim's expression was; I was entirely focused on the Daroga. "You only care about us as far as we can serve your need for revenge. What - what will you do when you finally enact that revenge. What will you live for then, if this really is your life's purpose?"

"I will have plenty to live for - my son, for example - but I can only have peace once that Shah has been properly dealt with, and I-"

"Torturing the man who killed your wife will not bring her back, Daroga."

The room's temperature turned icy. Nadir's gaze, his face, his body did as well. He stepped toward me. Ibrahim, in the corner of my eye, bristled. He seemed ready to step in should this become more hostile than it was.

"I can be kind, Christine," he said in a low tone that sent shivers up my spine. "But I can also make the Shah look as gentle as a lamb. I am the chief of police of Persia. I have seen more death than Erik could ever dream of. Yes, dear girl, I have called myself a friend to you, to Erik. But make no mistake - my friendship is conditional. Should either of you betray me and my goals, you will turn into enemies faster than you could spot the assassin sent to drive a knife into your back."

"All right, now." Ibrahim went to my side. "I think that is enough, and we should-"

My breathing picked up, and I ignored the Grand Vizier. "You acted so surprised when Erik thought you might kill me-"

"Because you are not my enemies," said Nadir, tilting his nose up, looking down at me through his spectacles. "Erik knows I do not mean you harm. I do not wish to hurt you - I do, in fact, wish to help. His distrust of me while the two of you are my allies was disheartening, to say the least. So long as you remain my friends, I wish you and Erik well. I wish you both happiness and, recently, I wish that you share a beautiful love. By Allah, so long as you remain helpful to my goal, I would put myself in harm's way for the two of you. But the moment you do anything to thwart my aims, that will turn to dust in my mind. Be lucky that Erik seems to understand that - and fully plans to complete the chamber."

"Really, this is a discussion for another time-"

I interrupted Ibrahim again, who seemed to at last give up. "I thought maybe you had grown as a person," I whispered. "But now I see-"

"Watch yourself, Christine." He bent slightly to meet my level, arms behind him, and I stepped back instinctually. "You've seen how I treat those I deem foes. Think of the Echo Rahim. Think of the damn Shah. Consider fully whether I serve you better as a friend or enemy. You're an intelligent girl - I think you have the analytical skills to think it through. So, Christine, tell me - are we on the same side or are we not?"

My teeth clenched. "We are."

"Wonderful." He stood up again. He turned to leave. "Please let me know if there is anything I can do to aid you in this time of need. Good evening."

But before he could touch the doorknob, I whispered, "You are an evil person."

He turned to a statue for a moment, then slowly spun. There was true rage in his expression, but his voice was soft. "You want to know the secret, Christine? The one Erik doesn't want to tell you?"

I breathed hard, not daring to move.

"The secret is that, as per request by the Shah, the Chamber requires two people, not one, inside of it to operate. Should one hang himself, the other is set free. Should neither take their own life, both will roast. Think of it as a sort of sick game - a competition of wills. Something fun to watch - to bet on. There. Now you know."

My brows stitched; it was gruesome, yes, but- "He said it would hurt me. Why would that hurt me?"

"Because your young man has decided that if anyone is going to suffer along with the Shah, it should be the creator of the chamber itself."

My breath caught.

No.

"Quite the hero," he added, "but of course he couldn't tell you. You'd convince him not to do it. So though it might break both your hearts, he wouldn't risk you knowing lest your tears or words would change his lovestruck heart and mind."

"I-" I felt dizzy. That couldn't be true - but it...it did make sense and - I turned to Ibrahim, feeling like I would be sick. "Did you know?"

He looked at me with regret. "Erik made me vow not to say - but I am not worried." I closed my eyes as he continued. "Not in the least. I know the Shah. He will break and Erik will live. If I thought differently, I would have said something. I would have protested this plan. But he will live, Christine, I promise he will."

"I have my own secret," said Nadir; I looked again at him. "I fully plan on taking Erik's place so that, should the Grand Vizier be wrong, you and Erik can have a chance to live your lives. And I will either die watching that bastard suffer, or I will live to tell the tale of how he couldn't handle the pain and ended his life. During which you will walk into the sunset with your...betrothed? Surely he's proposed by now, or at least broached the subject of marriage - he's obsessed enough with you. There, Christine, now you know." He turned again toward the door. "Still think me evil?"

He left, leaving me absolutely reeling in emotions.

Far too many emotions.