Page 39 of Crown of Ashes and Desire

“What is your name, child?” he asked, his response unnervingly gentle.

“Zahra,” she whispered, shadows leaking from her eyes.

“Are you afraid?”

She nodded slightly.

“Good,” he said, and rose to his feet. But there was something in his eyes—a flicker of something I hadn’t seen in years. Not compassion exactly, but recognition. “Fear keeps you alive.”

The moment passed quickly, replaced by his customary coldness.

He turned to Lady Narin. “Summon the shadow healers.”

“Some are too far gone.” She looked at the most corrupt children.

“Save those you can,” Hakan ordered. “The others…” He paused and studied the most corrupted children with an unreadable expression. “The others will need specialized care.”

My heart lurched. “What kind of care?”

His gaze met mine, and for a moment, I saw something almost like regret. “Shadow essence, once integrated, cannot simply be removed. What would you have me do? Abandon them to slow madness as the shadows consume them from within?”

“There must be another way,” I insisted.

"If there is, we'll find it," he said with such quiet certainty that for a moment I almost believed him.

Protection. Not controlled. The distinction was small but significant.

His shadows began to expand before he caught himself, pulling them back as his gaze flicked to the frightened children. "And you, Ada, have overstepped your bounds yet again."

Despite my fury, a chill of fear zipped through me. “I exposed a crime. An atrocity happening under your roof.”

"An atrocity orchestrated by my cousin," he corrected, stepping closer until I could feel the cold radiating from him. "How convenient that you discovered it. How fortunate that you, of all people, found your way through wards designed to repel anyone not of shadow blood."

“What are you implying?” I demanded.

“Nothing. Yet.” His eyes narrowed. “But your heroics grow tiresome. First, an escape attempt, now this dramatic intervention. One might almost think you were trying to undermine my authority.”

Before I could respond, commotion at the door announced new arrivals. Light from the corridor beyond spilled into our darkened chamber as the shadow lords returned, dragging Azad between them. His usual composure was gone, replaced by wide-eyed panic as he took in the scene.

"Cousin," Hakan greeted, his voice deceptively soft. The corridor's light caught his shadows as he approached, revealing them writhing around him as if they were living things hungry for violence. "I see you've been busy in my absence."

“These are lies,” Azad spat, and looked around wildly. “The light which fabricates stories to divide us—surely you see that!”

Several shadow lords who had been silent now stepped forward.

"I have seen the children myself," Lord Kenan stated, gesturing toward where my light orb still glowed faintly, illuminating the huddled forms behind us. "This is no fabrication."

"As have I," Lady Narin added. "The evidence is undeniable."

Azad’s expression shifted from defiance to calculation. “These experiments were for the glory of your house,” he said quickly. “To prove our family’s worth to Lord Erlik?—”

“My house,” Hakan repeated. “My family’s worth. How thoughtful of you to concern yourself with my standing.”

Faster than I could track, Hakan struck. His hand shot forward into the light, shadows condensing into a spear that pierced Azad’s shoulder, pinning him to the wall behind. Azad screamed, black blood oozing from the wound.

“Four children dead,” Hakan said conversationally, as if discussing the weather. “Four more beyond saving. All to curry favor with my father behind my back.”

He twisted the shadow-spear, wringing another scream from Azad. "Did you really think he wouldn't tell me? That Erlik would accept such betrayal without informing his heir?"

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