Girl, Serpent, Thorn(20)

Sorush smiled. “Of course not.” The smile grew strained as he added, “You will be careful, though, won’t you?”

Soraya almost relished the question. It was easier to feel resentment than gratitude toward him. “I’m always careful,” she said.

They stared at each other, the sun and his jealous shadow returning to their natural trajectory before Sorush quickly looked away.



* * *



The cell appeared empty, but Soraya knew better. She searched the shadows, looking for those hawk’s eyes, or a flash of a smile.

Instead, she heard a voice: “I thought you’d be back.”

Soraya had waited a few restless days before returning, enough time for Sorush to inform the guards to look the other way if they heard voices coming from the cavern. Now, Parvaneh stepped forward, her black hair and the patterns on her skin making her look like she’d been formed from the shadows themselves. “Do you still think I’m lying to you?”

The image of her mother’s stricken face flashed through her mind, and Soraya said, “No, I believe you.”

“Go on, then,” Parvaneh said, her fingers wrapping around the bars. “Ask me.”

Soraya swallowed, her heartbeat echoing through her body. Somehow—from the intensity of Parvaneh’s stare, or from the feel of blood and poison rushing through her veins—she knew that if she asked the question, she would get an answer this time.

“How do I lift my curse?”

Parvaneh stared at her for what seemed like an eternity before she said, “What did your mother say, when you asked her if she was lying? Did she admit it?”

Soraya tensed. She felt like she was about to come apart. “Will you tell me or won’t you?”

“If you want me to be honest with you, then you need to be honest with me. Did your mother admit it, or didn’t she?”

“No,” Soraya spat out.

“But you still knew she was lying. Interesting.” Parvaneh leaned closer. “And I have a feeling you didn’t tell her about our little talk. I thought humans were supposed to be the honest ones.”

“Please,” Soraya choked out, the last remains of her composure falling away. “Please, tell me what you know.” She tried to breathe, to stop the spread of green she knew must be webbing across her skin, but she was so tired of secrets—tired of being one. If she had to hand over her dignity in exchange for the answers she wanted, then so be it.

Something hardened in Parvaneh’s eyes, her voice grave as she said, “I’m trying to spare you. Once I tell you the answer, you won’t know another moment’s peace.”

“I’ve never known a moment’s peace. Tell me.”

Parvaneh opened her mouth to speak, but then she turned away, walking the length of her cell along the bars. “What will you give me, if I tell you?”

Ah, there it was. Soraya should have expected this, but in her desperation she had forgotten that the div would likely want something in return. “What do you want?” she asked.

Parvaneh paused, one eyebrow raised as she looked at Soraya. “Would you grant me my freedom?”

“I could speak to my brother on your behalf,” Soraya said quickly. “I could ask him—”

Parvaneh waved the offer away. “You and I both know that means nothing. You could free me right now if you wanted.”

Soraya shook her head. “I don’t have that power.”

“No?” Parvaneh stretched one arm through the bars, her finger pointing at the lit brazier, still emitting its constant smoke. “All you would have to do is put out that brazier. I could do the rest myself.”

Soraya looked from the brazier to Parvaneh and back again. Would she let the div go free in exchange for her knowledge? Would she be willing to endanger Golvahar—endanger her family—for the chance to save herself? She remembered again that Parvaneh had attacked Sorush. And how did she know that Parvaneh would tell her the truth? The risk was too great, the reward too uncertain. “No,” she said at last, without any doubt in her voice. “I won’t do it.”

Parvaneh shrugged and resumed pacing. “I didn’t think so, but I had to ask. But don’t worry, I’m willing to negotiate.” She stopped in front of Soraya again and said, “I want you to bring me the simorgh’s feather.”

She said the words as if they were simple, but Soraya felt hollow, like Parvaneh had reached inside and torn whatever remaining hope she had out of her body. It was unthinkable, the most disloyal act she could imagine—against both her brother and her people. She would still be a curse on her family if she did such a thing, only in a different way.

And besides that, no one but the shah and the high priest knew where the feather was.

“I can’t do that,” she said, her voice hoarse.

Parvaneh shook her head. “That’s my only offer. Bring me the feather, and I’ll tell you how to lift your curse.”

Soraya’s skin prickled. She was suddenly too aware of everything around her. The smell of esfand in the stale cavern became overwhelming, and the smoke blurred her vision. In the dim light, the div’s eyes were too bright, too piercing. I should never have come here, Soraya thought. I should never have trusted a div to tell me anything true. Because this was a trap—she saw it now. Parvaneh would try to buy her trust by making her think her mother had lied, and then she would lure Soraya into betraying her family. Why else would a div ever agree to help her?