Leila's eyes burned with fury as the healing process completed, the searing rage bubbling up inside her like a volcano ready to erupt. Her skin was once again whole, the wound healed as if it had never been there. But inside, she was shattered. Her secret—her most guarded, dangerous secret—was exposed to the one man who could destroy everything she had fought to protect. The governor, Arash, now knew of her power.
This terrifying man… this man that was no less an animal knew what she was capable of, that she was just like her mother.
She had kept this hidden, from her family, from the courtesans, from everyone. No one had known the truth about her abilities, not even the ones closest to her. So how? How did he find out?
Her thoughts flashed back to the young boy she had healed, the one who Arman had begged for her help. She remembered the promises his old father made, the vows to never speak of her powers, to keep them a secret.
Had he been the one to betray her? Had he told the governor? The thought made her stomach churn with a deep sense of betrayal.
Her gaze flicked to Arman. The guilt was written all over his face. He knew. He realized what had happened. His shame was obvious as well, and it twisted like a knife in her heart. He had been the one to tell, intentionally or not. His remorse was enough to crush anyone, but it was nothing compared to what she felt in that moment.
She wanted to scream at him, to tell him it wasn't his fault. But the anger she felt toward the governor was far too overwhelming.
Her voice was low but icy as she demanded,
"What did you do to the coal sellers?" she couldn't trust this man, despite being a noble man his actions were far from it.
Arash's grin was smug, a predator who had cornered his prey.
"I didn't kill them," he said coolly. "But they are no better than dead."
Leila's vision blurred with rage. Her fists clenched at her sides, her body trembling with fury. The way he spoke, the cruel indifference, made her blood run cold.
It was almost as though they were humans as well.
"You bastard!" Arman's voice rang out in defiance, but before Leila could react, the guards silenced him with a swift blow, knocking him unconscious. His body went limp in their grasp, and a wave of despair crashed over Leila.
She could handle herself, but seeing Arman taken down, his voice stifled by the guards, made her feel more helpless than she ever had before. He wouldn't be able to witness what was about to unfold, and for that, she was thankful. He didn't deserve to see what the governor would do to her.
Because at this point, she didn't mind dying.
Leila's heart raced as she formulated the desperate bargain that could save her family, her voice steady despite the pounding of her chest.
"Spare my brother and my mother, I will do anything you ask of me." Her words echoed in the room, filled with a mix of defiance and pleading. She could never abandon her family, not even for the price of her own life.
Arash's smile was cold and calculating, the kind of smile that made her skin crawl. "We are not done confirming if you would be as useful as your mother," he mused, his tone almost playful as he thought of the power Leila's abilities could bring to his plans. "Once we conquer the northern kingdom, your powers will guarantee us victory, and the shah will shower me with riches beyond imagination."
Leila's stomach twisted at his words, knowing the path he was envisioning—one paved with death, suffering, and the complete subjugation of anyone in his way. But still, her thoughts remained focused on her family. If this was what it would take to protect them, she would endure whatever humiliation and torment he had in store.
His eyes narrowed, and an unsettling thought seemed to flicker in his mind as he asked, "Why is your hair black, and your eyes not green?"
Leila hesitated, her breath catching for a brief moment, before she replied, her voice clipped but steady. "I am wearing hair dye, and an enchantment to change my eye color."
The guard by the governor's side moved quickly, leaving the room before returning with a bowl of water. Without a word, he poured the water over her head, scrubbing her hair roughly. Leila winced from the cold and the force of his hands, but she held still, knowing it was all part of the price she was paying. The dye didn't wash away completely, but it was enough for Arash to see that her hair was indeed white—her natural color, the color that marked her as someone from the famous Norae tribe.
A cruel satisfaction glimmered in Arash's eyes as he turned his attention to her next command. "Now remove the spell in your eyes," he ordered, his voice sharp.
Leila felt a pang in her chest. This was the final step in exposing everything.
She clenched her jaw, determined not to show any weakness. Slowly, she reached up to remove the small earrings she had worn—her enchanted earrings, the source of the glamour that hid her true form. As soon as they were gone, her eyes shifted from their dark disguise to the vibrant forest green that matched her mother's. Her power, her heritage, was laid bare for all to see.
For a moment, Arash's confident demeanor faltered. His eyes widened slightly, and he blinked, his gaze briefly flickering away as though intimidated by the depth of her transformation. Leila didn't flinch, not once. She held his gaze, standing
"How were you able to grow this much without us realizing?" The question was more for himself, but Arash's gaze shifted to Roshanak, who was already sobbing uncontrollably. Her frail hands trembled as she tried to rise, her face etched with the weariness of years spent protecting her children.
"My lord, I beg you," she pleaded, her voice cracking under the weight of her desperation. "If my daughter helps in the war, she will end up like me. Please, forgive me, but that's cruel."
Arash's lips curled into a sneer, and his eyes glinted with disdain.
"I still have to hand down a punishment to you, Roshanak. You dared to hoard useful information that could have served the empire," he bellowed, his voice echoing through the small room. "After everything we have done for your family?"
Leila felt her heart hammer against her ribs as her mother's words sunk in. She glanced between Roshanak and the governor, her mind racing with dread.
"Please," Leila cried out, her voice breaking, "spare my mother and my brother. I will do anything you ask of me. Anything!"
Arash's expression softened only slightly, but it was a facade, a mockery of mercy.
"I will be kind enough to spare your brother," he said, his tone dripping with cruel satisfaction. "But your mother's life is another matter entirely. Her defiance cannot go unpunished. And I believe in vengeance, a life for a life. My son for your mother."
Leila's eyes widened in horror as Arash signaled to the guard holding a blade. Her body reacted instinctively, struggling wildly against the hands that restrained her.
"No! No, please!" she screamed, her voice raw with desperation. "Don't do this! I'll do whatever you want—just don't hurt her!"
Roshanak turned to her daughter, her tear-filled eyes pleading for forgiveness.
"Leila," she whispered, her voice barely audible, "You have to survive, do everything you can to live, for yourself and for your brother. Protect him…"
The guard stepped forward, blade gleaming ominously in the dim light. Leila's struggles grew frantic, her limbs thrashing as if sheer willpower could break her captors' grip.
"If the governor wants me to beg, I'll do it! I'll grovel, as long as you don't kill my mother! I'll—" her words dissolved into an anguished cry as the blade plunged into Roshanak's stomach.
Time seemed to freeze.
Leila blinked, her vision blurring as warm, wet droplets splattered across her face. Her breath hitched, and her trembling fingers reached up to touch her cheek. The sticky liquid clung to her skin—hot, red, unmistakable.
Blood.
Her mother's blood.
It felt like a dream, a crazy nightmare…
"No…" she muttered, her voice barely more than a breath. Her wide, tear-filled eyes drifted downward, following the crimson trail to where her mother's body lay slumped.
"Mother…" she whispered, the word catching in her throat as fresh tears streamed down her face.
Roshanak lay motionless, blood pooling beneath her as her once-bright eyes dulled. Leila's body sagged against the guards holding her, the strength in her limbs sapped by the weight of her grief.
Across the room, Arash stood tall, his face twisted with a grin of sadistic satisfaction.
Seeing the fierce façade wear off from Leila's face gave him so much pleasure.
"No one makes a fool out of the shah," he muttered, his words laced with venomous triumph.
"Mother!" Leila called out, her voice trembling as though the word alone could undo what had just happened. Her eyes fixated on Roshanak's lifeless body, willing it to stir, to move—anything to prove her wrong. But the body remained still, unnervingly so.
"Mother, I'm talking to you!" she yelled again, her voice cracking under the weight of disbelief. The reality of what had just transpired clawed its way into her consciousness, sharp and unrelenting. She struggled against the guards holding her, her desperation growing with each passing moment.
Arash, unfazed by her anguish, turned to his men. "Your mother is dead," he said coldly, his tone devoid of any trace of compassion. "Prepare to take them both to the palace. The boy is to be kept under close observation. If he has inherited any power, it may manifest later."
The words pierced Leila's heart like a dagger. Her body convulsed with the force of her grief, and a guttural scream tore from her throat, raw and primal. It was the kind of scream that echoed beyond walls, the sound of a soul being ripped apart.
"Argh! Mother!" she cried again, her voice shattering into sobs as her body thrashed wildly. Tears streamed down her face, hot and relentless, across her bloodied cheeks.
Her gaze snapped to Arash, and in that instant, her grief gave way to something darker. Hatred. Her bloodshot eyes burned with a ferocity that seemed almost inhuman, and the veins around them glowed faintly, illuminated by an otherworldly green light.
"I will never forgive you for what you have done to me!" she hissed, her voice trembling with uncontained rage. Her breaths came in ragged, uneven bursts, the sound of them guttural and inhuman. "I swear on everything I have left—I will kill you, even if it's the last thing I do!"
Arash, who had basked in the power of authority moments earlier, now found himself unnerved. Her glowing eyes and the palpable energy radiating from her were unlike anything he had ever encountered. The air around her seemed to shift, heavy with an unspoken threat, and he instinctively took a step back.
Leila's trembling intensified, her hands clawing at the ground as though trying to anchor herself against the torrent of emotions threatening to consume her. Deep inside, she felt a presence—cold, ancient, and unfamiliar. It was as though something within her had awakened, something far beyond her control.
Before Arash could process the transformation unfolding before him, the room was shaken by a thunderous, guttural roar from outside. The sound reverberated through the walls, chilling everyone to the bone.
"What is that?" Arash demanded, his voice laced with a sudden edge of fear.
Several guards burst into the room, their faces pale with terror.
"My lord," one of them stammered, barely able to catch his breath. "It's the demon! Shahkhur! It's here!"
Panic rippled through the room like a shockwave. The name Shahkhur alone carried enough weight to freeze even the bravest warriors in their tracks.