Fortune Favors the Cursed
the-reticent-seer
diverselit
diverselit
1.3K5
An orphan girl with questionable morals. A scarred prince with two lives. One relic to change their world.
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Badriya As-Sahra is sick of piling up camel dung and ...Chapter 43
Ayaz always knew he had a monster inside of him.
He couldn't remember when it emerged. Perhaps it had always been there residing in his deepest subconscious, waiting to be released when the right time came along. Or perhaps it was when he witnessed the gruesome death of the only person who truly cared for him that, in a way, it gave way to what was about to come.
However it came to be, it now reigned over him in totality. The monster controlled everything that was essentially himself, and there he was, watching helplessly in the cage that was his mind as it spawned itself into the world in a burst of flame and feathers.
The anqa.
It towered over the Sultan and his djinni, shaking the earth with its scream. It was so large its head broke through the chamber's dense roof. Ayaz wished the anqa would scare his father out of his wits and kill him with its fire. If he couldn't kill him with his blade, then any way else would do him and the world good.
But the Sultan only laughed. Even from above and afar, Ayaz could see how delighted he looked at the Jewel and the anqa, which only fueled his rage further if that was even possible. How dare he do this to him? How could he have the heart—the lack thereof—to turn his own son into a monster?
A small part of Ayaz, barely a remnant from his past that he'd worked so hard to bury, hurt to see how far his father had descended into his madness and obsession. He wasn't always like this. They weren't always like this.
In another time, setting aside their royal status, they were simply father and son. Their family was far from what would be considered normal—perhaps dysfunctional was a better way to describe it. Shahrayar was a man who hid his true self under lock and key from almost everyone. His son, who only yearned for his father's love and approval, tried his best to please him by giving his father what he himself wanted. Their differences caused a rift between the two, but regardless, their family held on only because of Bilqis bint Babur Al-Hakam.
They weren't perfect, but they were happy. . . were they?
Perhaps Ayaz should've seen the signs sooner. If his turbulent relationship with his father wasn't glaring enough, his mother's infidelity was, and it all went downhill since then. It never crossed his mind why his mother did it, or who she cheated with. The rage and grief her death brought to him overwhelmed him more than anything.
Now that he thought about it, why did she do it? If she was unsatisfied with her marriage, why didn't she just express this to Shahrayar? Her fear to face her husband's temper could be the answer, but that was too simple of an explanation. Ayaz knew his mother well—she wouldn't just do something so serious unless no other, better alternative was present.
Unless she was forced to do it.
"Look at you," the Sultan said, bringing Ayaz back to reality. "How I've always wanted to see a creature of old up close, and now here you are."
Ayaz's anger reignited, directing it to get past the monster's consciousness, but it was futile. The anqa didn't retaliate at the Sultan as he hoped. It only stood with its wings folded and neck bent down, waiting for its command.
"Will it listen to me?" Shahrayar asked, still gazing at the anqa with admiration.
"Yes, sayyidi," the djinni replied, her voice monotonous. "The firebird is at your beck and call. Your wish is not affected by the Jewel's rules, as you planned."
"Good."
What was his father going to do with him? Ayaz already had an inkling, but he couldn't bear to think about it. He couldn't bear the idea of endangering people's lives for his father's destructive ambitions.