Queen of Cahraman: A Retelling of Aladdin (Fairytales of Folkshore Book 3) by Lucy Tempest

Author:Lucy Tempest [Tempest, Lucy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Folkshore Press
Published: 2019-02-01T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Three

Cyrus’s eyes widened in horror. “No!”

My chest felt too small for my lungs as they swelled with yet another dreadful realization.

That his ‘mother’ had killed mine.

But I had to get this out before the suspicion gnawed me hollow. “Nariman came looking for me long before she kidnapped me. Once before I was born, as you saw, and I believe the second time was on the day my mother died.” When he continued to gape at me, I forced myself to continue. “One night, my mother up and left with no warning, never to return. The sheriff came days later to give me her bloodied cloak, what they found miles away. I spent years afterwards, alone, on the run, going crazy wondering why she left, or how she died. Now I think I know. She left to lure Nariman away from me. She sacrificed her life to save me from her. And she died for nothing.”

Cyrus teetered on his feet, as if he’d had too many punches to the head. “No, Ada, she wouldn’t. If she hasn’t killed my father, or Loujaïne, whom she hates, for good reason, then she wouldn’t kill your mother. She was her friend!”

“Who she believed deserted her in exile, fled to live her life, to be with the man she loved, while Nariman lived in fear and isolation first, then exploited and unappreciated, later, ending up discarded and banished. She’s long stopped considering her a friend. She’s become one thing to her, what stood between her and the key to everything she wanted. Me.”

He still shook his head. “She couldn’t have done it, and I’ll tell you why. Lady Rostam is a being of extremes it seems, but when she loves, she does deeply and irrevocably. It’s the only explanation why my father is still alive. As Cherine said, she would have executed him from day one, if she is the kind to go to any lengths to get what she wants.”

“Have you seen your father’s condition? And she was going to kill Loujaïne.”

“We only assumed that from Master Farouk’s fear. I believe she wouldn’t have killed her even if she was capable of killing, because it would have alienated father and I irrevocably.”

And I yelled, “She tossed you into the Land of No Return!”

He raised placating hands. “It was you she meant to send there, not me. And I don’t believe she understands the depth of my feelings for you, or she wouldn’t have done even that.”

“And you think it’s okay for her to try to kill me?”

“Maybe she only meant to scare you for a while? Maybe use you to coerce me?”

“Argh!” I pressed my knuckles against my head, to contain the pressure before it burst. “Since you have a theory for everything, why do you think my mother ran and left me? Why do you think she died?”

“What if she didn’t? Did they bring back a body to bury?”

And I cried out, “If she didn’t die, where has she been all these

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