A Psalm of Storms and Silence by Roseanne A. Brown

Author:Roseanne A. Brown
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollinsPublishers
Published: 2021-09-29T00:00:00+00:00

23

Malik

Malik didn’t tell Farid what he’d found down in the necropolis.

It wasn’t because his mentor would not have understood. And it wasn’t like Farid could not have figured it out for himself if he’d actually had the time to go down to the city of the dead and piece the tattered bits of history together.

It was because everything his ancestor had been forced to do to protect herself had cleaved Malik in two. A part of him wished to storm the streets of Ziran and tear down everything that had been built by those who had allowed this injustice to happen. Not just for Khenu, but for all the wraiths as well, who Malik realized must be every ulraji ancestor trailing behind him, hoping he’d find a way to avenge what had been stolen from them in life.

The other part of him was filled with a deep, unending sense of shame. The weight of the pharaohs’ sins—not just the one Bahia and Khenu had known, but all of them, every dynasty throughout the centuries of Kennoua’s rule over Sonande—crushed down over every breath Malik took. He didn’t even know through which side of his family this bloodline carried. Was it his father’s? Had that been the source of the man’s constant anger, and had violence been the only way he knew how to express it?

Malik didn’t know, and honestly, it didn’t really matter, for nothing changed the fact that this was his legacy to bear.

Liar. Murderer. Torturer. Monster.

That was why Malik swore Yaema to secrecy about what they’d found in the necropolis, and why when they’d finally clawed their way to the surface, he’d lied to Farid and to his sisters that the scepter hadn’t been there. Farid had been disappointed, but there was nothing to do except order Malik to continue his search.

Malik did so with Yaema at his side, the two of them staying up long hours to try to uncover the whereabouts of the flute. He was grateful for the company, as Leila and Nadia were still busy helping Hanane get the displaced people settled. He didn’t know what he’d say to his sisters even if they had been together; it was better for him to carry the stain of their heritage alone.

Liar. Murderer. Torturer. Monster.

Yaema was the only person he talked to regularly during that time, and she proved to be good company. He no longer missed the longing looks she gave him or the flush on her skin whenever her hand lingered on his longer than was necessary. But he never did anything about it because he didn’t deserve her attention, not when there was something so evil flowing through his veins.

Days passed. Malik woke and he ate and he searched and he slept until he woke and did it all again. On the surface, he still smiled and spoke as normal. No one around him noticed anything different about him.

But inside, there was nothing. No panic. No fear.

Nothing.

And then, three days after the earthquakes, on Wind Day, there was something.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.