Girl, Serpent, Thorn - Melissa Bashardoust Page 0,110

could have sworn the rose was pulsing against her skin, like a misshapen heart in her hands. And there was something else, something that made her know without question what had caused this sudden overgrowth. The veins on the underside of the rose’s petals, usually white, were now a dark, venomous green.

She had disposed of the bathwater by pouring it into the garden—and now the garden was imbued with the blood of a div.

Soraya opened the door and walked outside, careful not to touch any of the wicked-looking thorns. She knew with a certainty she couldn’t explain that those thorns would be poisonous to the touch. Like I should be, she thought. But then, was it possible that the blood had simply needed time to take effect? The golestan had grown overnight; perhaps she had been too hasty to call her plan a failure.

Her veins were still normal, but she immediately began to look for some stray insect to touch. Navigating the golestan was difficult—the thorns left little room for safe passage—but she was used to shrinking herself down and moving through narrow spaces. She found a patch of uncovered grass and knelt, digging until she found a wriggling pink worm. She brushed her finger against it, waiting several breaths to see if it would stop moving, but her touch had no effect at all.

Soraya let out a frustrated sigh, looking at the thorns around her with envy. But her disappointment didn’t last long, because through the thorns, she could make out the shape of the garden door.

Escape. Not from Golvahar—she would never make it that far, and she couldn’t abandon her family to their fates. But if she could make it to the dungeon without being seen …

Soraya returned to her room and quickly dressed. It was still early—too early for Azad to send someone with food for her, she hoped. She didn’t have much time, but she had to be slow and careful as she moved aside the thorns and roses blocking the door. A few of the thorns snagged on her sleeves, but they didn’t touch her skin. When the door was clear enough to open, she tried the handle, relieved when it gave way.

She opened the door only a little, peeking through to make sure no divs were patrolling the grounds. She wedged a rock into the doorway so that she wouldn’t be locked out and slipped through the door, ignoring the temptation to run as fast as she could. Instead, she stayed close to the garden wall, moving alongside it until she had come all the way around to the palace walls. Even then, she moved slowly and deliberately, thankful for all her years of slinking through shadows. There were divs patrolling the grounds—she saw one pass by in the opposite direction—but divs’ senses were keener at night, and tucked away as she was, making no sudden movements, the divs didn’t look her way or notice her.

Only when she had painstakingly edged her way to the dungeon steps did she allow herself to move quickly. She had no worry of divs here—she could already smell the esfand as she went down the steps—and so she tore through the dungeon, following the smoke to Parvaneh’s cell.

The cavern was thick with smoke, and as she had seen in her dream, five braziers filled with coals were set out in a row in front of the bars. This time, though, Soraya could kick them over, scattering the hot coals over the ground. She waved some of the smoke away and saw the outline of bars, finding the two bent ones. She stepped into the gap between them, and as the smoke began to clear, she found Parvaneh’s sleeping form on the floor. Soraya knelt beside her and waited for her to awaken.

Parvaneh’s eyelashes were the first things to move, twitching against her cheeks. And then her eyes slowly opened, liquid amber glowing in the darkness. She blinked a few times and started to cough.

Soraya had wanted to keep her distance, unsure if Parvaneh would still be furious with her, but now she helped Parvaneh sit up as she finished coughing the smoke out of her lungs. When Parvaneh looked at her in surprise, Soraya quickly removed her hand from Parvaneh’s back. Her wings were still intact, Soraya noticed with relief.

Parvaneh pushed herself up to her feet. “Soraya?” she said, her voice still scratchy.

“Please listen,” Soraya said with urgency as she rose as well. Since the dream, she had