Chapter 17: Ali

Ali oversees the bronze-boat execution of shafit accused of plotting to sack the Daeva Quarter. A panicked boy pleads innocence, but Abu Nuwas forces him into the boat. As the metallurgist heats the bronze, prisoners leap to the lake; the boy is trapped and burns. Unable to watch him die slowly, Ali enters the boat and decapitates him with his zulfiqar, then staggers away, sickened, and casts off his Qaid’s turban, resolved to quit.

Ali goes to the palace gardens and finds King Ghassan reviewing a dispatch. The letter reports no sign of ifrit; Wajed has joined Muntadhir and Dara, who head toward Babili. Ghassan coolly reveals Nahri’s rapid healing after a staged bathhouse accident. When Ali says he cannot continue as Qaid, Ghassan leads him to the ziggurat’s heights to talk.

From above, they watch smoke from the Grand Temple as Daeva fervor grows after Nahri and Dara’s arrival. Ghassan outlines a political solution: he will marry Nahri to Muntadhir to unify factions. Ali objects to the uncertainty of Nahri’s identity, but Ghassan insists usefulness matters more than proof and orders Ali to befriend her to ease the path.

Ali refuses, claiming no talent for such deception. Ghassan then reveals he has uncovered Ali’s secret financing of the Tanzeem through convoluted banking. He says Muntadhir defended Ali, earning him a second chance. Finally, Ghassan compels Ali’s loyalty: win Nahri’s friendship or face consequences, threatening to make Ali lead innocents to the bronze boat again if he betrays him. Shaken, Ali acquiesces.