Chapter 26: Nahri

Woken at midnight by Dara, Nahri learns he intends to extract her from Daevabad and the Qahtanis with help from hidden Daeva allies. She refuses, citing her political negotiations to marry into the royal family. Ali arrives injured for help; Dara reveals himself, and a ferocious duel erupts in the infirmary. Dara overpowers Ali until Nahri intervenes and heals Ali’s worsening wounds in an instant.

With guards converging, Dara binds Ali in iron and forces Nahri to come by threatening the prince. He tears open a hidden passage, and they traverse treacherous tunnels as Ali struggles to breathe in the city’s bones while Dara wields startling elemental power, even boiling water away. Ali confesses his past: he funded the Tanzeem, was exposed by Ghassan, and was ordered to befriend Nahri to secure her marriage to Muntadhir.

They reach an underground lagoon. Using Nahri’s blood, Dara raises an ancient copper boat. As they launch, Ali reveals a Qahtani ambush: concealed warships beyond the veil. On the lead trireme, Jamshid orders restraint while Muntadhir demands Dara’s surrender and targets Nahri. Realizing Ghassan’s arrival would doom Dara, Nahri begs the Qahtanis to let him go, offering to stay and marry Muntadhir.

Nahri’s fervent wish triggers Dara’s ring. His eyes turn wild, arrows freeze midair, and he turns them back on the archers, massacring the deck before seizing Ali’s zulfiqar. He storms the warship, where Jamshid lies riddled with arrows in Muntadhir’s arms. Dara advances to kill Muntadhir.

Nahri boards amid flames and corpses, desperate to stop catastrophe. Ali tackles Dara from behind despite bound wrists, disarming him for a heartbeat. As Muntadhir finally grasps the danger, Dara recovers and, with ruthless precision, shoots Ali through the throat, leaving Nahri’s world and alliances in ruins.