Chapter 9: Nahri

Nahri wakes to unexpected snow and to Dara’s absence, worries he has abandoned her, and goes to a stream for water. When Dara returns, they argue over his drunken rant and prejudice. He awkwardly apologizes and then commits to escorting her into Daevabad and to the king, admitting he fears for her safety.

They ride across the plains, banter about Daeva taboos, and spot a gigantic rukh circling their camp. Dara devises a desperate plan: Nahri must ride for the forest while he distracts the predator. The rukh seizes Dara and his horse; moments later it falters and crashes. Nahri finds the rukh dead and Dara gone—until his sword splits the bird’s neck and he staggers out, covered in black blood, begging for fire.

Dara begins to destabilize, his body turning ashy and translucent. Nahri refuses to leave him; she attempts Nahid healing through focused intent. As she restores him, she is flooded with Dara’s memories: a sister from his past, poisoning a human master, and, most crucially, the ifrit drowning him in a well, binding him to a curse and a master’s will.

Nahri awakens to Dara alive but shaken, and confronts the reality of his complicated existence. Searching the rukh’s talons, she finds her Cairo headdress and the basha’s ring, proving the rukh had been sent after her. Dara identifies peri control of the rukh and insists it was not Khayzur. With only one horse and enemies closing in, he retrieves his weapons, holds on to Nahri, and declares their only option: they run.