Chapter 14: Ali

Ali, exhausted and on edge, confronts Abu Zebala over unequal sanitation services and coerced bribes favoring the Daeva Quarter. After threatening dismissal, Ali reflects on his sleeplessness and recent failures before Kaveh arrives with alarming rumors: a Daeva girl allegedly converted and eloped, and has been seized back by her family. With no names or proof, the tale nevertheless risks igniting sectarian violence.

Seeking action, Ali and Kaveh go to King Ghassan, interrupting a secretive meeting with Muntadhir, Abu Nuwas, and a shafit agent. Ghassan curtly dismisses Kaveh and rebukes Ali over his lenient tenure as acting Qaid, pressing him to manufacture grounds to crush the Tanzeem and enforce new anti-shafit ordinances. When Ali objects—citing slavers disguising kidnappings as “fostering”—Ghassan threatens to strip his titles and exile him. Muntadhir intercedes, proposing Ali be reassigned after Wajed returns.

A Geziri scout then reports a Daeva slave crossing the lake with Afshin facial marks. Ghassan scoffs, calling such figures ifrit-made terrors, but sends the scout to watch. He confines both sons to the palace. Sensing a setup in the day’s orchestrations, Ali tries to slip out; Muntadhir blocks him and forces him into hidden passages below the palace.

Underground, Muntadhir blood-unseals ancient doors, revealing a cavern stacked with coffins and ledgers: secretly interred remains of Nahids (and some Afshins), meticulously recorded since the war. He shows Ali a sealed copper box containing Darayavahoush e-Afshin’s relic—proof their ancestors ensured the Afshin could not return. The sight horrifies Ali, challenging his faith in Qahtani history and exposing the depth of fear toward Nahids.

Muntadhir argues this legacy justifies the crown’s hard line, claiming neutrality keeps peace and warning that Ali’s sympathy for shafit is dangerous. He hints “something” will happen today and demands Ali do nothing to oppose it and sever ties with the shafit. Torn between Anas’s charge and his brother’s plea, Ali yields and formally pledges loyalty to Muntadhir.