Chapter 16: Nahri

Nahri and Dara are presented in the audience hall. King Ghassan, whose sigil briefly suppresses the room’s magic and floors Dara, declares Nahri appears as a pureblood Daeva to him despite others seeing a human. Nahri claims she is Manizheh’s daughter; the court erupts as Ghassan dismisses onlookers and demands explanations.

Ghassan and Grand Wazir Kaveh recount that Manizheh and her brother Rustam were ambushed and beheaded by ifrit two decades earlier, contradicting the ifrit’s claims of working with her. The timeline raises questions about Nahri’s survival and hidden birth. Kaveh reveres Nahri’s potential; Ghassan betrays a flicker of fear at what Manizheh’s heir could mean.

Pressed for his name, Dara reveals he is Darayavahoush e-Afshin, the famed rebel who fought Zaydi al Qahtani. Tension spikes with Muntadhir and Alizayd, who denounce his past. Dara explains the peri Khayzur found him and later freed him from an ifrit curse, and that he remembers little of centuries of enslavement.

Seeking stability, Ghassan offers a bargain: Nahri is publicly declared Manizheh’s pureblooded daughter and Banu Nahida, and Dara is pardoned and pensioned, in exchange for their loyalty and a pledge to preserve peace. Outnumbered and pragmatic, Nahri agrees. Ali escorts her to the palace gardens while Dara stays to discuss the ifrit threat.

In the gardens, Zaynab charms and needles Nahri, having servants refill potent wine until Nahri nearly passes out amid meat dishes, a calculated humiliation. Later, Nisreen e-Kinshur, former aide to the Nahids, rouses Nahri with a remedy and warns her not to trust Qahtanis, especially Zaynab.

Dara arrives with new gear and reveals his plan: the Qahtanis’ story and his own rediscovery near Manizheh’s last route suggest missing truths. He intends to pursue the ifrit for answers, taking two dozen Geziri soldiers and Emir Muntadhir, and vows Nahri’s safety is tied to the emir. Despite Nahri’s fear and anger, he promises to return to “his city” and to his Banu Nahida.