Chapter 22

Firoz spots a strange pink dome on the horizon. As the weather turns unnaturally foul, Raksh urges Amina to throw Dunya overboard, claiming Falco’s enslaved marid is pursuing them. Amina refuses, orders the crew to run and prepare for a fight, and posts Dalila to guard Dunya. Raksh steals the skiff, leaving the Marawati to face the oncoming threat.

The marid arrives in a storm of rot and foam, seizing the ship with massive tentacles. Amina severs one limb but a dozen more lift the Marawati high before slamming it into the sea, wrecking the deck and injuring many. Tinbu is pinned under a broken rudder; Dalila and Majed work to free him while Amina confronts the looming creature.

Falco appears atop the marid’s coral-fused crown with his mercenaries and demands Dunya and the crew’s service. Amina stalls and then ambushes him with a rigging trick, but Falco’s augmented speed turns the duel. As Amina falters, Dunya reveals herself.

Dunya smashes the ancient tablets and declares the path to the Moon of Saba lives only in her memory. To save the crew, Amina accepts Falco’s terms: the Marawati will carry him while Dunya guides him to the Moon, and he leaves the crew unharmed when they enter the cave. Falco forces the crew to disarm and shackle, including Dalila; Tiny carries the unconscious Tinbu clear.

Falco taunts Amina with her grandfather’s khanjar, then brutally strikes her, injures her bad knee, and—despite Dunya’s protests—stabs her shoulder and throws her overboard into the storm-dark sea.