Chapter 32

Amina confronts Falco as the Moon of Saba’s power erupts through him. When the eclipse shades his eyes, his body goes rigid and predatory; Dunya reveals she reversed the ritual so al-Dabaran would control Falco. They hope to free the spirit but are trapped underground where he cannot see the moon.

Amina attempts to reason with al-Dabaran, but the spirit, furious after centuries of captivity, attacks. Dunya urges recovering the basin for counter-spells while Amina distracts the spirit, who wields a serpent-like sword-staff and summons insects. Al-Dabaran then splits the cave floor, calling forth a gigantic white serpent that drives Amina into a dead end.

Sensing seawater and the nearby marid, Amina gambles on their tenuous bond. She yields to the marid’s power; water hurls her and Dunya to cover as the marid’s stinger smashes through the cliff, letting the sea and a shaft of moonlight into the cavern.

Al-Dabaran rushes to the light in grief and longing. Acting on instinct, Amina tosses the Moon of Saba to him; with the eclipse fading from Falco’s eyes, al-Dabaran strikes the basin. The prison shatters; wind and pressure tear the spirit free, the serpent and swarms vanish, and the seaward side of the cave collapses.

As the ocean floods in, Amina sees the marid withdraw and feels their bond dissolve. Finding Falco crushed and dying, she refuses to risk his survival or more schemes and kills him swiftly with a dagger.

Amina rejoins a shaken but alive Dunya. With al-Dabaran gone, the Moon of Saba destroyed, and an escape path open to the sea, they leave the ruined cavern behind.