Chapter 4: Dara

On a snowy night in northern Daevastana, Dara leads five Daeva recruits to intercept two Geziri Royal Guard scouts. Testing his trainees, he forbids magical concealment and orders a coordinated ambush. After a fiery distraction, the recruits subdue the younger scout with nets while Mardoniye struggles with the veteran, Abu Sayf. Dara nearly intervenes lethally but holds back, and his archers disarm Abu Sayf, ending the fight with both captives alive.

Dara instructs his men to seize weapons and leave supplies, then fabricates a cover: he shifts painfully into his true daeva form, conjures a blood-and-smoke rukh, and destroys the camp to suggest a beast attack. The magic drains him, but he returns to camp, where eighty Daevas train under Manizheh’s leadership. Seeing Kaveh e-Pramukh’s horse, Dara grows anxious about facing Jamshid’s father.

Inside Manizheh’s tent, Dara reports success. Kaveh emerges, aged and furious, and cites sixty-four Daevas killed after Dara’s death, blaming Dara’s rashness. They argue over Dara’s attempt to save Nahri from marriage, with Kaveh insisting a slower, covert plan was wiser. Manizheh stops them and offers wine. Kaveh describes Jamshid’s long recovery and despair; Manizheh vows Jamshid will be made whole.

Discussion turns to Daevabad. Kaveh says Nahri married Muntadhir but leveraged her dowry for Daeva charities; Nisreen ensures there will be no child. Dara urges telling Nahri their plans, but Manizheh refuses, fearing Ghassan’s reprisals and Nahri’s compromises with djinn. Kaveh proposes striking during Navasatem; Dara argues his forty warriors and unstable powers are not ready and suggests eliminating Alizayd first.

Kaveh reveals Alizayd was exiled to Am Gezira after Dara’s death. Dara presses for a discreet assassination, but Manizheh rejects the delay. She then reveals new intelligence from the ifrit: there may be another way into Daevabad—likely tied to the marid influence witnessed on Alizayd. She declares it is time to confront the marid and seek vengeance.