This Woven Kingdom, #2
These Infinite Threads
by Tahereh Mafi
Contents
Twenty-Six
Overview
Back in the palace, Cyrus collapses from exhaustion while Alizeh tends to him and struggles with her conflicted attraction and mission. Cyrus, vulnerable and half-entranced, reveals desire before succumbing to sleep. A maid’s approach forces Alizeh to hide, escalating the risk of scandal and exposure.
Summary
After transporting them to his rooms, Cyrus falls asleep against Alizeh, drained by Iblees’s torment. Alizeh carefully disentangles herself, reminding herself that their agreement still ends in murder and that she cannot trust him, even as she acknowledges a powerful physical pull and genuine concern for his pain.
Seeing Cyrus’s discomfort, Alizeh quietly removes his boots and coat. Cyrus startles awake in a dazed, childlike state, asking why she left and complying as she helps. He strips further, exposing his injuries and strength. Overwhelmed by attraction and alarmed by his altered, vulnerable behavior, Alizeh refuses his rough plea to come close, and he sinks back into sleep.
A knock at the door interrupts. Recognizing the routine evening visit of a maid, Alizeh panics: discovery in the king’s bedchamber would spark scandal and complicate her precarious position among Jinn and Clay. As the door opens, she bolts down the inner hall and ducks through the first door she can find, hiding to avoid being seen.
Who Appears
- AlizehTends Cyrus after torture, battles attraction versus mission, and hides to avoid discovery by a maid.
- CyrusExhausted and vulnerable; half-entranced confessions of desire before falling asleep as Alizeh tends him.
- Unnamed maid (snoda)Arrives for routine service, prompting Alizeh to hide to avoid scandal and exposure.