These Infinite Threads (This Woven Kingdom, #2)

by Tahereh Mafi

He swore it then: this monster from the prophecy would die by his hand—he would drive a blade through her heart or die trying.

OMFG if he turns out to be another Adam or Kitt… 😭

“How,” Cyrus demanded, “did you come to know her name?” When Kamran finally spoke, his voice was heavy, cold. “I might ask you the same question.” “Indeed you might,” said Cyrus, who was lifting his sword by inches. “But then, it’s my prerogative to know the name of my bride.”

Uhhhhh 😳

Alizeh had ruined him.

“Fling yourself into the sky as many times as you like. There will be no escape. I will not allow you to die.” “Do you speak to all young women with such ardent affection?” Alizeh asked steadily, even as her bones shook with cold. “If I swoon and fall off the dragon again, you will have only yourself to blame.”

🤭

“Tell me—is it too much to hope for our future that you will not make it a habit of slapping me in the face?” “Yes.” “I see. Then married life will be exactly as I imagined.” “Let me be plain: I detest you. I would sooner ingest poison than marry you, and I am astonished to discover that you think I’d even consider submitting to such a horror when it is clear your every action is predicated upon the demands of the devil himself. You are an incorrigible reprobate; how you could ever hope to be a gentleman I will never understand.” Cyrus was quiet for a beat too long. He did not meet her eyes when he spoke, not even when he forced a smile. “Do let us cast aside decorum, then. I promise to never again endeavor to be a gentleman in your presence.” “Is there any point, sir, in setting a goal for an accomplishment already achieved?”

Oh she got ice in her veins for sure!

“The sky, too, is soft,” she said. “Yet all who fall into its arms will perish.”

“You seem to forget, darling, that Cyrus killed my husband.”

Yikes 😬

“What can’t you do on your own?” “Kill him, darling. I need your help to kill him.”

Oh SHIT!! 🤯

He wished someone might simply tell him how to feel, or at least teach him to make sense of the unspeakable horrors his grandfather had committed.

Where the heck is his mother??

Without lifting his head, Hazan said, “With all due offense, sire, please fuck off.”

🤣

“The distortion of the magic,” Hazan said finally. “It means your right to the crown is no longer absolute. It means there might live a worthier inheritor of the throne.”

Alizeh or a yet unknown character?

Hazan lifted his shackled hands, and in one swift movement, tore the iron manacles apart. He used his teeth to pry the cuffs off his wrists, after which he tossed the metal to the floor, where it landed with a heavy clatter. And then he ripped the prison door off its hinges. He set the iron gate against the wall before crossing the threshold, where he met the prince eye-to-eye.

Hazan…. 🤭

“Forgive me,” said Cyrus quietly, “but do you intend to make it a habit of wearing transparent garments in my presence? Do tell me now, I beg you, so that I might blind myself in anticipation.”

😮

“God, you’re so beautiful,” he said, his smile vanishing. “Even when you lie to me.”

🥵

“Wicked girl,” he whispered. “You’ve been making deals with my mother.”

Oh shit, he knows!

“It’s not always pain. I feel . . . different things each time, and it only started this morning. You don’t happen to know what’s wrong with me?” “I’m afraid not,” said Hazan, concern etching his forehead. “But if she has some kind of hold on you from so far away, only a powerful magic can be involved. I know little more than that.”

I don’t think I like this… I’m worried now

MELT THE ICE IN SALT BRAID THE THRONES AT SEA IN THIS WOVEN KINGDOM CLAY AND FIRE SHALL BE

“I hate you,” he whispered. Alizeh blinked, her heart pounding too hard in her chest. “I know.” He leaned in then, his throat working, his gaze fixed entirely on her mouth. “I hate everything about you. Your eyes. Your lips. Your smile.” His words grazed her skin when he said, softly, “I find your presence insufferable.”

😮‍💨

“Marry me,” Cyrus said, a spark of heat in his eyes. “Become my queen just long enough to sate the devil’s demands. Once he’s satisfied, he’ll discharge me of a tremendous debt, and I’ll be that much closer to my freedom. When I’m finally free, I give you leave to kill me at your leisure and take Tulan for yourself.”

Huh???

“And you should take care to remember that. Should you marry me, it would be in title only. I have no interest in your companionship.” The nosta went cold.

Liar liar

“I warn you,” said Cyrus. “If you weep, I might vomit.”

🤣

“I tell you a single sad story and your defenses weaken that easily? Against me? You lovely little fool, you’re going to get yourself killed.”

🫠

“If you keep laughing like that, I’m liable to think you have a heart.” “Oh, you needn’t worry,” he said, his smile fading. “I most certainly don’t.” The nosta went cold.

👖 🔥

Cyrus caught her and turned her firmly in his arms, hiding her face in his chest. “Please,” he whispered against her hair. “Please let me get you out of here— You’re not ready for this, and they’re not ready for you—”

😫

“Long live King Cyrus!” a voice rang out. “Long live our queen!”

“Please,” said Cyrus. “At least tell me you’re okay.” “I’m afraid that’s impossible,” she said, sniffing softly. She closed her eyes again, let the flowers dry her tears. “What do you mean?” he said, alarmed. “Why impossible?” “Well,” she said, “because I’ve recently deduced that you’re quite charmingly pathetic.” He sighed. “Really? You’re choosing this moment to insult me?” “And I have a theory,” she went on, “that if I were badly wounded, you would help me. True or false?” He went silent. He was silent so long Alizeh had time enough to watch a drop of dew drip off a glossy green leaf. “True or false, Cyrus?” She heard his uneven exhale, the raw edge to his voice when he said, irritably, “False.” The nosta flashed cold. “Liar,” she whispered.

🤭

“That’s why you brought me here?” “Yes,” he said quietly. “You mean, you were trying to console me?” “Bloody hell, Alizeh, knock it off.” “All right, okay,” she said with a sigh. “Good.” “Me?” she said again. “You were trying to console me?” “You know what, you can walk back to the castle—” “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I promise I’m really done this time.” She bit the inside of her cheek, and then—very, very softly—she said, “I do hope you know how grateful I am that you brought me here. It’s absolutely beautiful.” “Yes, well,” he said, taking a sharp breath. “You strike me as precisely the sort of maudlin person who would appreciate the company of flowers while crying.”

🥰

“I’ll make you a blood oath.” Alizeh went very, very still. “No,” she said, exhaling the word. “Absolutely not.” “Why not?” “Because— Cyrus—” “If you kill me, as we’ve agreed, none of it will matter.” “But you’ll be bound to me—possibly forever—” “Only if you don’t kill me.” “And until then?” He took a deep breath. “Well. Yes. Until then it’ll be fairly uncomfortable. Mostly for me.” She shook her head against the flowers. “I won’t do it. It’s not humane. You’ll have no free will.” He laughed bitterly. “And I suppose you think killing me is the more humane option?”

😳

“Cyrus,” she said after a moment. “Are you afraid of me?” He almost laughed then, but his expression was strained. “What an absurd question.” “Will you answer it anyway?” “No,” he said drily. “I’m not afraid of you.” The nosta went cold. “You are,” she insisted. “You think I’m going to hurt you.” “No. I don’t.” Again, the nosta went cold. “Cyrus—” “Stop.” He was breathing harder than usual.

Not physically, girl. He thinks you’re going to break his heart. Ohhhhh I think he loves her and probably has for awhile 😮

She took Cyrus’s limp hand in hers, and, like a fool, she cried for him.

🥺

He drew the back of her hand gently against his lips, and then, so softly she might’ve imagined it, he kissed her.

😱

“Touch me,” he whispered. Her heart beat only harder. “What?” He released her hand, but only to press her open palm firmly against his face. For a moment his eyelashes fluttered, and then, quite contentedly, he sighed.

🥵

He sounded delirious. “Let’s go back to bed, Alizeh.” “Cyrus—” He laughed a little, like he was drunk. “I do say it a lot.” “What?” she said, going briefly still. “Your name,” he said, and closed his eyes. He nearly fell over, catching himself at the last second. “I didn’t know your name for so long, angel. I love the way it feels in my mouth.”

🫠😮‍💨🥵

“Don’t be afraid of me, angel. I won’t hurt you. I’ll never hurt you.”

🫠

“Listen, I know you’re very tired,” she said nervously. “But I need your help, sleepy boy. Can you do something for me?” “Anything.” He drew his nose along the swell of her breasts, kissing the smooth skin there once, twice, until she made a desperate, broken sound and he swore, low, under his breath. “Alizeh,” he said, sounding drugged. “Can I taste you?”

Excuse me?! 😱🤯

Alizeh did care. Ice ran through her veins, yes, but it had never made her coldhearted.

She watched his chest expand as he breathed, his eyes closing even as he fought it. “I want you,” he said, weakening in that familiar, sudden manner. “Next to me.”

😮‍💨

“I did use my skirt to mop up most of the blood,” she said, fixing her eyes firmly on the floor. “But then— Then I used the moisture of my tears to scrub away the sticky residue.” Cyrus was silent for a frighteningly long beat. When he finally spoke, his voice was soft, his astonishment palpable. “You cried for me?” “It has been noted,” she whispered, “that I perhaps cry too much.” “You used your own tears,” he said, all but broken, “to wash the blood from my face?” To this, Alizeh had no glib response. The earlier prickle of embarrassment had become a full-body mortification as she stood there, her head heating as she listened to him take inventory of her earlier actions. She couldn’t bring herself to meet his eyes. “Alizeh. Please look at me.” She shook her head at the floor. “This is quite humiliating for me, Cyrus. I won’t look at you.” “Why is it humiliating?” “Because I was stupid,” she said in a sudden burst. “I was kind to you only to discover that you’d been lying to me all this time—that you’d stolen my book and refuse to give it . . .” The words died in her throat. Alizeh had lifted her head as she spoke, anger burning away the worst of her unease, but she was stopped short by the look on Cyrus’s face. The anguish in his eyes struck a bolt through her chest. “Why did you do it?” he said, his voice strained. “Why were you so kind to me? I’d heard someone crying, but I thought the sounds were part of a dream, or a hallucination. God, the way you touched me—” He cu...

😫💔

She knew, dimly, that this was a bad idea, that she was playing with fire, but Alizeh had survived an inferno once, and she thought she might survive such a blaze again.

“Alizeh,” he whispered. “Let me make you my queen.” It was a cold, sharp snap of reality. Alizeh stiffened and drew back, her head cleared in an instant, alarm roaring through her body. “Did you—” she said, panicking. “Are you trying to seduce me? To get me to marry you?” Cyrus looked like he’d been struck. He stared at her, his chest heaving, his eyes so plainly devastated she was overcome at once with regret. “No,” he said, exhaling the word. The nosta warmed. “I’m sorry,” she cried, shaking her head, “I’m sorry, I know it’s a terrible accusation, but why did you— Why would you—” “Why are you acting like this is a surprise?” He was recovering slowly, his pain calcifying, heating before her eyes. “I made my intentions clear from the beginning, Alizeh, I want to marry you—” “The devil wants you to marry me,” she exploded. “That’s not at all the same thing! How can you not see—” “Marry me,” he countered, “and you get your crown, the devil is briefly sated, and I’m discharged, in great part, of my debt. We all get something we want. Why is that so wrong?” “It’s one thing,” she said angrily, “to enter into a false arrangement in the pursuit of our own interests. But this— Cyrus, this wouldn’t be false, and it would complicate everything. What were you going to do? If I kissed you? What would come next?” “I would marry you,” he said, stepping closer again, coming dangerously within reach. “I’d marry you tomorrow. And then I’d take you to bed. For weeks.” She felt her face heat...

Whoa I got all the feels right now

Alizeh’s eyes burned with tears as he spoke. There was no other way to describe it: her heart was breaking. “I didn’t trust you,” Cyrus said quietly. “How could I trust you? You were a vision conjured by the devil, designed to ruin me. I hated you for being real, for coming to life only to personify torture, to be another trial to endure. In fact I wanted to hate you. I wanted to discover your faults, your flaws. I thought you’d never match up to the figment of my dreams, and I was wrong. You are far more enchanting in real life. Far more exquisite.” His voice shook just a little when he said, softly, “It is excruciating to be in your presence.” Again, the nosta seared her skin. Alizeh wanted to sit down; she wanted a glass of water; she wanted to submerge herself in a cold bath. She could only bring herself to say his name. “I knew, somehow, that it would come to this,” he said, looking away. “I just thought I was stronger. I thought it would take longer. Instead, you’ve managed to sever me in half with astonishing speed.” “You’re being unfair,” she said, forcing herself to speak, her heart beating painfully in her chest. “You act as if I’m intentionally cruel. As if I’m indifferent to you.” “Aren’t you?” “No,” she whispered, her eyes filling with tears. “Of course not.” Cyrus stared at her from where he stood, his chest heaving with barely leashed intensity. He devastated her with that look, even as he seemed planted in the ground, immovable. “Then be with me,” he said s...

I knew it! Damn I am I sucker for a tortured soul who is sick with love 😫