These Infinite Threads (This Woven Kingdom, #2)

by Tahereh Mafi

Never again would he allow a woman to own his emotions; never again would he be made weak by such base temptations.

The devil himself was assisting her.

“We agreed only to test the boy,” came the simple reply. “Test him? Test him how? Wait— You can’t go back on your word— You’re incapable of lying—” “We promised to determine whether the boy is fit to rule.” “There’s no question but that he’s unfit!” cried Zahhak. “The boy is mutilated! That has to mean something! The magic has clearly made a statement—” “Leave,” said the Diviners in unison.

It wasn’t right to be so attracted to a man she was meant to kill. Besides, Cyrus had no idea what he was doing. He was out of his head, his common sense dimmed by something dangerous.

This small, distant window, he was realizing, was both a blessing and a cruelty in this dire place, for while it provided what was no doubt a welcome light during the day, it also exposed its prisoner to the elements at night—proving to Kamran once again that pleasure and torture were often delivered in the same blow.

The true wonder was how she’d done it. Without lifting a finger—without even raising her voice— She’d simply stood tall, and his world had collapsed. She spoke, and the Diviners had been slaughtered; she spun, and his grandfather had been murdered; she laughed, and his body had been disfigured; she breathed, and his mother had vanished; she sighed, and his aunt no longer spoke to him; she left, and his own people had turned on him. Kamran could not even hear her name without taking it like a shot to the chest.

“The devil wants you to marry me,” she exploded. “That’s not at all the same thing! How can you not see—”

“I am only a man, Alizeh, I can only withstand so much torture in one day. Please,” he said, his voice breaking on the word. “Leave me. Leave me to what’s left of my godforsaken life.”