“Janak Nath happened.” Shwaan cut in, impatiently. The dismayed sympathy in her voice was more than he could take. “Do you really need to ask? The salient point, my dear, is that there’s a shard of reinforced sif the size of your thumb, nestled underneath that bit of mangled flesh. I can’t get at it. And for obvious reasons, neither can Kaheen.

“But you’re human, so the sif won’t be a problem for you. Just cut the damn thing out, that’s all you have to do.” He flinched at the trace of hope in his own voice. It was an emotion he’d all but forgotten how to feel. “Kaheen can seal the wound with an energy shell, after you’re done.”

He turned to Kaheen with a grin. “And you’ll get all the screaming you can handle, in the process. Those flunkeys at the door will be singing your praises for weeks to come.”

Simani was pale, her lips pressed into a thin line. “That bastard grafted reinforced sif under your skin? God, Ashwin. You should never have allowed this to happen.” Her fingers tightened around him. “This is my fault. I knew Janak Nath’s history, what he was capable of, and yet–”

Shwaan waved a hand. “You’re not responsible for my decisions, any more than I’m responsible for yours. You’re here now.” He frowned up at her. “I don’t want you to be. And I’ve no idea what you think this will achieve, apart from screwing us all over some more. But there isn’t a damn thing I can do about it, so I’m not going to waste my time on self-flagellation. You shouldn’t either. God knows, Janak does enough flagellating for the both of us, literally and otherwise.”

Simani’s lips quirked upwards in a reluctant smile. “Ruban said you were fascinating. I think I can see the appeal.” She hooked a finger under his chin and tilted his head back, squinting at the burned skin between his collarbones. “When did this happen? I don’t think the wound is healing properly.”

“It’s all this sif,” Kaheen muttered darkly. “It’s draining his energy, retarding the healing process. If this goes on much longer, he wouldn’t have enough energy left to live on.”

Simani nodded grimly. “Do you have a blade?” She glanced at Kaheen. “Something clean I can use to cut out this sif shard? It’s not going to be pleasant either way, but the last thing we need now is an infection.”

With a murmur of assent, Kaheen produced a small dagger from the folds of her feather cloak. “Janak’s armory is nothing if not well-stocked.”

Simani propped Shwaan up against the wall and rose. “Stay still,” she murmured, carding gentle fingers through his hair. “This’ll be over soon.”

She turned to Kaheen, accepting the proffered blade. “I’ll need to sterilize this, assuming he’s no more impervious to germs than bruises. I’m hoping an energy shell will do the trick?”

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Kaheen shrugged. “I’ll try. It’s hard to conjure shells in here, surrounded by so much sif.” She held out a hand as she spoke. The tiny pinprick of light that appeared on her palm soon blossomed into a small, glowing shell, brightening their little stone chamber.

Within minutes, the blade glowed red, absorbing the heat from Kaheen’s shell. Simani brought it over to where Shwaan sat pressed against the wall. She murmured soothingly, one hand stroking his hair, as the other brought the dagger to his throat and sliced through the exposed skin without a moment’s hesitation.

Shwaan threw his head back and screamed. For once, he didn’t bother to disguise the agony in his voice. Weeks of pent up anguish bubbled to the surface and spilled out, leaving him dazed with a combination of relief, euphoria, and exhaustion.

The piercing sound reverberated through the cell.

When Shwaan next became aware of his surroundings, the tiny chamber was dark, and Simani’s harsh breathing the only sound that reached his ears. He lay curled up against the wall, his cheek pressed to the grimy floor.

He felt lighter and more alive than he had in days.

He blinked, pushing himself off the floor. His fingers flit lightly across the base of his throat. The skin was rough and blistered; the touch mildly painful. “It’s gone,” he breathed, his tone disbelieving. “You did it. You cut it out.” His eyes settled on Simani, silhouetted against the faint light filtering in through the edges of the door. “It’s like I’d forgotten how to breathe. I never thought–” His voice shook.

Simani leaned forward, clutching his hand in both of hers, gently stroking the scraped knuckles. “For a moment, I thought I’d killed you.” Her voice was as unsteady as his. “Ruban would’ve had my hide, if you kicked the bucket in this dingy hellhole. And after all we’ve been through to get you out of here.”

“You might as well get that damn rod out of his wings, while you’re at it.” Kaheen stood close to the door, poised to deal with any intruders. “The sooner he gets his strength back, the better.”

Simani turned to look at him, eyebrows raised.

Shwaan shook his head. “No. For one thing, if you free my wings, there’d be no way to disguise it. But even if we could, Janak would certainly notice if I suddenly started healing faster than usual. And we can’t afford to make him suspicious, not until we’re ready to attack. He might just decide to kill us all and cut his losses. The man’s nothing if not volatile.”

“I suppose you’re right. But I don’t like the idea of leaving you here like this, Ashwin.” Simani tightened her grip on his hand. “Janak is a psychopath. And I can’t believe I’m saying this about an Aeriel – but I don’t want you at his mercy. It isn’t safe. You were barely alive when I got here, and–”

“And you’re here now, so Ruban can’t be too far off. But we can’t do anything stupid, not when we’re so close to the finish line.” He held out his free hand, palm up. “Now, give me the sif shard you so kindly extirpated.”

“What’re you talking about? The entire point of this was to get the sif away from you, so it wouldn’t sap your energy anymore.”

Shwaan sighed. “Well, yes. But without the sif draining me, I’d heal faster. It’s not something I can control. And needless to say, Janak would notice if my wounds were closing faster than he’d like. So it’s best if I hang on to it for now, until he and his minions have been dealt with. We’re not really in a position to fight back, if they suspect something is wrong. We have to bide our time.”

Simani closed her eyes and breathed out slowly. “I just hope Ruban knows what he’s doing.”

“It’s not his strong suit.” Shwaan smiled brightly. “But the day’s full of surprises. What’s one more to the tally?”