Chapter 55

“I crown you Queen of Nur.” Widad declares as she places the newly made crown upon my head.

It still has the teardrop diamond in the middle, but instead of diamonds all around it, now it alternates between diamonds and the spikes of the Sameer crown. Whereas before there were different colored stones in each spike, now there are azure blue ones. Does it fit with the autumn colors of Nur? No, but does it represent the roses that Hamza brings me every day I summon him? Yes. And I’m queen, so I’ll put what colors I want in my crown.

The gathered nobles from Nur and Sameer both cheer when I rise from my throne. Hamza stands in the front row next to Maryam, clapping slowly and smiling at me with every ounce of love that shines through his eyes. Zaynah is beside Hamza, but Hud isn’t next to her. The head of my guards is to the right of my throne, standing straight, eyes vigilant. Mikael stands on the other side of my throne. And sadly, I do need them.

The nobles from Sameer have been arguing with me since morning. I try to be understanding. They arrived here to the news that their king is dead, and the woman who they all assume killed him (and for all intents and purposes, I did) is now their queen and has no intentions to relinquish the crown.

They’d argued that I’d committed treason myself by assassinating their ruler and had to forfeit the crown. I’d argued that I’d freed them from a monster sitting upon their throne, but it wasn’t hard to figure out all the male nobles never truly felt that they were all that oppressed by Azar. But there really is no argument against the agreement that their king signed, naming me queen of Sameer. Against their own laws that would make them guilty of treason if they stood against me. And there was no denying that with Arwa dead, they had no protection from someone doing to their kingdom what Azar had done to others. The ones who persisted in denying my claim with threats to kill me for what I did to their king are now in cells. After that, the others grudgingly agreed, but still look none too happy.

The ones who remain in the throne room now believe they are safe, but I have no trust in them. They have no idea that others arrived from Sameer before they did. That they’re in this very room, their appearances much changed now that they’ve been given adequate clothing.

The widows and unmarried women from the village arrived hours before the nobles, with their children in tow. They and the other women I have being brought from the similar villages the women have told me of will form a council in Sameer like the one we have in Nur. They will oversee the affairs of Sameer, with the help and guidance of the council here. They will enforce the laws I will change about women’s rights in Sameer, about their sons being taken away to be made into unwilling soldiers, and education reform.

It will also come upon them to find the men who have wronged them, and they will be punished in whatever way the council deems fit. The guards that came with Azar have already been put in the dungeon when the women pointed out every one of them had forced themselves on women whilst taking their children away. Makes sense that Azar’s closest guards would be as corrupt as him. The soldiers who came with Azar will also remain in the dungeon as they were named in other crimes as well. And they all remain in the cells on both sides of my father.

The Nur council, now with four of the original advisors, since I dismissed Hunayn immediately after instructing someone to clean up the blood from Azar’s carried out body from the queen’s quarters. He’s been replaced by Mu’ath. The man I saw coming out of Maryam’s office. The leader of the rebellion, and my mother’s brother. He’d been planning the rebellion ever since the way the king treated his sister’s daughter had become known. He stands next to Maryam, a smile on his face.

It’s Hamza who comes forward to take my hand and walk me down the steps. My azure blue gown that Zaynah and Najla worked together to make trails behind me as I descend. White stars are sewn into the middle of the gown and on the sleeves. It looks like a lit up sky, the stars shining brightly against a blue instead of black sky. My white head wrap sits high on my head, twisting and twisting until all the fabric has been used, my crown atop it.

My heart beats a fast rhythm when I look out at the crowd of people, my advisors, and newfound friends, many from the village, Najla and Masood included. I am queen over them all now and that weight, that responsibility, settles upon my shoulders like a ton of bricks.

Hamza gives my hand a squeeze, maybe sensing the restless anxiety thrumming through me. My eyes go back to him, and my heart calms. I can do this, I know I can. And when I get too weary and want to retreat, carve out time to have peace of mind, he will be there to hold me, to let me find solace in his arms and let me drift away from being queen for a little while.

Which brings me to the first thing I want to do as queen.

“Everyone please continue to the dining hall,” I tell the crowd. “A dinner feast has been prepared for my esteemed guests.”

People begin to move and I turn to Widad. “Please follow me.”

She smiles and nods. I pull on Hamza’s hand when he starts to loosen his hold. He walks beside me into the room that leads to the balcony. Widad follows us onto the balcony and closes the doors behind her.

“I came prepared.” She smiles before turning around. “I knew this would be the first thing you asked of me. I know the spell.”

Hamza looks at me with furrowed brows.

“You didn’t think I would leave you banished, did you?” I ask.

His eyes truly do widen in surprise. “I…have been banished for so long, I think I stopped believing it was a possibility to return to Nur. I stopped hoping along the away.”

“I would not have stopped until I found a way to bring you home, my love.” I whisper.

It was the very first thing I’d asked Widad when I’d seen her at breakfast the morning after what should have been my wedding night. How to undo the banishment. I’d wanted to learn the spell myself, be the one who had a part in bringing Hamza home. But only a witch bound to the crown could banish someone with magic, and only a witch bound to the crown could withdraw the spell. But in the end, if it frees Hamza, I am content to watch him gain his freedom.

“Are you ready?” Widad asks.

“More than ready,” we both answer.

She brings a paper from the pockets of her robe. When she lays it flat on the podium, I see it’s the decree from years ago, banishing Hamza, the bloody fingerprint of the old witch staining it. She takes a deep breath, and her head tips back, her eyes going completely black. It reminds me for a moment of when I watched the old witch cast the spell that damned Hamza for being the good my father didn’t want to see or hear of any longer. Banishing him for refusing to do what many others did and have done in the years since I sat on this balcony as a child, bowing to the evil of my father. Unlike when the banishment spell was cast and the sky darkened dangerously, today it lightens, the sun seeming to brighten as if something has dampened it’s rays for all these years. And maybe it has.

The clouds recede as she continues. When I wrap my arm around Hamza’s waist, I feel him shaking and I look up at him. There’s a careful hope in his gaze. Tears come to my eyes at the sight of it. That he wants so badly to return here, and is clearly afraid that he never can. He closes his eyes, a deep inhale and exhale leaving him when the sky begins to crackle like it did before.

I look away from him and up to the sky. It seems so weird to hear the sky seem like it’s about to storm when not even a breeze stirs the air around us. But the crackle builds and builds, making goosebumps race along my skin. Then, in the distance, a spark appears. I gasp at the sight of it. I remember it so well. The spark that raced across Nur until I could no longer see it. The spark that tore Hamza from his home and sent him to the shore, nowhere to go but across the Blue Sea. And now, it returns, burning as brightly as it did that day.

It hurdles towards us, towards Widad. When it gets into the courtyard, lighting up the space below it, my eyes widen, wondering if it will stop. It doesn’t. It continues until it explodes into Widad’s chest. She doubles over, her hands bracing on the banister of the balcony. I move to go to her, but Hamza pulls me back. I look up at him and find him watching her as well, eyes wide and cautious.

Her body glows from within, so blindingly bright that I have to put my hand up to shield my eyes. It shines through her eyes, light coming from her ears, nose, and mouth as well before it finally dulls and then disappears. She straightens and when she looks at me, I lean back in surprise. She’s younger, the few signs of age that were on her having disappeared. Her hair is fuller, her curls expanding, now reaching almost to the floor, circling more and more. Her skin glows in the aftermath of her absorbing the spark.

Then she turns back to the skies as a smoke forms before her. She inhales deep, and the smoke enters her mouth. She closes her mouth and walks over to the podium. Opening her mouth, she blows the smoke over the paper, and I watch in wonder as the words on the paper begin to disappear, the letters unwriting themselves, looking like some invisible pen is writing backwards, taking the letters away.

Then Widad presses her pointer finger to the bloody print at the bottom of the page and when she lifts her finger, it’s gone. Hamza drops to one knee beside me, and my eyes fly to him. I go down to my hunches beside him and cradle his face to bring it to mine.

“Hamza,” I plead when he doesn’t open his eyes to look at me.

Then they open, and I find them moist with unshed tears.

“I love you,” he says, grabbing me to him for a kiss. “I love you. I love you,” he whispers against my lips.

I draw back when I realize something. “You can speak without me asking you a question.”

He smiles. “You’ll never get me to be quiet now.”

I throw my head back and laugh. “I love you, too.”

We stand, and I look over at Widad, expecting to find her weakened from such a clearly extensive spell. But then I see her younger appearance, and puzzle over it.

“The spell did not weaken you?” I ask.

She shakes her head. “That spell recalled the last witch’s magic, so instead of expelling magic and power, I absorbed what she used for the spell.”

Suddenly Hamza disappears beside me and I start, looking into thin air where he stood only a moment ago. My wide, frantic eyes turn back to the witch, but she only smiles.

“He’s coming back. I can feel it,” she speaks softly.

And he does, a necklace of shells in his hand.

“I had to get this for you.” He grins. “Plus I wanted to make sure I could really come back on my own.”

I bend my head forward, and he places the necklace around my neck. It falls below my breasts, simple and beautiful.

“I will leave you two be,” Widad says as she walks to the doors.

“Thank you.” We both say.

She inclines her head before leaving. Once Hamza and I are alone, I open my mouth, ready to ask him a question, but he speaks first.

“You look utterly beautiful, my queen,” he says, opening his arms for me.

“As do you, my love. How does it feel? To be back home?”

“Like a dream. I don’t think I will sleep tonight for fear that I’ll wake up back in Shams.”

I kiss him then, biting on his bottom lip. “We do not have to sleep tonight.”

He grins down at me. “I will enjoy finally being able to speak all the words I couldn’t before while I make love to you.”

I groan, wishing we didn’t have anything else to do today and could just return to my room now.

He laughs. “Patience, my queen. Come. We have a feast to attend.”

He takes my hand, first bringing it to his lips, before leading me from the balcony.